The Double

December 1, 2013 - The Cold War still has some heat in this 2011 thriller starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. Martin Sheen has a supporting role, and Stana Katic (Beckett on Castle) shows up for about three minutes.

Gere plays retired CIA agent Paul Shepherdson. He's coaxed out of retirement when a US Senator is murdered and signs point to an elusive Soviet assassin named Cassius as the killer. Shepherdson asserts his belief that Cassius is dead, but an up-and-coming FBI agent named Ben Geary (Grace) insists the murder bears all the hallmarks of Cassius. Shepherdson and Geary are ordered to work together to identify Cassius, find him and bring him to justice – a mission that ultimately puts both men in danger and forces each to make a life-changing decision.

Overall review: ** Gere and Grace make this a watchable film due to the fact that it's not hard to become invested in their characters. However, the plot is convoluted and has lots of holes that become obvious if you think about them too long. I also don't know why Stana Katic agreed to do this movie. Maybe a lot of her scenes were cut out. Maybe she just wanted to meet Richard Gere. Either way, you would think that her work on the TV show Castle would earn her a better role and more screen time than she gets here.