Another Pass at Double Impact
This week on Another Pass, Sam and Case are joined by action aficionado Adam Garman to take on Double Impact!
Two Van Dammes. Twice the splits. Half the plot? We revisit the 1991 JCVD cult classic to see where this martial arts double feature delivers, and where a second pass might've packed a stronger punch.
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Another Pass Full Episode
Originally aired: September 21, 2025
Music by Vin Macri and Matt Brogan
Podcast Edited by Sophia Ricciardi
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Product and Content Strategy
The team agreed that Double Impact stands out as a solid B-movie action film with unique elements that could be leveraged for niche audiences (01:00).
Adam Garman highlighted the film’s clear logline and fun action sequences, positioning it as superior to similar genre films like the Double Dragon movie (02:00).
The dual-role performance by Jean Claude Van Damme was praised for distinguishing the twin characters effectively, supporting the movie’s core gimmick and enhancing audience engagement (05:30).
Despite some acting and tone inconsistencies, the film’s campy style and memorable fight choreography, especially with characters like Bolo Yang, contributed to its cult appeal (16:00).
The team noted the film’s potential as a video game adaptation or inspiration, reinforcing its value for multi-format storytelling and extended fan engagement (18:30).
The discussion revealed opportunities to reframe the film’s narrative to deepen character arcs and diversify female roles, which could improve future product iterations or adaptations (50:00).
Narrative and Character Development Adjustments
A consensus emerged that the original film's character backstories lacked logical depth, especially regarding the twins’ upbringing and motivations, prompting proposed rewrites to enhance coherence and emotional impact (45:30).
Sam Alicea suggested relocating Frank to an island near Hong Kong rather than the U.S., raising Alex there, while Chad grows up sheltered in France with nuns and charity work, explaining his accent and personality differences (46:30).
This rewrite provides Chad with a clear motivation to seek his origins, improving narrative clarity and making his journey compelling for audiences (47:00).
The idea to reduce gratuitous scenes, such as the extended sex scene, was proposed to tighten pacing while retaining key fight scenes that drive engagement and humor (50:00).
Repositioning Danielle as a secondary character who aids Chad during his quest was discussed to better balance female representation and reduce questionable plot elements (50:45).
Adam Garman recommended developing a love triangle to fully embrace the film’s hinted romantic tension, which would add depth and increase dramatic stakes (54:30).
These character and plot revisions aim to modernize the story’s structure while preserving its core action appeal, increasing potential for broader audience resonance.
Operational and Process Improvements for Production
The team identified pacing and structural issues in the original film that impacted viewer engagement, suggesting process improvements for future projects (58:00).
Removing or trimming long exposition sequences, such as the Mercedes smuggling scene, could reduce runtime by several minutes without losing essential plot information (01:00:30).
The group highlighted the importance of precise timing in dual-role acting and compositing effects, noting a few awkward scenes where timing and blue screen work were less polished, indicating a need for stronger QA and rehearsal processes in future productions (28:30).
Speaker insights underscored the value of balancing action with character development to avoid pacing issues and maintain viewer interest throughout longer runtimes (59:30).
They recommended adopting editing strategies like chapter skipping or segmented releases to give viewers control over pacing, potentially enhancing audience retention on digital platforms (01:02:00).
These process refinements seek to improve production quality and audience experience, aligning with modern consumption habits.
Market Positioning and Competitive Context
The film was framed as occupying a unique niche between mainstream and cult action movies, with competitive advantages and challenges noted (18:00).
Adam Garman emphasized that Double Impact outperforms similar genre films like Double Dragon by blending action with a campy, video game-like structure, giving it longevity and fan loyalty (02:30).
The casting of Bolo Yang as a physically imposing Asian antagonist was recognized as a positive step in breaking stereotypes, enhancing the film’s distinctiveness in the market (16:30).
The inclusion of a white financial villain added complexity to the traditional gangster narrative, broadening market appeal by framing the conflict as both business and crime-driven (19:00).
The team noted that the film’s dated elements, such as frequent slurs and gender dynamics, present risks but also opportunities for reboots or remasters that address modern sensibilities (22:00).
This positioning suggests potential in targeted re-releases, remakes, or related media capitalizing on the film’s unique traits and fan base.
Long-term Vision and Strategic Recommendations
The conversation revealed a vision to evolve the film’s core concept into a richer, more modern franchise through narrative refinement and character depth (45:00).
Reworking the twins’ origin and upbringing was seen as key to creating a more emotionally compelling and believable story world, which could support sequels or spin-offs (47:00).
Incorporating clearer, stronger female characters and romantic subplots was recommended to diversify appeal and reflect contemporary audience expectations (54:00).
Maintaining the film’s strong action and fight choreography while trimming excess scenes would modernize pacing and maintain core fans’ interest (50:00).
The team’s reflections suggest exploring multi-platform storytelling including video games, graphic novels, or digital interactive formats to extend engagement beyond film (18:30).
Speaker perspectives emphasized balancing respect for the original material with necessary updates to remain competitive and relevant in today’s market (01:03:00).
These strategic insights provide a roadmap for transforming the film’s cult status into a sustainable multi-product franchise.
Speaker Insights and Cultural Context
The discussion surfaced important cultural and creative considerations influencing the film’s reception and areas for improvement (22:00).
The frequent use of homophobic slurs and problematic gender dynamics were called out as serious detractors, limiting the film’s broader acceptance and requiring sensitive handling in any future adaptations (22:00).
Speakers acknowledged Jean Claude Van Damme’s creative control shaped casting and character choices, such as insisting on playing both twins to showcase versatility, which impacted narrative flexibility (25:30).
The awkwardness of acting against blue screens for dual roles was attributed to the era’s technical limitations, suggesting a need for better technology and preparation in similar future projects (28:00).
The team appreciated stylistic and comedic elements, including Van Damme’s softer character side and camp humor, which contribute to the film’s charm despite flaws (22:30).
Cultural critiques were balanced with affection for the film’s boldness and fight choreography, reflecting a nuanced understanding of its place in 1990s action cinema (37:00).
These insights highlight the importance of cultural awareness and creative balance in product development and storytelling.
Transcription
00:00
Adam
I didn't realize I was pitching a fifth episode when I pitched this one.
00:03
Sam
Can I say that when. So Greg and I watched this movie together and he was just like, okay, so how much background research did you do? And I was like, oh, no, we're trying to fix this movie. And he's like, this is a fifth episode. What are you talking about? And I was like, oh, my God, Greg. So I was like, paranoid because I was like, oh my God, is it a fifth episode? And I wasn't paying attention.
00:32
Case
It would make our lives easier.
00:35
Sam
It's like, no, no. This would have told me, but I was like panicked for half a second. That is like, we didn't do the background information for this to be a fifth episode. I don't know if everyone shit their pants on this one. I don'. Hahaha.
01:03
Case
Welcome to Certain POVs, another past podcast with Case and Sam where we take another look at movies that we find fascinating but flawed. Let's see how we could have fixed them. Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Another Past podcast. I'm Case Aiken and as always, I'm joined by my co host, Sam Alicea.
01:24
Sam
Hi.
01:25
Case
And today we are doubling down on action movies. Today we are Talking about the 1991 action movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Jean Claude Van Damme, Double Impact. And to have that conversation, we are joined by Adam Garman.
01:44
Adam
Hi, I'm Adam, first time caller, long time listener.
01:48
Case
Adam, it is so great to have you on.
01:52
Adam
Thank you. Thank you.
01:54
Case
So it was fantastic, actually. We actually got to hang out in person at Sam's wedding and got to talking about doing a podcast. So that was really fun.
