Double Whammy has some promising ingredients; a lead played by Denis Leary, and support from Steve Buscemi. There are also some very poor ingredients: Liz Hurley, “quirky” characters, a half-baked plot, and plot strands that don’t really go anywhere.
Although the preparation is well-done, the film seems to have gone flat somewhere in the middle. Rather than do something well, it tries to cater for everyone; which just doesn’t work. Those plot strands I mentioned earlier? Too many things going on that are only half done, some quite disconcerting in their lack of conclusion.
For example, a rival cop gets suspicious about a suspect’s credibility (he says as much). It’s obvious that he would do some investigation into the matter. Do we see it or hear anything about it again? No. Very annoying.
It didn’t have to be like this. Rather than slow bake everything haphazardly, one or two elements could have been done to perfection. It’s a true shame that the better bits didn’t get a chance to simmer through, because this could’ve been a great film.