Double Identity (2009)

At first I'm thinking this movie, DOUBLE IDENTITY, is more like this year's Liam Neeson flick, UNKNOWN, what with the possibility that Val Kilmer's doctor character has amnesia, or a split personality. A few minutes later plot developments show that DOUBLE IDENTITY is more exactly similar to THE TOURIST, as it becomes clear the doctor is what he says he is, and he's simply helping out the damsel in distress, played by Izabella Miko. Do Kilmer and Miko share more on-screen chemistry than Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie? Probably, but that really is not saying much. Are the plot twists of DOUBLE IDENTITY any more plausible than those of THE TOURIST? No, but at least not as much money was wasted in this film on pyrotechnics and Venetian scenery. One of the main faults I had viewing DOUBLE IDENTITY was a sense of deja vu; having seen this all before, along the lines of something Graham Greeney--maybe THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE. Certainly another quibble some viewers may share is that the ending of DOUBLE IDENTITY feels quite forced and rushed, with the loose ends tied up just a little too neatly. The denouement even has a made-for-TV movie-of-the-week quality; you almost expect to see Tom Selleck come strutting down that sidewalk!

Spoiler Alert --------- Thin (and thinly disguised) rip-off of Hitchcock's North By Northwest.Val Kilmer plays innocent Dr. Nicholas Pinter (Cary Grant/Roger Thornhill) mistakenly confused for non-existent John Charter (George Kaplan). This mistaken identity is exploited by spies who had been using the non-existent Charter/Kaplan to divert attention from the real spy, Izabella Miko as Katrine (Eva Marie Saint/Eve Kendall). Along the way Pinter/Thornhill and Katrine/Eve fall in love and the inexperienced doctor/advertising executive manages to kill a few bad guys and save the girl and live happily ever-after.Save the trouble and get the original. The Saul Bass title sequence alone is better than this drivel.

Although this is low budget thriller with some little goofs, I found this movie extremely entertaining and surprising.Val Kilmer might have become a slow and fat guy, but he is still a very charismatic and talented actor and is credible in his role as a hesitating and nervous doctor who becomes more and more determined to find the pieces of a mysterious and complicated puzzle even if he could have played his role with a little bit more emotions. The charming and beautiful Izabelle Miko does also a great job as a "femme fatale" and double-agent in troubles. Bulgaria is an interesting shooting place for this movie and presents us a little bit of a foreign culture and city.Concerning the story line, this movie has several surprises and is sometimes difficult to follow with all its intrigues, conspiracies and double-agents. I think that the story is well elaborated and deserves us some surprises and twists. That's maybe why many people don't understand the goals of some organizations. But if you watch this movie with more attention again and do not concentrate on the question if the cars are more recent than 1992 when the story is settled (who really cares) or if several criminals speak in Russian (by the way, it is logical that especially the Russian criminals tried to get a better life elsewhere after the downfall of communism and the creation of many "new" countries), you might understand more and more all the details and connections in this well done agent movie.This movie is surely nothing innovating or extremely suspenseful, but good entertainment and a twisted and surprising movie with two interesting main actors.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Val Kilmer was a big star appearing in major Hollywood movies - it's kind of sad to see that just about all of his recent work has been for the straight-to-DVD market. And in these films (and this one), he appears to have put on some weight, looking somewhat puffy and tired. Actually, aside from that, he doesn't have much to be ashamed about for this particular straight-to-DVD movie. It has its faults - the story is set in 1992 for no apparent reason, Kilmer's character is not properly introduced, and for a thriller, the movie is surprisingly calm - it could have used with a bit more juice in its narrative and a few exciting action scenes. Still, the movie is professionally filmed, a trademark of Millennium Films/Nu Image, and it's nice to see one of their shot-in-Bulgaria movies actually set in Bulgaria! And while the movie could have been more engaging, it does manage to set up a mystery that keeps you watching - there's never a time I could consider anywhere near boring. No, don't seek it out, but if it comes on TV during a slow day, you could do worse.