02:06
Adam
Weddings, not just for celebrating the bride and groom, also for networking.
02:10
Sam
Yeah, exactly.
02:13
Case
And so you suggested that we talk about Double Impact, which is a movie I hadn't seen before, although I'd heard of it. It's a genre Claude Van Damme movie where he plays himself and his brother. You know, it's, it's fairly. It's like one of those movies where, like, it doesn't take much to expl. Like to remember. Like you remember the log line. Pretty clear.
02:35
Adam
Like the tagline to this movie was one packs a piece, the other one packs a punch.
02:42
Case
That's. Yep, that, that'll cover it. I've heard it described and I cannot find any and like, any sources on this one that actually like officially ties this, but I've heard it des as being the superior film adaptation to Double Dragon and that it's almost that. And so I watched this movie with that framework in my head and we've covered the Double Dragon movie on the show and it's a worse movie than this, for sure. And so that kind of put me in a pretty good spot. I really liked this movie. I have quibbles. I was worried at the beginning, but you know what? I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was very fun.
03:30
Case
And my biggest note and the spoilers for my pitch would be the only thing that could make it better, honestly, is if it was just a video game, because it is just Double Dragon.
03:39
Adam
Looking at it through that lens, all of a sudden, I have to rethink all of my critique of this movie.
03:46
Sam
Oh.
03:46
Case
Oh, there are certainly quibbles and there's certainly. I'm really curious about the notes on this all because, like, I started off this movie and I was like, what. What did I, like, sign on for in this thing? Like, because it opens with like, a very abrupt kind of opening, like, tagline or title Girl. Pardon me. And then like the opening sequence, while Badass is, you know, campy as all hell. And then when we actually get Jean Claude Van Damme, like, man, he's. He's trying real hard, but he is. He is swimming upstream when it comes to his, you know, actual, like, acting performances in this movie. Like, so much so that they just rode around his accent for.
04:30
Sam
Oh, I love that.
04:31
Case
But two characters.
04:33
Sam
I love it so much. I love that they drop one baby off at a. An orphanage run by French nuns to explain the French accent. And I love that when we get to America and he is in America, I mean, he's in California, he is in spandex teaching an aerobics class. Well, kind of teaching an aerobics class. And you think that he should be all American, but then you find out that the all American that grabbed him for some reason raised him in France. And I love it. I love it. I adore that about this movie. That they were like, well, how do we explain his accent? He's never going to be able to do it. It's okay. He raised him in France for some reason and then moved to la and.
05:17
Adam
And yet not a single one of them picked up any of the local accents of la, of Hong Kong. Like, it's all just straight French.
05:26
Case
Yep. That that Brussels accent has. Has a lot of muscles. I. I will say that that is the biggest area where this movie kind of is. Is at odds, which is that Van Damme, who is doing a very good job and for like, The. The. The dual compositing that they do in this movie and the trickery that they do for this is actually a very, I think, a very good job. And I think that Van Damme does a. A good job of having the two characters be very distinctly different. And. And like, there's never a point where I'm confused, even in the spots where they're like, made up to be, you know, to look like each other in this whole thing.
06:14
Sam
Yeah. You always know when. Who's Chad and who's Alex.
06:17
Case
Yeah.
06:18
Sam
So unless you're my husband. He didn't. He couldn't figure out who was whoever.
06:24
Case
I mean, like, the choice of names is. It's. Is its own choice. Chad.
06:29
Sam
But Chad was the worst. Guys, can we just, like, can we talk about Chad and him being the worst? Like, he was like, honestly, the weakest link of this team. And, and so many times I was like, oh, Chad, you're just terrible. And I totally understand why Alex was frustrated with him. Although Alex's jealousy at the end was ridiculous, so I guess they all have bad points. But seriously, Chad. Chad messed a lot of stuff up in the very beginning. And Irresponsible, Chad. Irresponsible.
07:00
Case
Did it feel like Chad was the one that should have been raised off on his own? And. And then Alex and Frank were the ones that had, like, the. The bond, as if they had like, been brought up together. Like Frank Badass, like just crazy super soldier who like, guns down like armies and is just like, just this incredible, like, man at arms to train and bring up someone. You would like the. You would imagine it would be a Sarah Connors kind of situation in like, Terminator 2.
07:37
Sam
Right. Especially because he's like, basically hell bent on revenge. Because let's be honest, okay? He comes in hot, no plans, zero plans for how he's legally going to help these boys regain their property, like, regain their rights. Oh, yeah, that still is an avenge film, right?
07:56
Case
Oh, that is still sitting. And like, my, like. Oh, there's issues with this movie section in terms of, like, what the actual plan is in. In this whole thing.
08:05
Adam
Like, how do you make money from a tunnel?
08:07
Sam
Right?
08:08
Case
Well, that actually does. That actually makes more sense than you think.
08:11
Sam
Yeah, but.
08:13
Case
But tolls and taxes, like, the, like, there's like, very clear ways that you can make money on that one. But. But like, what is the legal plan for how that they're going to take ownership for this one? And how does just an individual make money from the tunnel? No, it's the corporation that financed it and, like, has the holdings of this whole thing.
08:32
Sam
But, yeah, I kind of have like, this headcanon that, like, Frank knows this whole time that they can't get it back. But he's so filled with PTSD from Vietnam and from watching these two people be murdered in front of him that he was supposed to protect that. Like, he actually just sets these two boys out on a revenge mission just to complete that, knowing that they could never actually gain access to this money again, but manipulating them for that because he just needs his revenge.
09:02
Case
Yeah.
09:02
Sam
And honestly, I feel like that's the truth of it because they never really resolve it. It's not like they just bad guys die, which very satisfying end for the bad guys. Always great in Van Damme films. Really appreciate that. Big ups to him. But I would just say that, like, I think you're right, Case. I think that Chad should have been more militaristic because I kind of feel like Frank is, like, in this for blood. He's in this for revenge. I mean, even the way that he manipulated them and the way he introduced them, like, it wasn't like, chad, sit down. I need to tell you something. You had a brother, blah, blah. He just kind of like, I'm not really your uncle and we're going to Hong Kong.
09:48
Sam
And then he, like, basically lets him figure it out when they meet face to face, like, in the most traumatizing, shocking way you could find out that you have a twin that looks just like you who's involved in criminal enterprises on the other side of the world.
10:07
Case
Well, and like, again, no prep work whatsoever with this. With this boy that you have in your possession for 25 years. Like, admittedly, like, they start a. Like, I guess his plan is we'll have a karate dojo. And that's why. That's how he'll know how to fight and be in shape. So, which is not the worst idea, like, as a. As a front for it all, but, like, his, you know, it just is so strange that he didn't, like, raise the child with. With the knowledge of, like, your. Your parents were murdered. We're going to come back for you. We're going to. We're going to have this whole, like, Shakespearean kind of mashup of Hamlet with Twelfth Night kind of thing here.
10:48
Adam
But fun fact, this was inspired by the Alexandre Dumas short story the Corsican Brothers. So that was a story of two twin brothers who were conjoined, who were separated, but they still felt each other's pain and emotions. And that was what Jean Claude Van Damme, as a co writer on this film was inspired by in writing this film.
11:15
Case
You know, that does make the very weird sex scene make a little more sense.
11:22
Sam
Yeah, yeah. But not much. And also gratuitous. Now to be fair, I've mostly watched this film on tv, like broadcast television. So that has always been cut. Like I. So this is the first time that I've watched it where like the full sequence was on and I was like, damn, this is long. Like I was like they basically let it go on as he drinks the entire bottle of cognac. Like, I'm like, we get it. He's like drinking and imagining this. Like I understand we get it. But it was like so intense.
