Universal Soldier

release year: 1992
genre: action/sci-fi
viewing setting: home Bluray 9/28/23 and home DVD 3/27/13 and 5/19/02

synopsis: There's a new type of soldier out there, and when one of them goes psychotic, lots of gunfire and explosions result.

impressions: Pretty good action fare with lots of fighting and violence and quite a few humorous lines too. The basic idea here is that the Army secretly took American soldiers KIA from Vietnam and regenerated their bodies, making them stronger and tougher and able to regenerate damage - a process that took 25 years. Well, all that's fine and dandy until a couple of them begin remembering things from when they were alive. Van Damme is the good one, Dolph Lundgren is the bad one. The one thing I could have done without is the STUPID GENERIC FEMALE REPORTER who MUST GET HER STORY NO MATTER WHAT and who in the real world surely would have BEEN SHOT AND KILLED MULTIPLE TIMES DUE TO STUPIDITY. I hope it's clear how I feel about this.

acting: Van Damme does okay, but it's Dolph who really hams things up as the insane villain. Up until around 53:00 he's quiet and stoic, but then he remembers who he is and starts cutting off ears and cracking one-liners while killing people. It's awesome. Ally Walker is the annoying reporter, though to be fair she does have a few funny lines too. Ed O'Ross is the army officer in charge of the program. Jerry Orbach is the doctor who helped get it going in 1969. Some of the other super-soldiers are played by veteran big guys Tiny Lister and Ralf Moeller.

trivia: Actor Dolph Lundgren has an IQ of 160, a master's degree in Chemical Engineering, and speaks five languages. Plus he's a 6'5" 250-lb 3rd degree black belt and multiple tournament winner. So to all the stuck-up, only-watch-romantic-comedy-and-drama-people out there who criticize Dolph's acting just because he never got nominated for any Oscars: he's not only tougher than you and wealthier than you, but he's also smarter than you.

final word: Fast-moving, action-filled.

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