The Devil's Double

Devils Double if by "double" they mean "deuce" as in "a deuce was just dropped into my eyes and now parasites are boring into my corneas." This movie is really only for Dominic Cooper completionists...of which there are four score and seven, so this movie is for 87 fatal revenants. Though if you like films about tan guys pretending to be brown guys pretending to be Saddam Hussein's sex-starved son (not that one, the other one), then maybe...just maybe...you should watch Preacher re-runs.

My hopes were too high for this one. I expected a spectacular descent into madness but got a film that simply apes better films. Can't understand why Cooper is lauded for this. For a movie that should have been his "Bronson" or "American Psycho" it seems more like Vinnie Chase in "Medellin".

I enjoyed this far more than I expected to. Dominic Cooper really manages to see both the utterly insane psychotic Uday and the sympathetic "damn if you do or don't" character of Latif. The film is presented from Latif's point of view but is visually from Uday's position with very flashy cinematography, which makes it appropriately jarring and unsettling. Certainly worth checking out.

the fact that cooper plays both main characters is quite the feat, and he does a good job at representing both sides of good and evil. overall though, the movie didn't grab me like i thought. the moments of violence were extreme almost to a point of gross out. otherwise it was a sex fueled story of a madman.

Very intriguing story. While I'm sure it takes its liberties with reality, this film certainly paints a picture of what it probably felt like to be in service to a madman like Uday Hussein. Dominic Cooper is a really promising up-and-coming actor and he really does a neat trick transforming himself into the vain, ugly, and psychotic son of a dictator.

With the exception of Dominic Cooper, every aspect of this film is an abomination.

A one-note film if ever there was one. Uday Hussein was a raving nutjob - yes, I get it. Has this film anything else to offer? Not really. Pretty tedious after a while.

One of Dominic Cooper's best performances to date, its a little slow, but solid.

It's largely plotless, being mostly interested in depicting some of Uday Hussein's atrocities. Still, it works thanks to Cooper's excellent dual performance.

too hollywood

I wish the film were better because Dominic Cooper is terrific. Watch it for him, try and put the gaps in the plot out of your mind.

2012/07/10

A remarkable story. This is the Hollywood way to take a quirky historical footnote and turn it into a full-blown thriller. Although the film failed at box office because it was low-budget, unknown cast, and kind of foreign, it's parents could easily be Face/Off and Scarface. Dominic Cooper is great in his 2 roles, and Sagnier is very seductive. The setting really looks the part too. Only extra thing I missed was a bit more intelligent scheming in the plot. Not perfect but exotic and exciting.

good movie

Subtle it ain't. Nor is it a particularly good movie. But it's entertaining enough to sit through, and Dominic Cooper carries the show.

Dominic Cooper flaunts his versatility, successfully playing mad as a brush Uday Hussein and his unfortunate lookalike, Latif Yahia. The extent of Uday's excess is an eye-opener.

ger; [The Devil's Double]; ein soldat wird als double für den sohn des herrschers saddam berufen, um diesen zu beschützen muss das double viele grausamkeiten ertragen - bis die zeit und verbündete kommen um gegen saddams sohn zu kämpfen.;

I was high watching this. But I think, I don't need to see it again.

Dominic Cooper really impresses in this film, but at the end of it I just felt as though it was completely empty. I enjoyed most of it when I watched it the first time, but time has made me realize there was nothing to it. With better direction and writing I could see this movie being something more, but in the end it was a missed mark.

Captures the excesses of 90's Iraq, all through the eyes of Uday Hussein who proudly boasts a bastards biography. Could have dropped the love story entirely and found something to draw from the dual characters and setting, someone like Soderbergh would thrive in this setting. Still, a solid face-value retelling that doesn't hold back many punches.

Brilliant. I haven't read the book but brilliant is the first word that comes to mind after seeing this. Dominic Cooper gave an amazing, sadistic stint as Uday and a humane performance as Latif. Solid plot, beautifully shot with the right mixture of politics, insanity of Uday Hussein and the jaw dropping beauty of Ludivine Sagnier,this is definitely hook you to the screen until the end. I have to check how much historically accurate this is but even if not so, I would recommend this one heavily.

Oh hey, Tony Stark's dad is in a movie. Twice. Kind of awesome.

Fucking Kuwaiti's!

bosta

I watched this after watching the documentary and I can only say they dramatized it a whole lot :D. What a scary story about a psycho who believes he can get away with anything and his 'double' who has little choice but to follow his boss and does what he is told.

An extremely well made film with seemless integration, yet 2 very clearly defined persona's, played by Cooper. TDD is tense and gripping in the same way as eg: Last king of Scotland where a brutal psychopath hides under a (very) thin veneer of kindness and normality. The problem is that TDD offers nothing in terms of understanding the character of Uday (and it could really be about "any psychopath anywhere") nor the turmoil such a job had on Latif and his family. Somewhat of a wasted opportunity

Well worth a watch.

Cooper's fine but he is surrounded by an intolerably dull, unsubtle, and shallow film.

Missed many of the backing facts that both US Iraq invasions were intolerable acts of aggression, against a country that had every right under any sense of logic to protect themselves from a UN-backed Kuwait who like a leach was sucking Iraq dry of money, oil, and other resources. More should have been focused on reactions to King George The Unelected and King George II The Also Unelected; and their war crimes and acts of aggression. To much shock for shocks sake, not enough history.

Interesting premise, terrible execution. It felt like they were just going for shock and awe with no care as to how they got there.

An horrific account of the excesses of the Saddam Hussein regime. Dominic Cooper plays the 2 roles superbly. Definitely worth a watch.

A pretty interesting and entertaining look at the craziest Hussein (at least according to this movie). It's probably not all true, but I wasn't that worried about it. It got slow at times, but some good performances help you chug through those. Overall a rewarding watch.

i hate when movies compare thhemselves to scarface and goodfellas. Thos movies were amazing so the devils double should have blown me away. It was interesting to see a different view of iraq since we see mostly visions of war in the media and the story had lots of violence and vulgarity which is basically a seller for me but it was missing a climax, it never reached the bar it set for itself.

Destined to be a forgotten film. Tons of potential but it barely cracks the surface on what a filthy depraved animal Uday Hussein really was. Moves a bit too slow for such an action packed film. Impressive how much Dominic Cooper looks like Hussein too but it just wasn't as shocking as it should've been to be memorable or anything special. A wasted effort

"The Devil's Double" is an uneasy mix of low points and sporadic high points, the latter, however, justify a watch on their own due to how incredible they are. The low being its inability to competently fill its running time, its truly awful CGI and the monotonous romance sub-plot. The high points being the fantastic performances of Philip Quast and Dominic Cooper, who completely justifies being in Mamma Mia and the sole reason to watch the film. Also a fascinating insight into true events.

good job. how much of that was true?

I liked it, but maybe because almost all of it is shot in Malta and very recognizable.

The film disastrously focuses on Uday's outrages and does so without any moral perspective. "Rape, torture, disembowelment, killing, drinking, drugs and decadence" is practically the film's synopsis. Madness is its misjudged rationale.