12:00
Adam
Which was made all the more intense forever by watching it with my wife and my mother in law.
12:07
Case
Yes, that. That makes it weirder. Yes. Because like I was watching it solo and like first when like she shows up topless and is just sort of like there, I'm just like, oh, all right. Gratuitous boobshot. Because it's. It was just sort of like out of nowhere and then all of a sudden it was just like, well, we can't contrive a reason even though we have a romantic couple that could at some point have had. Just had sex. Like we can't contrive a reason for a sex scene to actually happen. So we're going to have them hallucinate or f guys about a sex scene. And it is interesting that if they're feeling it so he's feeling his brother being horny through their connection makes it at least make more sense in this all.
12:56
Case
And like meanwhile like the jealousy, like the drunk jealousy is permeating through him. So that's why he's like sort of like feeling it. But then she seems to be also in on it because like there's like this. It almost feels like it's like a psychic sexual three way.
13:12
Sam
It's such a weird thing because like when they get there, it's almost like, oh no, it was just in his head. But their implications while it's happening that it's all like, it's all of them because there's like sweat on Chad's brow as Alex is thinking about it. But then he kind of just like at the end once the bottle is thrown, Chad looks totally normal and you're like, oh wait, was that the three of them or was it just like what Alec Imagined, like, him sweating because of the thoughts. And then he went and did. And I was like, there's something trippy here that I just don't even want to examine. Leave it at face value.
13:56
Case
Yep.
13:57
Sam
He got drunk, he was jealous, and they had sex near a clothesline on the boat. That's it. Because there's a lot of, like, laundry hanging in at one point or another.
14:11
Case
Oh, yeah. That boat line or the clothesline on the boat is, like, there. And, like, they. She fantasizes about it, or Alex fantasizes about it, and she at least, like, has. Has a moment where she, like, plays with the clothesline, like, flirtily or whatever, which led me to think that she also kind of pictured the sex scene. Like, I. I don't know. There's an episode of Entourage where, like, I. I forget the name of. But, like, the two, like, identical twin comedians that were, like, popular in, like, the early 2000s were both playing agents, like, working for Ari Gold. And one. One's wife had an affair with the other, and Ari has this whole thing of, like, what's the point? Like, like, why. Why would you have an affair with, like, the identical twin brother of your spouse?
14:58
Case
And, like, there is an element of that here where it's like, why? Why would you be jealous? Like, what. What is she getting in the situation?
15:08
Sam
Yeah, no, I see that. Like, it's just. There's just, like, supremely ridiculous moments that. But there are also, like, wonderful gems in this film. The fight scenes are great. Like, all of them. And the. Especially the final bus with the gangster Zhang, when they stick his hand inside the gears.
15:35
Case
Oh, yeah.
15:36
Sam
Work looks so good. Like, I was like. Because it looks like it really went in, and it looks so good. Like, it's just that I had a.
15:44
Case
Visceral reaction to that one. I was like, oh.
15:48
Sam
But it was. It was so well done. Like, it was really just like. And it holds up like, this is 1991. Like. Like, really. I think, like, out of all the. The twins in the same scene, you know, like, when they're doing the. The Parent Trap moments, I think the only one that didn't look that great to me was the one in the car where they're supposed to be sitting side by side and they do a side profile, that one looked a little odd.
16:15
Case
It's like, what are you talking about? We fucked up. Yeah.
16:17
Sam
Yeah, that was a little awkward. But other than that, like, the effects were pretty decent, actually. And, yeah, all the fight choreography was really good. Even the artistic one with the spurs, even Though it was very anticlimactic.
16:32
Case
That was one of the. The fight. Well, but that was one of the fights I wanted to, like, shout out as being like a really cool, like, artistic scene of combat there. Yeah. And of course, we have to, like, shout out Bolo or Bolo Yang as like, the giant, like, bodyguard character for Zhang Moon, who is just huge and.
16:57
Sam
You can't even talk. He's so big.
16:59
Case
No, no, he's dubbed, like, in this one.
17:02
Sam
Yeah, yeah.
17:04
Case
But just is wonderfully threatening. And it's nice seeing that sort of. I. I find it cool seeing big, strong Asian characters because it sort of breaks the stereotype of it like, all being, like, quick martial artists. And I just think that a fun, like, addition to this movie.
17:22
Sam
Yeah, I love when he in. In one. And I think it's in the final sequences of fights when he lifts that big drum, like, you know, like, and it's really heavy. And he just like, throws it down on Van Damme and he tries to, like, kind of just crush him with it. And his face is so perfect because he's got that crazy smile, maniacal thing going on that Bo Young is so good at. And it just looks like he's having the best time. And I feel like that was like, one of the conversations between him and Van Damme being like, yeah, just crush me.
17:53
Adam
But. But that also gave me major Donkey Kong vibes. Like early Donkey. Yeah, it's like he's just chucking barrels. But Bolo Young in this movie was. Was perfect to the point that I even said I don't think Griffith was needed as a bad guy. Like, this movie almost had too many bad guys, in my opinion.
18:12
Case
Well, so I was thinking about that because I ended up enjoying that the movie settles on a dual main bad guy with dual dragons, you know, like dual enforcers for. For the dual being bad guys situation. So that we get a.
18:31
Sam
We.
18:31
Case
We get a. We're. We're fighting the. The big Bad enforcer and then we're fighting the Big Bad for both of the brothers. But yes, again, this movie feels like a video game because all of these are levels of a video game.
18:48
Sam
Yeah. And honestly, like, at the end, each of the brothers gets one guy to, like, defeat. So that's kind of. I feel like Van Damme was like, but what will Chad do? Because Chad needs to beat someone. So I feel like it's like, it is very appropriate that we've got like, the two also. I kind of like that it added another level to their parents death. Like, it Wasn't just like, the Chinese triad took them out, that it was actually someone who they had worked with, the banker they had worked with to basically, like, betray them. And I also liked it because it wasn't just like, here are these good white people that were destroyed by evil Chinese triad.
19:38
Sam
Adding that white guy in there was kind of like a little buffer for me in terms of, like, oh, no, this was like a financial decision. Right. Business is business. Gangsters do business, bankers do business. And these are just two people who turned on another person in their business deal. So I actually did like it. And Griffin's perfect. I mean, like, honestly, the fact that he, like, decided to show up to make sure the job got done made him a little more despicable to me than, like, if he had just, like, been on. I know it's just an easier way for us to, like, confirm that he was behind it, but it does make him more despicable to me. He betrayed his partner and showed up to make sure he was dead with the gangster.
20:22
Case
Yeah. But that does bring up that men.
20:24
Sam
That don't like to get their hands dirty.
20:26
Case
So straightforward. And. And it's so straightforward for how long it is because it is a. It is a long movie for what's going.
20:34
Sam
Yeah, it could have been shorter, but.
20:37
Case
But everything is just the most convenient way of addressing it all where it's just like, it, like, yes, Griffith is there when. When Frank shows up to save the day and, you know, has already failed. You know, failed the parents, but, you know, gets away with. With baby Chad, like, in spots Griffith at the same time, and. And so. And, like, hobbles away wounded. Then, you know, when. When they come to Hong Kong and they, like, go to the mahjong bar, like, immediately people, like, hand off money because they just know. Or they know Alex and so. And they see Chad and, like, just every, like, step of the. Of the way, the movie is just very, like, on the nose for all the.
21:24
Case
All the details of it, which, again, just makes it surprising that with a movie that completely lacks subtlety, that it takes so long to get through at all. So, again, there are complaints I have with this movie, but. But again, I overall found myself really enjoying it.
