Double four, double three, double two and double one are all advantageous doubles to throw at the start of the game. With double four then your best move is to (assuming you are white) take your two men from black’s one point and move them to blacks five point. Then with the remaining two fours, move two men from blacks twelve point to your nine point. But there are equally or better moves as well and moving two pieces from blacks twelve point all the way to your five point is a good move.
However bringing two men from blacks one point to blacks five point not only begins the process of extricating your two back men but it also prevents black from building a prime and hampers him getting home. It also means that there isn’t a single point in black’s outer board that white cannot hit with one move. Some players move two men from their six point to their two point with double four and two men from their eight point to their four point. This makes it harder for black to extricate himself but the two pips on whites two point are of very poor strategic value.
In fact not only is this position a total waste of the double four but it can rapidly turn against white very easily here. Quite often in backgammon a winning position can be built up rapidly from one good throw. If white followed up a double four with a double one or even double two then the position would be dominant.
