Director: Sheldon Lettich
Screenplay: Sheldon Lettich and Jean-Claude Van Damme
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Geoffrey Lewis, Alan Scarfe, Philip Chan, Bolo Yeung, Cory Everson, Alonna Shaw
Country: United States
Running Time: 110 min
Year: 1991
BBFC Certificate: 18
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme was seemingly everywhere, thanks to a string of successful and entertaining movies. After competing in martial arts and bodybuilding competitions, Belgian-born Van Damme moved to the United States in 1982 in an effort to make it big in Hollywood.
He worked on several films – both in front of and behind the camera – for a few years or so before his big breakout hit came in 1988 with Bloodsport. Over the next decade Van Damme would star in the likes of Cyborg (1989), Kickboxer (1989) Lionheart (1990), Universal Soldier (1992), Hard Target (1993), Timecop (1994), and Street Fighter (1994).
In amongst all of these came Double Impact (1991), in which the “Muscles from Brussels” not only played dual roles, but also played a bigger role behind the scenes. He’d previously been involved with editing, writing and choreographing or directing fights, but in Double Impact he was writer, producer and fight choreographer.
The film was Van Damme’s third collaboration with director Sheldon Lettich (who wrote Bloodsport and directed Lionheart) and his second collaboration with Enter the Dragon (1973) star Bolo Yeung after Bloodsport.
Director Lettich shares a really interesting and lengthy anecdote about the conception of the film in the extras and describes how he came to be given the script by Cannon Films, which were originally due to make it. It was originally called the Corsican Brothers and would have been set between Paris and Corsica, Italy. When Lettich took on the script the main location was changed to Hong Kong.
Double Impact opens with the murder of the parents of twin infant sons Chad and Alex in Hong Kong by a Triad hit squad. The children’s father Paul (second unit director Vic Armstrong’s brother Andy) is in Asia to open the Victoria Harbour Tunnel with his business partner Nigel Griffith, before Paul and his wife Katherine (Sarah-Jane Varley) are killed. The couple’s bodyguard Frank (Geoffrey Lewis) and maid separately flee with Chad and leave Alex at a Hong Kong orphanage, respectively.
Fast forward 25 years and Chad (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Frank are running a successful Los Angeles martial arts dojo when Frank talks about a new business venture in Hong Kong. In reality he’s seen photos showing that Alex (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is in Hong Kong and in with the Triads. This leads to Chad and Frank travelling to Asia where Chad is reunited with his brother. Frank tells the story of their father’s business partner Griffith, explaining that he is a bad egg, in cahoots with the Triads and had taken Alex and Chad’s share of the royalties from the Hong Kong tunnel we saw in the opening scene.
Cue Chad and Alex not getting along, sibling rivalry getting in the way, but eventually joining forces to take down Griffith and the Triads, including Triad leader Raymond Zhang (Philip Chan, who is credited as Philip Chan Yan Kin), whom Alex is working for, and the terrifying Moon (Bolo Yeung).
The plot is serviceable at best, just enough provided to get our characters where they need to be and to set in motion the conflicts between brothers and the mission to stop Griffith.
The film opens with some sweeping shots of Hong Kong, which give a grand feel to proceedings, before we’re launched into the prologue and then the film proper, which includes some decent on-location footage on occasion throughout, from aerial and street shots in Hong Kong (or LA standing in for Hong Kong), to establishing shots early on in LA.
Cinematographer Richard H. Kline is renowned in the field, having worked on the likes of Soylent Green (1973), Brian De Palma’s The Fury (1978), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and his lensing of the film is one of the highlights. It looks fantastic throughout.
Van Damme is decent in the dual roles, seemingly most at home as the lighter and friendlier Chad, who is more of the everyday hero, who just happens to be a pro at karate. He mostly plays Alex as a bit of a tougher, harder edged character; slick back hair, dressed in dark clothes and constantly chewing on a cigar. When the pair are together they’re like an odd couple, which brings conflict and some sly humour.
The late Geoffrey Lewis, father of actress Juliette Lewis, does a good job as the family bodyguard who drives the plot forward. He’s a familiar face from over 200 films and TV shows. It’s also always great to see Bolo Yeung, here scarred, with a damaged eye and looking as tough and intense as ever.
The two lead villain roles of Griffith and Raymond Zhang are played with gusto by Alan Scarfe and Philip Chan respectively, though they’re missing for large chunks of the film. A year after Double Impact, Scarfe would pop up in Lethal Weapon 3, while former police officer Chan has acted in a number of films and also been a director, worked in film production and been a scriptwriter.
The cast is male dominated but there is an important role for Alonna Shaw as Alex’s girlfriend Danielle, who works for Griffith, and a much smaller but still important and menacing role for Cory Everson as Kara, who has a memorable clash with Van Damme in the final act.
This being a Van Damme film, I’d imagine much of the audience will be wanting to know about the action, and it doesn’t disappoint. There are large chunks of exposition and character development, but when the action comes, it comes thick and fast. There are some dramatic shootouts, a really good foot chase through Honk Kong streets and along the harbour, chances for Van Damme to show his limberness and, as the film develops, he’s given more opportunity to also showcase his martial arts.