21:41
Sam
Yeah.
21:42
Adam
I mean, it was a fun movie.
21:44
Case
Yeah. Just from a broad standpoint. Thank you for prompting me to actually watch it again. I was, like, always one where, like, I knew the logline, but I probably wasn't going to do a deep dive on Jean Claude Van Damme movies. So now in the age of, like, not having movies Just on Sunday afternoon on like USA or something. Like, I probably was just never going to watch it.
22:07
Sam
Yeah. I'm with so much media happening already, like, it's hard to be like, I'm going to sit down and watch this movie from the 1990s.
22:17
Case
Right.
22:17
Sam
That I never watched before.
22:20
Case
Yeah. So why don't we be negative for a minute here? Things we didn't like. Adam, go. You brought this.
22:28
Adam
Okay. So this movie was like an 110 minute version of Jean Claude Van Damme being homophobic to himself.
22:36
Case
Oh, yes. A lot of f slurs.
22:41
Adam
And apparently the worst thing you could do as a man is wear black silk underwear.
22:45
Sam
That. And have sex with a woman because that also earned him the f slur, which didn't actually happen. Like, he imagined his brother having sex with his girlfriend and then he called him the F word. And I was like, I think there's different words for that. But that's definitely. That doesn't fall in that category, bro.
23:06
Adam
And then with that, I have to say, one of the things I've always loved about this movie, but at the same time, I always thought it was a detractor. Jean Claude Van Damme thought this was the movie that was going to make him appeal to more than just action audiences.
23:21
Case
Yeah, yeah.
23:22
Adam
He thought this was. He. He thought Chad was going to be his break into, like, starting to do comedy. Starting. He actually went on record in an interview saying, no, Chad shows the softer side of my personality more me. I don't just kick people. I dance. I have fun. I'm. I can be silly. And that there's an actual interview of him saying all of that. But as far as what is bad in this movie, it's just one very whitewashed.
23:52
Case
Yes.
23:52
Adam
And I say this as the whitest guy in the world. I glow in the dark.
23:57
Case
I don't know. I'm also on this call.
24:02
Sam
I've met both of you. Adam is whiter. I can.
24:07
Adam
So, for example, the girlfriend was actually originally supposed to be played by Tia Carrera.
24:13
Case
Oh, okay.
24:15
Adam
And I just, just to make the cast a little less white. I think that would have been a very interesting casting. But again, this is. This is where Jean Claude Van Damme had creative control. He insisted on a. Iona Shaw, I think it is.
24:33
Case
Or Alana Shaw, I don't know. Not the point. But yes. Who played Danielle? That. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense because it was one of those situations like when we looked at the grudge where it was just like, weird that all the main cast Were like white people.
24:50
Sam
And then.
24:51
Adam
Even though. Even though it was so fun. Even though it was so fun, like. Like getting into it, everyone recognizes Chad as Alex. I was like, when his girlfriend walks in and is like, you're completely different, and then just starts, like, getting all up in his business with no questions asked. I'm like, that. For me, I was like, you would think, hey, he's never dressed like this a day in his life. This isn't his personality. Maybe. Let's ask a question, right?
25:19
Case
It only work. It only works not even because they're twins, but because it is the same actor playing the parts. On that note, how much, you know, like, how much is the twin thing really necessary to this whole movie? Like, it has a few spots where it, like, comes up, but, like, could this have been to, like, actual brothers instead of. Instead of the same actors? Or does it, like, and take away.
25:43
Sam
Van Damme's right to play both roles and have a double credit for his double impact in this movie? Do you think this movie would have been made if he could not have the double impact he wanted to have?
25:59
Case
No, if it only had the single impact or if it had him actually share the impact. Split impacts.
26:05
Sam
I don't. I don't think it would have been made.
26:07
Case
No. Certainly wouldn't have been made. I'm just musing about it as an element of it. I think the compositing has done well.
26:14
Sam
I think you could make a brother movie. Like, that's just brothers for sure. Because you could. You could have the babies be at different ages, right? You could have one around, like, two and a half and, like, one. That's one or something like that. So you could have that. But I don't think that Mr. Jean Claude Van Damme would have allowed that because I think that he really thought, as Adam said before, that this was improving his versatility by playing these two roles. And, you know, he was going to let anyone else be Chad and no one else could be Alex because he was cool.
26:57
Case
Yeah. No, I. Again, this is not me speculating on what could have been done differently at the time of production phase of it. It's just me sort of, like, musing aloud about the story necessity of it all. I mean, obviously we have the whole thing where Zhang picks up Chad thinking that he's Alex, but there's not that much of it. I assumed going into this movie that there were going to be more hijinks, and it's pretty clear early on that it doesn't really matter too much to the Story.
27:31
Sam
Well, you've missed the club hijinks too. Cause that's the second time too with the cognac.
27:36
Case
That's true, that's true. Yeah.
27:37
Sam
So like one of them delivers the cognac and it's brought. Alex delivers the cognac first and then Chad decides to deliver a whole other box, but he keeps walking around with it into the dining room and he just kind of messes everything up because he's Chad and like, and he's funny. He's the funny half of. Of the twins. And so like, haha, Van Damme, that guy's funny. He trips upstairs while holding Louis Vuitton luggage. He's a comic genius.
28:08
Adam
I laugh too hard at Vandam. That guy's funny. But yeah, it's definitely. Could this have been done without with like, imagine Stallone and Russell doing a Tango in Cash. But double impact. It could have happened. But I think you, like Sam was saying you missed some of the funnier scenes for it.
28:32
Case
Yeah, yeah. Again, it was just me sort of like musing about that and like, it certainly is a gimmick to draw people in and it's well executed. You know, like we said, aside from a couple of spots where the compositing is not great, like the. I think the bigger issue because they get the timing really well in terms of the acting against each other component. But it comes off very stilted and. And maybe this is just. It's 1991 and not everyone's used to acting against blue screens yet. And so, you know, like, Van Damme is just like at the wrong time on top of just, you know, acting in a language that isn't his first language. And you know, doing all this, like. But he's, you know, he's not the best actor.
29:22
Adam
That.
29:23
Case
That's all I'm saying.
29:25
Sam
There are. There, yes. There are some things that come up very awkward. Like, I remember like early on in the movie, it's like the scene after, like Frank is telling them all about their parents and stuff like that. And there's just like this really kind of odd exchange between the two brothers where like one of them's like, where Chad is like, yeah, I'm in. I'm gonna do it no matter what. And Alex, like, you don't know this place. You don't know this life, which is like so true, so granted. Right. Because like, and then like Chad just says like one more thing about like being in. And then Alex is just like, well, we have to go somewhere. And it's like so weird, because I'm like, wait, so do you agree?
30:07
Sam
Like, it was like the conversation didn't really go anywhere, and it felt like it was like, weird cuts that like. Like. Like, it was just like these two. Like, is this the script? Like, is this the script on paper? Like, did they match these lines up? Or they're just like, we just got to get out of this room and, like, onto a boat with cars. Let's go. Let's go. Let's.
30:31
Case
Yeah. Get it to the point where we can have opposing cuts.
30:36
Sam
Right.
30:38
Adam
I feel like that could have just been explained to, like, well, if you're going to try to be a part of this, here's an audition. Get on my boat as opposed to just cutting.
30:47
Case
Yeah. So some clunky bits there for sure. Obviously, like, we've addressed the. It's awkward how they just wrote around Van Damme's accent for both of these.
31:01
Sam
I still kind of love it. Like, it's so. It's so terrible, but it's so good at the same time, because the writers.
31:10
Case
So bad. It's good.
