Double Team MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -2

Jack Quinn (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a top counter-terrorist who wants out of the spy game. But he fails to hit his final target, vicious terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke), during a violent confrontation at an amusement park. Quinn is injured, and wakes up from unconsciousness at a secret installation called The Colony. It's basically a "retirement home" for former spies, although residence there is not voluntary; the agents are exiled because they're regarded as too dangerous to exist in the outside world. But Quinn soon realizes that it's very important for him to escape this imprisonment. Stavros, thirsting for revenge because his young son was killed in the amusement park shootout, has kidnapped Quinn's wife and unborn child. Quinn does get out of The Colony and discovers that Stavros is waiting for him in Rome. Teaming up with flamboyant arms dealer Yaz (basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman), Quinn tries to rescue his family and defeat Stavros once and for all. The story gets incredibly confusing at times, although imaginative fight scenes and massive explosions may entertain action film buffs. With his multiple hair colors, outrageous clothes and frequent basketball references, Rodman's presence could also amuse sports fans.

Although Double Team is justifiably rated R, there's no sexual content except for some scantily attired people during a scene in a Belgian red light district. Several mild and a few moderate crude words foul up the dialogue, along with four obscenities and one regular profanity. The film focuses most of its attention on nearly wall-to-wall violence and action. Two particularly brutal gun battles, at the amusement park and also a public square in Italy, include multiple shootings, with many innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Both Van Damme and Rodman exchange martial arts punches and kicks with bad guys, and there are two stabbing incidents. Pyrotechnic specialists must have been working overtime, as the film includes over a half-dozen fiery explosions of massive proportions. Double Team frequently goes "boom," but its incessant violence makes it a bust on the morality scale.

Preview Reviewer: Mark Perry
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, 10202 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232