Double Tap
Reviewed by YTSL
There is something to be said for simplicity.
This especially so in a contemporary Hong Kong movie world whose action films
seem too full of megalomaniacs scheming to throw the world into chaos, stoic
super agents, big explosions, lots of material damage, slick but improbable-looking
technogimmickery and -sounding technobabble (I think here of such as "Downtown
Torpedoes", "Hot War", "Tokyo Raiders" and "Purple Storm": The kind
of productions that often aspire and look more like Hollywood clones (only
with worse CGI effects...) than actioneers made in the pre-Handover years).
There's also something to be said for star power. And I'll be honest
here and own up that I wouldn't have been all that interested in DOUBLE TAP
-- a film which takes it name from a particularly high precision shooting
skill (which involves the rapid twice hitting/"tapping" of a target in about
the same place) -- if it didn't star charismatic Leslie Cheung and hunky
Alex Fong, and also have the always competent Ruby Wong in it. Alternatively
put: There's plenty of eye candy for da grrls in this picture show
along with a sufficient amount of pistol-packed segments for those who like
seeing lead spitting out of gun barrels and blood shed by individuals who
are pretty convincing at looking like they really are playing for keeps.
DOUBLE TAP does not quite mark a return to "the good old days" when all out
action was king in Hong Kong (as opposed to now, where seemingly everything
else but that is jostling for that movie crown). If truth be told,
this Derek Yee production does not present the viewer with any especially
impressive spectacles. It will also be pointed out that quite a few
of the gun battles and duels in this medium budget offering take place on
shooting ranges and in gun clubs (Still, this does not mean that all of them
only involve dummy targets).
However, I think it definitely is in the film's favor that it does have people
rather than gadgets and master plans or ultra-violent set pieces as its focus.
More specifically, DOUBLE TAP's story -- which starts in 1996, then fastforwards
to 1999 -- centers on: A perfectionist gunsmith cum Practical Shooting
expert named Rick Pang (played by a surprisingly unboyish-looking Leslie
Cheung); an incident which triggers off a certain disturbing impulse on his
part and sends him on a particular path of no return; a rival sharpshooter
on the side of the law (Alex Fong's Inspector Miu is not without his own
inner demons either); and the decisively different abilities to influence
their men possessed by two women (Ruby Wong is Rick's gal, Colleen, while
Monica Chan has the small but intriguing Dr./Mrs. Miu role).
Although the characters they essay are not among the most well-developed
or even three-dimensional around, the cast -- who include Joe Cheung (who
also got co-credit for conceiving the movie's story and served as the show's
shooting consultant), Vincent Kuk and Henry Fong Ping -- do a professional
job with what was given them. While it may seem like I am damning DOUBLE
TAP with faint praise, it really did make for an enjoyable experience for
me to watch a movie whose chief merit may well lie in my getting the sense
that everyone involved in the work at least adeptly executed whatever was
asked of them, and sometimes actually made more of their opportunities than
others with less ability or enthusiasm could have done.
My rating for the film: 6.5