31:12
Sam
The writers are like, oh, are you gonna question this? We put in answer. You're welcome. And I kind of love it that the writers, like, every time, too, because there was one other time Greg had a question, like, he asked it out loud. And the very next scene, they were like, someone came up and just gave exposition for it, and he was like.
31:34
Case
Oh, okay, that's awesome.
31:37
Adam
But I'll also say at least they explained it. How many times in, like, the 90s did we sit through Schwarzenegger movie where he was just playing Jack Johnson from Minnesota with absolutely no explanation to why he had this thick Austrian accent? At least with Van Damme, they addressed it in a throwaway line, but they addressed.
31:55
Case
This is true. This is true.
31:57
Sam
That is also true. Yeah, it's very common in the 90s to not address most of those things. It was very good. You know, I was thinking now that Adam has said about how Chad is the softer side of Van Damme, that maybe. Maybe the reason why they decided not just because, you know, this is a. An exercise in versatility. Maybe the reason why Chad doesn't have the fire that Frank has is because Frank took such good care of him. Right. He says they took care of you. Like, my son. That he's supposed to be, like, the sheltered one, while Alex is not, because he, like, grew up as an orphan on the mean streets of Hong Kong. Like, the.
32:44
Sam
The thing is that, like, we don't really get a lot of like, what Alex has been through or like, how he kind of got to run his own small time, like, crime ring. Because it's basically like, what it is. And it feels kind of strange. Like they kind of just like jump in to his world and then pull him into, like, this revenge plot. And we don't really get to know. Like, we know because of throwaway lines that, like, Chad was raised in France and then they moved to LA to open the dojo and aerobic studio. And. And so we know that much and we know that we can tell that he's had, like, a fairly, like, sheltered, very well supported life. He's very easy to judge, easy to trust. Right. Like, someone walks up to you with money.
33:41
Sam
Like, I mean, like, I. I wouldn't take that money. And like, when she walked up to him and she was like, follow me. I was like, oh, hell no. I would not be following a strange person into a back room anywhere, especially in a foreign country. Who the hell do you think I am? Yeah, but Alex is the kind of person who would follow someone.
34:04
Case
Or Chad is.
34:05
Sam
Yeah, especially if they're Chad. Rather, Chad is the kind of person who'd follow someone into a back room, especially if they were a beautiful woman. Like, that's an automatic trap for me. And he doesn't realize that. And I don't know if Alex would have, like. Alex is like, definitely a person who is more suspicious, which is true, because he's jealous that his brother is possibly sleeping with his girlfriend. So, yeah, I don't know. So maybe that was the implication there, that he's just more sheltered and pampered and Frank decided to leave him that way because he's his precious boy.
34:45
Case
Well, but. But that's the thing, Frank, that he.
34:48
Sam
Then takes to a fight.
34:49
Case
Yeah. Like, Frank feels like this gets back to my whole thing where it feels like Frank and Alex should have been the pair that actually had been together and, like, were like, living together in Hong Kong, dealing with like, the mean streets or some like that. And like, and like, Chad got sent off to, like, live in France, you know, like.
35:07
Sam
And yeah, he got shipped off by those nuns.
35:10
Case
Exactly. Like, because then you understand why he's the way he is and just thank God he's in shape, you know, obviously, because they have to use the same actor and whatnot. Like, and they didn't. So they're like, oh, yeah, he's. He's in shape because he's a, you know, because he's a karate instructor and personal trainer, which makes enough sense that, that's all fine. And it allows for them to have like, the differences in fighting styles where like where Chad is more of like a precise karate fighter. Like, he does like a lot of kicks and like, you know, allows like Van Damme to show off the splits in a way that like, it wouldn't make sense for Alex to do so because he's supposed to be a down and dirty kind of street fighter.
35:51
Sam
Yeah. I mean, honestly, you could rework the film. I just thought of something. I actually just thought of something that would make this beginning feel a little more and give him like. But maybe I'll save a few pitches because it's probably better than the pitch that I actually have. I'm gonna save it. I'm gonna save it. You just, you just gave me a new pitch.
36:09
Case
Putting a pen in there.
36:12
Sam
Pin dropped.
36:13
Case
Okay. But yeah, because like, I like Frank. Like, is I guess the big thing I want to get at. Like, I like Frank a lot as a character. Like, he's so fucking badass both in that opening sequence and then like every time he's actually in a combat sequence. Like, he is so effective all the time and is just like friggin cool. And then it's like Chad's the one you raised. Like, like when Chad like is like worried about Danielle, like when she calls after being like felt up and like. Oh yeah. That's another thing we haven't talked about in this movie, which is like, the amount of like rape implications that are in here.
36:52
Sam
So many. Oh my gosh. And you know, Greg. Greg and I were talking about it. There's a lot of like, stuff, especially in this particular era of like, action films, Hong Kong, like karate films and things like that. Martial arts films, where like very strong women are incredibly sexually aggressive to other women. And that definitely happened in this film with Gareth's security henchmen. She was incredibly aggressive with our female lead and a lot of it was sexual. And in fact, in one point when she really felt her up afterwards, she stays in the room and they show her like savoring it, like getting off on the fact that she just like violated this poor young woman and like felt her up. And it's straight. Yep, it icky what the was going down the 90s.
37:53
Case
Yeah, that is an area though, we should address. And then there's another spot where Danielle is being. When they're. We're. They're being held hostage later in the movie where like a guard is like going to go like, sexually assault her While. While they're being imprisoned. And that's when Alex shows up to like, defend her honor. But man, like, he also slaps her. Yep. Also that.
38:17
Sam
Yeah, Danielle.
38:19
Case
Yeah, Danielle takes the brunt of it in this movie, which is an area that. This is one of those spots that's like, kind of weird in that regard. It's probably good that it was not a minority woman playing the park. So it'd be even worse.
38:37
Sam
Kind of. Kind of. Yeah, yeah, I guess I could see that. But so that it wasn't just. Yeah, yeah. The visual is even worse on that. Yeah, for sure. Especially the slap and the shoving her in the water and.
38:52
Case
Yeah.
38:53
Sam
Disregarding her feelings.
38:54
Case
Yeah, yeah, It's. It would, it would be worse if it was slightly more.
39:01
Sam
Yeah, the white man was just. Yeah, for sure.
39:06
Case
And it's all bad. It's just. Just to be clear, it's all bad.
39:09
Sam
Yeah, it's still bad. It's still bad to Danielle, the way that she stands now. Not cast just the blonde lady, but like. Yeah, for sure.
39:22
Case
Anyhow. Yeah, so that, that. That's a problem.
39:26
Sam
Sitting with that a little bit.
39:27
Case
Moving on from that. But I, I do want to, you know, again, like, I, I do very much like Frank and I feel like his relationship with Alex, like, is an interesting one. Like when they actually are together, they bond very much because they speak the same practical language with each other. So like when Danielle is like abducted and like, or rather Danielle is like felt up and Chad goes to like recover her, it. He. Or like Alex and Frank were off like working together and like, it sort of like made sense that they were like doing their like prep work and shit like that. But that, that relationship. Much more sense with the p. Or with the child that Frank raised.
40:11
Adam
Yeah, that would make more sense, but because it also felt like, in my opinion watching it, that the relationship flipped at some point. Like, Frank just started being frustrated with. With Chad and then with Alex, he was like. He was like, you're the son I've always wanted, but I raised this one.
40:28
Case
Sure. Yeah. Again, like, it's just like a, It's. It's a lot going on there with. When this movie's already like, I don't know. It's not. It doesn't add to the complexity of the movie. It more just sort of feels like a weird head scratching kind of change from like, what would be the logical approach.