The fight scenes in the final act are a particular highlight, with some light touches amongst the violence, and a few inspired moments, like a brief fight that starts in complete darkness except for the moonlit fighters before moving to shadow play. Van Damme’s fights with Bolo Yeung and Cory Everson’s characters are both excellent, and well worth the wait.
In conclusion, Double Impact is a good action film, that may not have the most developed plot in the world, but remains entertaining throughout thanks to the inclusion of two Van Dammes for the price of one and some well-choreographed fights and action sequences.
Film: 
Double Impact is released by 88 Films on dual-format 4K UHD and Blu-ray on 23rd February 2026. The new 4K remaster from the original negatives is very good throughout. Some scenes are a little soft leading to a lot of grain, but I’d rather this be the case than unnecessary noise reduction which leaves films looking waxy. These sequences are sporadic, though, and for the most part we’re left with a strong transfer that showcases good texture, fine detail, natural grain and a generally good filmic quality.
Limited edition features:
Rigid slipcase with new art by Sean Longmore
Reversible sleeve with original poster and new art
20-page production and promotional stills booklet
Special features:
Brand new 4K remaster from the original negatives presented in Ultra High Definition (2160P) in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
Presented in Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR10 Compatible)
High Definition (1080P) Blu-Ray (TM) in 1.85:1 aspect ratio also included
5.1 English DTS-HD MA
2.0 English DTS-HD MA
Optional English SDH subtitles
Audio commentary with critics Kim Newman and Sean Hogan
Seeing Double – Vic Armstrong on Double Impact
Double Entendre – Sheldon Lettich on Double Impact
The Making of Double Impact: Part 1
The Making of Double Impact: Part 2
Deleted / extended scenes
Anatomy of a scene
Behind the scenes featurette
B-Roll selections
Film clips
Cast and crew interviews clips
Stills gallery
Original trailer
Double Impact was previously released on Blu-ray by 88 Films in 2023 and this new dual-format edition carries over all of the extra features from that edition, whilst adding new artwork.
The 4K UHD disc just contains the film, audio commentary and trailer, with the same content and the rest of the extras included on the accompanying Blu-ray.
Kim Newman and Sean Hogan provide a barnstorming commentary, which is a joy to listen to from start to finish, provide plenty of analysis, background information and details on specific scenes, all delivered in a very entertaining way.
Second unit director Vic Armstrong provides a really strong 22 minute interview, covering how he got into the world of movies, some really honest comments about working with the director and plenty of reflections on the film, including how his brother Andy became involved to play the ill-fated dad of Van Damme’s characters, and how he conceives and develops an action sequence. It is a fascinating piece.
Director Sheldon Lettich’s 32 minute interview is equally good, opening with how he first met Jean-Claude Van Damme and some of the things they bonded over, including their wives’ pregnancies and film stars like Steve McQueen. Lettich explains how Double Impact came about, providing a really interesting story about an early version of the movie. There are some equally good anecdotes about the genesis of some of the scenes, including the fights and how the location scout informed some of the key sequences. Brilliant stuff.
The two-part making-of is absolutely fantastic. Part one runs for 53 minutes and features a range of cast and crew members, including Van Damme, sharing loads of background about the conception of the film. There is inevitably some crossover with other special features, but each of the extras are so entertaining and insightful in their own right that it doesn’t matter. Highlights include the origins of the name of the film, how Jean-Claude came about using Van Damme as a stage name, characterisation, budget and plenty more, including some fascinating comments about casting and location filming. Marvellous!
The second part is equally good, containing some of the same interviewees as the first part. Running for 59 minutes, making the total length of the documentary just shy of two hours, it covers some of the scenes, including the fantasy love sequence. There is a one really good discussion and insight into the fight choreography, as well as comments on the film’s editing, the early screenings and release and the sequel that never was. There are also some warm comments about how the interviewees either got involved in the film or how they first met colleagues who worked on the movie. All in all, a fabulous two-part making-of documentary.
A whopping 54 minutes of deleted and extended sequences are included. These include an extended sequence of the death of the parents at the start of the film, and the fight involving Van Damme and Bolo Yeung. The source is video so it’s not great quality but the inclusion of the scenes is incredibly welcomed.
Anatomy of a scene is an eight minute piece looking at Lettich’s favourite scene, which is the Hong Kong chase sequence. Lettich gives a good overview of the scene. It’s essentially like a mini commentary with some good background insight.
The behind-the-scenes featurette is a seven minute promo piece designed to sell the film. There are some brief interviews, clips and the occasional behind the scenes footage.
Also included are eight minutes of behind-the-scenes B-Roll footage, five minutes of film clips and six minutes of interviews taken from some of the archival promo footage.
Around 120 stills and promo shots are included and a two minute trailer which is very early 1990s and great for it.
In conclusion, 88 Films have provided a good 4K remaster and presentation of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Double Impact and have ported over all of the extras from their previous Blu-ray edition, meaning we have an excellent audio commentary, a couple of brilliant interviews, an outstanding two-part making-of and a plethora of other archival extras. It is a top-notch release of a very entertaining action film.
Disc/Package: