OK, before launching into anything lets just point out that this was made on a budget that would struggle to produce an episode of EastEnders. Filming anything on a small budget and producing something that looks this shiny, with so many professional looking stunts, should be complemented on cinematography and the sheer amount of work that is going to have gone into this production. However, that's about as far as the complements can go. The scenery and setting for the first half is brilliant, having a good looking (if slightly clichéd) car chase through Portpatrick followed up by an intriguing Tarantino like style of narrating Norman Wisdom's background involving the London mob rounded off with an eventful stand- off in an abandoned castle. It is from here on out that the film starts to fail. The American character is not well acted and up to this point, despite the nice twist, he was not heavily part of the story. Now that he is trust onto the screen as the main character, nearly every line is delivered so unconvincingly that it takes away from every scene any sense of atmosphere. Bernard Hill and Simon Ward bring a little bit of fun with their characters, even if Hills' Irish accent is a bit iffy. The music is stereotypical 90's but hasn't dated so badly that its painful to listen to, quite honestly the music timing is spot on perfect and adds plenty of tension to the most important scenes. The second half of the film is a complete let down and the steam really runs out around an hour into the running time, with too many stupid dialog plot holes and bad editing the movie ends on a note that makes you realize that after Scotland is left behind, you should just have turned it off. The ending is so abrupt it'll actually make you sit back and wonder what the hell just happened. Overall, the first half is an entertaining piece of cinema with Wisdom and Hill stealing the show alongside the stunning Scottish scenery. The stunt work is impressive for such a low budget and the music is hit and miss in providing moods. However, the rest of the cast and crew don't seem to know what they are doing and the script is so bare and corny that missed opportunities are rife throughout the entire film. Double X garners a bad reputation but its not all rightly deserved, its definitely worth a watch if nothing else is on and a must for any Norman Wisdom fans out there to see him turn his hand to a serious role - and he's very good at it.
Review of Double X: The Name of the Game