40:52
Adam
Yeah, I, Yeah, I agree. Especially because I do feel like there is that flip where he is closer to Alex. Later in the movie, and he's more frustrated with Chad.
41:04
Case
Yeah. I mean, like, Chad gets the appropriate, like, response to, like, finding out that Frank is dead now when. When they fake Frank's death. I should say so. Like, he. You know, the relationship there is. Is treated appropriately. It just seems that, like, the. The. The vibe, it makes more sense between Frank and Alex. And that. That vibe doesn't make sense with. With Chad is the. Is the thing. Like, Chad, again, just doesn't feel like he's been prepared in any sor. Way in a way that doesn't make sense for Frank. And it sucks because I. I like Frank.
41:41
Sam
Yeah.
41:41
Adam
But Dan, especially because as close as he seemed with the parents, you would think at some point he would have just sat down and been like, you know how I'm your Uncle Frank. Let me tell you about.
41:52
Case
Yeah. About your parents. Yeah.
41:53
Adam
Your father. Let me tell you. Yeah.
41:57
Case
Yeah. Because he wasted 25 years.
42:02
Sam
Realistically, for sure. He just waited, you know, and it.
42:07
Adam
Felt like, if you go back to the beginning of the movie, it felt like he waited until someone was able to bring him a picture of Chad as an adult and was like, oh, Chad's doing things. I guess we can go handle this now. I mean, Alex.
42:18
Case
Of Alex. Yes.
42:20
Sam
Right, right.
42:21
Case
Yeah. I kind of want to take our break now and then come back and then sort of like.
42:27
Sam
Wait, wait. One last thing.
42:28
Case
Oh, sure.
42:29
Sam
Can we just talk about the impeccable dresser that is Gangster Zhang? Because that man was rocking ascotts, and I just. I just. This is not really important to the whole thing because, like, honestly, I just want to give him a shout out because we talked about Griffith and. But I want to talk about him and how he looked wonderful always. I love his cane sword. I always love a cane sword. Well, it was more of a cane knife, but I love. I love a good accessory that is also a weapon. Beautiful. I also really love that when they invaded the compound, he showed up in, like, it was kind of like a explorer, like, camel thing, but he was wearing an ascot. And I was just like, oh, always looking fresh. Love it.
43:19
Sam
And then as soon as they got back to the boat, because they had kidnapped Frank and Danielle, like, literally, it was like, moments later, and he said, stepped out in a whole new suit. Like, that was my adventure suit, and this is my now we got our hostages suit, and I'm back on the boat. Like, this is my. On the yacht boat. And I just really appreciate that about that character and his fine fashion sense. I just wanted to say that Because I loved that about him and his wardrobe.
43:50
Adam
He served looks, I'll give you that.
43:52
Sam
The whole movie.
43:54
Case
Yeah. That doesn't. There's a spot when it's like, do you know who Raymond Zhang is? And it's like, that's like asking a New Yorker if they knew who Donald Trump is. And I was like, ugh, that hit weird.
44:05
Sam
Yeah.
44:06
Case
Anywho. Yeah. So why don't we take our break and then stumble through our fixes for this movie? Because this is a fun movie. So we'll see what we got. Do you have a comic book you just can't stop thinking about? One that stuck with you years later on Trade School, guest hosts get the mic to talk about a graphic novel that changed the way they see the world or just made them fall in love with comics all over again. In just five to 15 minutes, you'll hear stories about the stories that real people love the most. Trade School, a short form ongoing series about the comic book trade paperbacks we love and why we love them. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. All right, so, Adam, here's the deal. I am not allowed to go before Sam.
44:55
Case
It's the only major rule on this one. We try to keep things realistic. We try to respect the movie that actually came out while at the same time trying to be additive to the whole process. We try not to just complain for the sake of complaining. But the only actual rule is that I can't go before Sam. So as our guest, you can decide, do you want to go first or do you want Sam to go first? I just can't go before Sam.
45:20
Adam
So I. I will always defer to Sam because, you know.
45:30
Case
Feel the impact. Feel the double impact.
45:34
Sam
For sure. I feel it. Okay, so. So this is a little bit on the fly because I feel like I just thought of this and I, like, see if it works.
45:43
Case
Yeah, let's hear it.
45:44
Sam
I think what we do is we do switch it up. So the beginning starts the same with the cold opening, the murder, the, you know, the opening of the tunnel, all that stuff. And the twins getting carried away, one by the nanny and of course, one by Frank, who we love. The only difference is when the nanny drops. Drops the baby off, you're going to see her hand a piece of paper, like a little handwritten note to the nun. Okay. And then she's going to disappear. And then you're going to see Frank with the baby, and he's going to be on a boat. Okay, so what I've Decided is Frank is not going to go back to the U.S. frank is actually going to sail off and he's going to live one of the many islands near or, you know, near to Hong Kong.
46:41
Sam
And he is going to take Alec with him. But we don't know that. We open on a karate instructor in France, in Paris, who has been raised by nuns, who does charity work, who has this one letter who's turned 25, and he's decided that he is going to go to Hong Kong, which he knows that he was born in, to find out about his birth family, because he knows from the letter that he has a family and that the per. They asked him to leave Hong Kong because it was dangerous, and that's why the nuns sent him away to their sister orphanage in France.
47:23
Case
Yeah, that works.
47:23
Sam
And so even though the. Even though the nun is begging him not to go, he decides that he has to go to Hong Kong to find out what happened to his family. Because he wants to know. And if there's half a chance that his brother is alive, he wants to go.
47:43
Case
There's wordplay here somewhere where it's like, I know, Sister, but I might have a brother.
47:49
Sam
Right? Right, Exactly. I love it. So. So that's really great because now we have reasons for the reason why he is so sheltered. Now we can learn in this too, that he really excelled in martial arts and that actually he's such a good guy, he actually comes back to the orphanage where he was raised. This is how he has the conversation with Mother Superior to teach the young kids karate. We know that he's really good. We know that he's amazing. We know that he's a nice person. We know that he grew up very kind. So he goes to Hong Kong. And at this point, what has happened is that Frank and Alec have been living off the grid basically for a long time in a smaller island or one of the many islands, maybe even Taiwan, who knows, Honing their skills.
48:42
Sam
But they have come back, and they have come back in the last, like, five, six years enough to establish themselves in Hong Kong and kind of build this underground network with this whole revenge plot. Because that is all Frank has been, like, in his noggin to, like, take over and to, like, get revenge for these people who he dearly loved. He really, like, loved these people that he was protecting. And that's why he's raised their son to be the kind of person who can help them take it down. And then the. The cog in their plan is that freaking Chad shows up he shows up and they're like, they've worked out this whole thing where like, you know, they're kind of in it. They're not in it. Zhang is suspicious of them because they're back. Maybe Griffin never even saw them see him.
49:39
Sam
Like Frank just saw them and then like run. So Griffin doesn't know that he knows, but they're still very suspicious. They're working in on their territory. Right. And so they go to pick up Alex, but who they pick up is Chad. And like Alex and Frank see this and they decide to save him because he's got the same frickin face. And who is this guy? And that's how they meet each other. Double impact. And then they pull him in to get revenge. And since he's the Karate Kid, all they have to do is teach him how to shoot stuff. And then you got a movie. And I would cut the gratuitous sex scene because honestly it just takes too long. And I wouldn't necessarily get rid of Danielle's character altogether because you do kind of need her to confirm some stuff.
