Review: Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Scott Adkins stars as John, who wakes one night to check on his daughter, only for he and his family to be set-upon by masked intruders. One, it seems, is Luc Devereaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), who takes his mask off before killing John’s wife and child right in front of him without even a hint of emotion. It’s several months later when John awakens in hospital but with no memory. After leaving the hospital, he tries to remember everything and track down Luc for his revenge. However, the brutal Magnus AKA ‘The Plumber’ (MMA fighter Andrei ‘The Pit Bull’ Arlovski) has been dispatched by shadowy government so-and-sos to rub John out, as a conspiracy appears to be afoot. Meanwhile, we keep cutting to Luc and Sgt. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), the UniSols from previous films who appear to be free-thinkers now and are trying to de-program other UniSols, but are they doing so for villainous or virtuous purposes? And just who was John before that awful night he lost his family? David Jensen turns up as a creepy government scientist, and Kristopher Van Varenberg (Van Damme’s son) has a small role, too.

 

John Hyams previously gave us the pretty decent “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” (and “Dragon Eyes”, a dull film with Jean-Claude Van Damme in a recurring cameo), but this 2012 film is something altogether different. It’s unlike any other film in the franchise, and Hyams’ very Neveldine/Taylor (“Crank”) filmmaking style (though the tone is less crazy and more brooding), plus a relatively unusual narrative structure for this sort of thing will make this one a like it or hate it film, for sure. Aside from a truly nauseating use of strobe-lighting on a couple of occasions, I really dug this, it’s the best “Universal Soldier” film since the first one. This is the one time that oft-used statement really does mean something, by the way.

 

If you’re watching this film solely for Jean-Claude Van Damme, and particularly Dolph Lundgren, you might be disappointed, as their time on screen is rather small. Scott Adkins fans like myself, however, certainly have no cause to be disappointed as our man is front and centre here. More so than a “Universal Soldier” film, this really does feel like a mixture of the grim-faced first “Terminator” film, “Scanners”, “Memento”, and “Crank” (possibly even “Blade Runner”, though I’m not a fan of that film). If that sounds like a good mix to you, or you’re already a series fan, give this one a go, it’s certainly a conversation starter.

 

I really was reminded of the original “Terminator” here in tone/mood, as it’s a very unsettling, quite brooding film. The throbbing music score by the trio of Will Hendricks, Michael Krassner & Robin Vining is a bit reminiscent of Brad Fiedel’s iconic work on “The Terminator”, it’s really cool. The violence is harsh, brutal, and seriously-handled. Hyams’ ain’t fucking about here, folks. There’s a pretty good car chase and crash for what probably wasn’t a huge budget. There’s also an excellent fight in a sporting goods store with Andrei ‘The Pitbull’ Arlovski, Adkins, and baseball bats and other assorted sporting related objects. At one point, Adkins uses Pitbull’s head like a fucking tee-ball, knocking half of it right off. Wow. There’s also a good, violent fight between Adkins and Lundgren where Lundgren gets some of his old personality back and they hack away at each other with knives and machetes between the punches and kicks. Hyams’ style might be a tad annoying at times, but he’s clearly got talent. Adkins’ talents are seriously underrated, as he proves yet again here that he should be a huge star well before now. His arse-kicking prowess on screen is second-to-none, and although he’s certainly best seen in stoic roles and probably shouldn’t venture outside of the action genre much, he’s got enough acting chops to stand pretty close to the top of the heap of action stars in that regard too. Any action star who can at least act a bit really ought not be relegated to the Direct-to-DVD market if you ask me, no matter how narrow their acting range may be. He’s certainly leagues ahead of Chuck Norris, that’s for damn sure. I think someone has done him a disservice here by listing him third on the poster. He’s the lead actor and plays a dual role for cryin’ out loud. That’s just shitty if you ask me.

 

Although the film isn’t quite as wild and crazy as I expected, so much as ambitious, violent, and grim, there certainly are whacked-out moments. One particular moment of splatter featuring Adkins and “Creature” co-star David Jensen (who is terrific in a cameo here) reminds one of “Robocop 2”, except Robocop didn’t get up and murder the fuck out of everyone with his fists and legs. Don’t fuck with Scott Adkins, people. When will you learn? ‘Pit Bull’ Arlovski is even better utilised in this film than the previous one. He’s a straight-up pummelling machine here, at one point making Roy Jones Jr. his whiny bitch. Brute, blunt force, no fuss. Lundgren gives an interesting performance where he’s like a loyal disciple/preacher, but is he preaching good or evil? Only gradually do we learn. Every now and then, pieces of the old Andrew Scott make themselves known, but he’s not cutting anyone’s ear off or anything. Meanwhile, is this the best use of Jean-Claude Van Damme? Nope, but it might just be the best use of his craggy, weary, dead-eyed face. Some will say he’s boring in this, but I don’t think so. He’s fascinatingly weird, Zen, and almost Col. Kurtz-esque with his big bald head and B&W makeup. He’s clearly having fun here doing something different. The obvious problem with JCVD and Lundgren is that they just aren’t in the film enough. It’s a shame, there’s very few flaws here, but that one might piss a few people off. Obviously this is Adkins’ film, but there really ought to have been more time spent with the other two as well.

 

A really creepy ending is an excellent end note to a very different, very interesting, but likely very divisive film. I’m not entirely sure who I’d recommend this film to outside of Scott Adkins fans, but it definitely deserves to be seen and praised. Hyams deserves credit for taking this franchise and doing something unexpected, different, and seriously fucking brutal with it. I’m not kidding, you are so damn warned, people. This is one straight-up brutal film and you won’t be left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Bleak ain’t the half of it. Based on a story by Hyams and producer Moshe Diamant, Hyams wrote the screenplay with Jon Greenhalgh (a debutant screenwriter who edited Hyams’ “Dragon Eyes”) and Doug Magnuson (another debutant feature film screenwriter, who also produced a making-of documentary for the film).

 

Rating: B