Dual Movie Review, this film has no substance

Movie Review 

It's Karen Gillan vs. Karen Gillan in this high-concept yet groundless sci-fi thriller. She plays Sarah, a young woman who receives a terminal diagnosis after being told she has an incurable disease with only a 2% chance of recovery.

  After receiving this devastating news, Sarah decides to pay for a "replacement", a clone that will integrate into her life and replace her after her death. He does this because he doesn't want his mother and partner to be alone after he leaves. 

 When the clone is created (only an hour after providing the saliva for the cloning process), Sarah begins to question the meaning of her existence.

  Conceptually, the film is similar to the Mahershala Ali-starrer Swan Song, where a terminally ill man clones himself so that his family doesn't have to live without him. But if that was an emotionally charged weepy, Dual is something entirely different, though it's hard to categorize as it's a thriller without much thrills and a black comedy that's not particularly funny.

Doesn't Fall Neatly 

  While Dual doesn't fall neatly into a particular genre, it's still a good movie. Gillan is good in a dual role, and the scenes of the two Saras together are rarely unconvincing. Just as Ali's character regrets being cloned after seeing the effect his double has on his family, Gillan begins to regret his decision.

  However, the similarities in the story end with Sarah's miraculous recovery from any illness. This is obviously good news, but since it has a double life chance, it can't be thrown away easily. Sara is told that since only one version of her is allowed to exist, she must take part in a double case of the death ordered by the court. We don't know why this is, but like Sarah, we have to accept that this is the way things will go in the future.

  Upon receiving this news, Sarah decides to prepare for the duel with the help of combat trainer Trent (Aaron Paul), who teaches her everything she needs to know about fighting and self-defense. Her teaching methods range from traditional combat training to dangerous instructional videos, but despite the latter being useless, Sarah still manages to transform herself into a killing machine. But there's a difference between killing a dog and actually doing it, as Sarah Trent discovers when she disobeys orders to kill a dog. So it's clear that Sarah may not have what it takes to give up the double that has taken over her life so tightly.

To avoid any spoilers, I won't talk more about the plot here, but needless to say, the road to victory over his clone is anything but straightforward. The film rarely goes places you'd expect, which is quite refreshing, as this could have been another action royale film with hints of The Hunger Games and Day 6 .

  The opening scene where a man (Theo James) comes face-to-face with his double suggests something more violent and moving, but it's a bit of a red herring as the Dual goes in other directions as the story progresses.

The Director 

  Despite being set in the future, director Riley Stearns doesn't provide the dazzle or futuristic gadgetry often found in these types of films. This is likely due to budget constraints, but the lack of vision actually works in Dual's favor as there is nothing to distract us from the main premise of the story. It's about Sarah and the moral dilemmas she faces, rather than an empty-headed play in the vein of Gemini Man pitting two other lookalikes against each other.

  So, you shouldn't come to this movie expecting thrills and spills, because it's more of an exploration of what it means to be alive than an action movie. In this regard, while you might expect Dual to showcase the clone's existential plight, it focuses more on Sara and the ways she comes to terms with the meaning of her own life.

   With the exception of the clone (ironically), the characters are mostly cold, indifferent, and pretty two-dimensional, so they're never fully engaged on an emotional level. This may be intentional, so I can't fault the director's intent, but the final scenes would have been more impactful if there was someone rooting for.

Worth Seeing

  Nevertheless, Dual is still worth seeing. Gillan delivers two strong performances, there are plenty of surprises to keep us on our toes, and the ending is something people will be talking about long after the closing credits roll. If you go into this expecting a head-scratcher, not a heart-throb, you can have a good time with it.