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unisoldvd01.jpg

Universal Soldier ( ユニバーサル ソルジャー )

Carolco/Tri-Star Pictures, 1992

Lions Gate Home Entertainment, 2007

Directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Stargate)

Running Time: 103 minutes

Rated R for violence and gore, nudity, profanity and mature situations.

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme (J.C.V.D., Ivan in No Retreat, No Surrender) as Luc Deveraux/GR44

Dolph Lundgren (Street Preacher in Johnny Mnemonic, He-Man in Masters of the Universe) as Andrew Scott/GR13

Ally Walker (Sam in Profiler) as Veronica Roberts

Ed O'Ross (Lt. Touchdown in Full Metal Jacket, Kay in Men in Black: The Series) as Col. Perry

Jerry Orbach (Det. Briscoe in Law & Order, Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast) as Dr. Christopher Gregor

Leon Rippy as Woodward

Tico Wells as Garth

Ralf Moeller (Conan the Adventurer, Hagen in Gladiator) as GR76

Tom "Tiny" Lister (Zeus in No Holds Barred, President Lindberg in The Fifth Element) as GR55

Simon Rhee as GR61

Eric Norris (Chuck Norris' son) as GR86

Synopsis

In 1969, in a village somewhere in Vietnam, U.S. Army soldier Luc Deveraux discovered that Sgt. Andrew Scott had lost his sanity after killing his own platoon. They both wound up killing each other after Scott murdered an innocent civilian. Instead of declaring them dead, the military packed their bodies up and declared them as missing in action.

Twenty-five years later, Luc and Scott are reborn as genetically enhanced soldiers with superhuman abilities and a high tolerance to harm. But while the military has converted them into perfect fighting machines, they failed to clear their minds of the past. This results in Luc experiencing flashbacks of the Vietnam incident and Scott reverting to his chaotic self. The situation is further complicated when Luc saves news reporter Veronica Roberts from being executed by Scott and they are both branded as fugitives as Luc makes his journey to return home.

Lowdown

It's been nearly two decades since Universal Soldier hit theaters. Sure, the plot is really shallow, but who cares? The movie still kicks ass with tons of explosions, awesome gadgetry and that badass truck that doubles as the UniSol's mobile base. Arguably, this is Dolph Lundgren's best movie outside Rocky IV and Johnny Mnemonic. And this is one of a handful of Van Damme movies worth watching (the others being Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Timecop).

Yes, it bites a lot from the Terminator series, but it's simply a guilty pleasure film. If you want a straightforward action flick, look no further, as Universal Soldier delivers in spades. As a matter of fact, at under $10, it's a steal. Just don't bother with the sequel Universal Soldier: The Return or the direct-to-video pseudo-sequels.

Rating: B

DVD Extras: B+

The Special Edition DVD includes a behind-the-scenes video featuring interviews with Van Damme, Lundgren, Emmerich and Devlin. Also included is an alternate ending that fortunately never made it past the cutting room.

References

The Internet Movie Database

Posted

One of my fave movies from vandamme is Never Retreat Never Surrender, although he plays a bad russian.

Posted
One of my fave movies from vandamme is No Retreat, No Surrender, although he plays a bad russian.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Haven't seen it in over 20 years, so I'll wait for SPIKE TV to air it someday.

Posted

Going to the subject of Van Damme himself, has anyone seen his most recent film? It seems to be a satire on his own life. From what's been posted on the web, critics all over Europe have been raving about it.

J.C.V.D.

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