Review: I did not know much about Double Tap other than the sell point for me was that Leslie Cheung played the villain yet despite this, the film disappointed me somewhat.

The Idea of how a gun can have such a direct effect on someone psychologically and mentally has been explored in other (better) films like Full Alert or Bullet Ballet. Double Tap takes the same idea but makes the possessor a marksman and how it makes him sadistic and unhinged. We all have been exposed to films of this caliber and know from the start that the two main characters are going to engage in an ending shootout so straight up the film is rather predictable.

Now what I enjoyed from Double Tap and saved it from being mediocre were two elements: The acting and (ironic enough) the action sequences.

Leslie Cheung's Rick is an interesting villain, indeed one who transforms from an anti-social gunsmith into a vicious trigger-happy freak that enjoys using his marksmen skills on others. Leslie's performance leads him to create one of the most captivating villains I have ever seen. The other films I've seen in him were the ones where he played the hero role (A Better Tomorrow, The Bride With White Hair) still his on-screen presence made me cheer for his character even as the villain. Ruby Wong's character, played as Rick's girlfriend, becomes a bit sad to watch as she denies herself from seeing that Rick is slowly degenerating into a crazed-killer. Alex Fong portrays his character Miu rather well. Fong simply shines in the scenes in which his frustration and pressure from Rick's actions manifest. Monica Chan played Fong's wife and conveyed across the gentleness and innocence that keeps Miu from completely snapping.

Both Cheung and Fong went through extensive weapon training, it's covered in the making of on the DVD, which gives them the creditability as top marksmen. With that said the gunfight scenes up until the last shootout are ridden with realism and tension; even the scenes with Miu and Rick on the shooting course are loaded with excitement. The last one in which the two finally standoff fails to match the velocity/ferocity because it relies too heavily on special effects (Mainly the now boring and conventional bullet-time effect).