50:31
Sam
But I may actually switch it so that like she's someone that like Daniel meets along the way kind of thing. And they have like, I'm not Danielle. Sorry, she's Danielle. See, I'm bad with names that Chad meets along the way that like decides to help him kind of do the research and kind of make her less of a more important character and kind of just someone who likes give some stuff in. Because I do think like at the end of the day, like she doesn't need to be as involved. Like I don't understand why they had her pull. They pulled her into the fight just to push her into a corner. She like, it never did she come over and like bop someone on the head or anything like that.
51:19
Sam
They should have had her just go and take care of Frank instead of like pulling her into the big shipping yard. So I think in general she can still be kidnapped because she got involved. But like, I just think that like she's not already like a girlfriend. Maybe she's someone that like very kind Chad meets and she decides to help him because he's very confused. And I think like we can leave it at that. And that's how I'd flip it. And no drunken thing. But all the fight scenes stay the same.
51:50
Case
Yeah, because like the double scotch bottle fight scene that occurs like that needs to stay. Like I was super here for like, I was here in general for like the cognac smuggling kind of.
52:03
Sam
That was, that was funny. Yeah.
52:05
Case
Recurring joke. And I, I just because like, of my day job working in the wine and spirits industry and like the when. When he was like, took two bottles of scotches and broke them to use them to stab people, I was like, yes, again, this is the Double Dragon movie that like, I actually always wanted. Like, there were so many things that were like, this is. I could have seen this in Final Fight or Streets of Rage. Like, this is great. I'm so here for it. In fact, right after I watched this movie, we. We took my daughter down to see her grandparents.
52:41
Case
And it's like a 45 minute drive each way and my wife drove and so I was in the passenger seat and I've got a little game emulator thing and I played super Double Dragon my entire ride down and I was like, really feeling that. It was like, oh, yeah, this is the exact same thing.
52:59
Adam
Like, like you were head cannoning. This is Chad, this is Alex.
53:03
Sam
We're going.
53:05
Case
Billy and Jimmy Lee are just like, Chad, Alex right there. And it works wonderfully. Like, bolo is a bobo.
53:13
Sam
Oh my God, my nerves.
53:14
Adam
So one, I don't know how to follow Sam's pitch.
53:17
Case
We can, we can just build on this because, like, I don't have like, much.
53:20
Sam
It can also be collaborative if, like, so if you want to build on what I like, just said because, like, there is some like, at the end that could be retooled or you can just say some stuff and then we can like build something new.
53:35
Case
So like, because if I can throw this out there as just a build on, in terms of the Danielle component of it, which is that if Danielle was Chad's girlfriend and still had the job working for Griffith and like, maybe the reason why they go to Hong Kong is for her work. But he's like, excited because it's like I was born in Hong Kong.
54:00
Sam
Like, yeah, I've never known, like, I've.
54:03
Case
I've always wanted to go there. Like, I've never, you know, and we established this is a work transfer for her and that's the reason why he comes along and like establishes like a connection with Griffith, who maybe doesn't realize that he's the son of like, the people he had murdered.
54:23
Sam
Oh, I like that.
54:24
Case
Like, that allows for Danielle to still be a relevant, to still have a prominent female character in this movie, because this movie is severely lacking in that. In that department. While flipping the relationship and making It. So that it works in a different way. And then this way, like, Chad could be the one who's like, possessive of her and like, it, you know, is. Gets worried about it when Alex shows up, who is this sort of like, scoundrel version of himself.
54:57
Sam
Right? Yeah.
54:58
Adam
See that? Because one of my pitches when I was thinking about it was actually commit to the love triangle that they spend so much time trying to build. Instead of it kind of feeling like, why is he so jealous when nothing has actually happened in so many senses, like, commit to it. Chad is kinder. Chad is nicer. Chad is so, so like, she's seeing. Here's everything I'm attracted to from where I'm in love with Alex, but in a. Not a douche rapping kind of a thing. And so, like, that was one of my things, was where it felt like they wanted to go there but didn't. I felt like they could have went there where it was like, especially with the ending being Chad kind of just passing her to Alex and then like, giving like, the okay hand sign.
55:51
Sam
Like, that end was so weird, actually.
55:56
Adam
Like, I felt like that could have definitely been like, they could have actually went there and like, played with dynamics between them. Played more. But then that would have added more time to this movie. And that's the one thing.
56:08
Case
Right. That is the problem here, which is like, what can we do to, like, trim off time is also, like, a high priority here.
56:16
Adam
My other idea, and I think it fits collaboratively with Sam's and it also fits into just trying to make this a better movie. Do more parent trappy stuff. Do more stuff where. Where Chad has to interact with Alex's world. Come up with the reason that Alex has to interact with Chad's world. There's a kumite the next town over or something, you know, and Chad was the coach. So Alex. Alex ends up being caught up in that. And then he's just sitting there like, someone's like, coach, why are you so gruff? Why are you so forward? And he's just like, kick him in the face.
56:50
Sam
Like, ye.
56:53
Case
Well, you know, and this works even better if Al. Or if Chad is actually known to Griffith. You know, if, like.
57:02
Sam
Right.
57:02
Case
If they're in that scenario where Danielle works for Griffith and through and Chad is dating Danielle instead of Alex. And then Alex is imitating Chad and is thus close to Griffith. And thus we can sort of have a reversed version of then when Chad is close to Zhang in place of Alex scene. Yeah, that. That then works. It wouldn't necessarily be Like a karate tournament, necessarily. Or maybe it could be actually where it's just like. Like I'm participating in a karate. I'm trying to do a French accent here.
57:37
Adam
A Belgian French accent.
57:41
Sam
You said you sounded more Arnold than you do, but I give you a try anyway.
57:47
Case
So, like, maybe he says that he is participating in one or thus, like, Griffith shows up with Danielle, and it's actually Alex who's there, who's been training his whole life to murder this man by. By his Uncle Frank.
58:01
Sam
Yeah.
58:02
Case
He has to hold it back. So I like that. I like. I like that a lot.
58:07
Sam
Yeah.
58:08
Adam
Because while I was watching this movie with my wife, she was like, this is the Parent Trap for dude.
58:12
Case
Oh, yeah.
58:13
Adam
And I was like. And I was like, I wish they would have leaned into that a little bit more. Like, had a few more switcheroos where that did involve Chad just getting pummeled in the face for not.
58:29
Case
Although that said, those kind of scenes are often the ones that make me personally feel uncomfortable. Those kind of mistaken identity scenes. Often. Often I. I squirm a lot when. When those scenes are happening. So I did appreciate that there were not that many, but I am. I was. I agree with you that this movie should have had more.
58:50
Sam
I think in general, though, like, there was a little, like. It's interesting because even though we're saying, oh, I wish there was more times where like, they, like, it had gone the other way and Alec was in Chad's world, but I actually feel like Alex world is kind of still a little bit superficial to the actual mission, you know, like. Like, yeah, we get the bar and stuff like that. But, like, I don't know, like, it's so focused on, like, the brothers and. And Frank that I don't know if I ever really feely. Really feely. Fully feel. Oh, my God. I don't know if I ever fully feel like I am actually in Alex's world completely, if you know what I mean. Like, there's, like, moments, but it just. I. I think, like, we just never quite get that unless it's just a gag.
59:48
Sam
So I don't know. It's one of those weird things about this film.
59:52
Adam
It's kind of like we peek in, but we never actually go inside. We stand at the doorway for a lot of it.
59:57
Sam
It. But it's so long, so we really don't have time to look further in.
01:00:01
Case
Yeah, we spend too much time.
01:00:03
Sam
Maybe if we cut some of that sex scene.
01:00:07
Adam
Or, like, the whole thing.
01:00:09
Sam
The whole thing. It's so long too like, it didn't really need to go on that long. It's like, at least, like, five to six minutes of, like, back and forth of him, like, drinking another swig and then, like, sexual shots, then another drink and then sexual shots, and then. And it escalates every time as the bottle drains. It was so agonizing and long and I guess French.
01:00:39
Case
Maybe that's the detail that we're missing. Like, that's just. It's like. But contractually I have to have a sex scene. Like.
01:00:47
Sam
Yeah, well, it's not just that. It's the pain. The pain from the sex, the imagined sex.
01:00:56
Adam
That does feel very Van Damme, though, to be, like, I'm required to have a sex scene, and it's required to be eight minutes long.
01:01:05
Case
Well, then how about we trim down some other scenes? Like, the Mercedes smuggling scene is insufferably long. Like, that could have been trimmed so long a bit. That took a good chunk of time.
01:01:18
Sam
I do like that they pushed it into the water and made it blowed up because explosions. But also, it's such a long scene, it takes too long to get there.
01:01:30
Adam
I don't feel like we needed the exposition in that scene of, like, oh, they don't sell these kinds of cars here. It could have just been. Here's the shot of the contraband in the trunk here. Here's the cops. Oh, crap.
01:01:44
Sam
Yeah, for sure.
01:01:46
Adam
And you've cut out, like, two minutes of that scene alone just by getting rid of the exposition in the scene.
01:01:52
Case
Yeah. And I'm like.
01:01:54
Adam
What we're saying, though, is this is a perfect.
01:01:56
Sam
Go on. I'm sorry.
01:01:59
Adam
I was saying. But what we're saying is, overall, this is a perfect movie.
01:02:03
Case
It's not perfect, but I would say this is a surprisingly good movie. And it's one that I think that, man, this. This would have been great with DVDs back when you could, like, skip chapters.
01:02:16
Sam
Yeah.
01:02:17
Case
Because if you could skip to the middle of the Mercedes heist, or Mercedes, like, deal gone or gone awry, kind of. Kind of bit like. And then skipped from there, like, from there, like, past, like, them setting up their base, you know, like, you know, just, like, skip, like, chunks. But not like, you know, but only like, five minutes here and five minutes there, kind of. This would be so great. So I guess that's. I guess that's like, honestly, the pitch, which is, watch this on DVD so you can do chapter skips.
01:02:51
Sam
Yeah. And honestly, if you haven't seen this film and it comes on tv, if you happen to still have television. You should just leave it on. Like, leave it on. They're already going to edit the things that we probably think need editing, and you're not gonna get a lot of the F bombs because it's. You know, I. Again, I watched this on network television, so I didn't know that he used the gay slur as often as he did because it was really aggressively.
01:03:23
Case
Really aggressively.
01:03:24
Sam
Really aggressively, like, hard ass. I didn't know until I saw it, like, on tv, and I was like, oh, oh. That was. That was full chest. Like, wow. But, like, it's probably gonna be edited out. It's probably not gonna be there. And the sex scene is definitely not gonna be there because I definitely don't remember it when it was playing on Channel 11 when I was younger. So, yeah, go ahead and, like, just watch this movie, because without those things, it's pretty good. And, like, if you're just doing chores around your house, I swear to gosh, there's some really, like, rad fight scenes in here and some really nice artistic things going on. Some good effects.
01:04:07
Case
I love the same. Elisea, if you're doing chores around your house, raiding for movies, like, this.
01:04:16
Sam
Is a great one.
01:04:18
Case
I fully envision it, but I just realized, like, yeah.
01:04:26
Sam
Like, some. Some movies don't even deserve that. Like, some movies are like, no, turn. Don't watch that. But this is, like, a really great. Because, like, in between, like, what you're doing, you're going to get, like, an amazing fight scene. You stop, you watch it. You're like, oh, that was amazing. And then you can go on with, like, sweeping the floor, folding the laundry. This is a great movie for that great movie. And there will be moments where it will interrupt your housework because you will have to stop because a man with spurs is throwing some of the most beautiful kicks you have ever seen in a black background with just minimal sound, so you can just hear the sound of his spurs. Guys, it's transformative. You need to watch this movie.
01:05:15
Case
I knew I was coming in positive, but I love how positive that we all are for this movie. Adam, thank you for bringing this movie.
01:05:25
Sam
Of course, this gift to us.
01:05:28
Adam
And to think, Sam, in the last few weeks, you've accused me of being obsessed with Jean Claude Van Damme.
01:05:32
Sam
Well, you were. You watched this movie several times. I watched it once. How many times do you watch it, Adam?
01:05:39
Adam
I watched this movie counting today because I watched it right before we got on four times.
01:05:46
Case
Okay. That's dedication. That is some octuple impact right there. But but thank you for bringing this it. I I did really enjoy this. Like I said, while I it's so close to a double dragon movie and it's so much better than the actual double dragon movie that is just astounding. Very much enjoyed. It is definitely going into my rotation of like the like B movies and like solidly a B movie but like B movie for action purposes. I'm rather happy to have watched it. So on that note, where can people find you and follow you?
01:06:32
Adam
You can find me on almost any social media platform at. Not that Adam, just because I grew up in church and so every week for like my whole life people have come up to me and made Adam and Eve jokes. So I'm not that Adam. You can find me on Twitch also otthatam I DM dnd I play in a campaign. So follow me on Twitch. Follow me on socials.
01:06:54
Case
All right. Yeah, everyone should find you and follow you and check out all the stuff that you've got going on. I'm definitely going to check out your Twitch stuff.
01:07:02
Adam
I look forward to it. Cool.
01:07:04
Case
Sam, where can people find and follow you?
01:07:07
Sam
They can find me here of course on another pass and also on our app episodes where we take another pass at another pass and then occasionally when I remember our Discord exists I sometimes pop up there to lurk and see what people are saying and occasionally like their comment. And then other than that I am busy looking for my double somewhere in the world so that we can make an impact because I'm pretty sure that if I met another me that looked exactly like me we would be just too powerful and ready for revenge at any time. And so that is a long search and well deserved in this world. And so I will be too busy. But if you have any complaints at all you can find Case at.
01:07:56
Case
Well since you stole the double joke, you can find me. You can find me on most social media platforms at Case Aiken. The one I'm pushing these days especially is Blue sky. So so find me there at KSAKEN, the BSky Social or whatever the chain is. But if you just search for KSAT and you'll find me. The Discord server is a great place to find me and I remember that it exists and visit there frequently multiple times a day. I I'm mostly lurking because very responsible but I do love to chime in and join in the conversations that are going on there. So it is a wonderful time. I highly recommend checking out our Discord server, which you can find links to at our website, certainpov.com where you can also find all kinds of great shows.
01:08:44
Case
Today I'm going to shout out Books that Burn, which is just a fantastic show that really looks at the trauma that characters in novels experience from the perspective of them being rational actors that are being tortured by the authors. And so that's just, it's just a fantastic series. And, and I high it and yeah. Otherwise, circle back here and check out what we've got next. Sam, what have we got up next time?
01:09:15
Sam
Next time we'll be talking about Highlander 2 the Quickening. But until then, if you enjoyed this, pass it on.
01:09:27
Case
Thanks for listening to Certain Point of Views, Another past podcast. Don't miss an episode. Just subscribe and review the show on itunes.
01:09:36
Sam
Just go to certainpov.com Netherpass is a certain POV production. Our hosts are Sam Alicea and Case Aiken. The show is edited by Sophia Ricciardi. Our logo and episode art is by Case Aiken. Our intro theme is by Vin Macri and our outro theme is by Matt Brogan.
01:09:56
Case
CPOV certainpov.com.