Review: Universal Soldier

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are two Vietnam soldiers, one heroic, the other psychotic, who both die in battle. Lundgren, paranoid and all-whacked out had killed several civilians and even fellow soldiers he deemed ‘traitors’. In the present day they are re-animated (after being cryogenically frozen since the late 60s, presumably) via a top-secret, non-sanctioned military operation called UniSol, headed by Colonel Perry (Ed O’Ross). These re-animated zombies are turned into unstoppable killing machines to be controlled by computer technology, and able to sustain great damage and regenerate quickly. On a hostage-rescuing mission, one of the UniSols (Van Damme) starts to have flashbacks to his past as a dutiful soldier named Luc Devereaux, and he subsequently flees in confusion, aided by a nosy TV news reporter (Ally Walker – smoking and swearing instead of genuinely acting) who stumbles upon the UniSol program. On the run (and headed for Devereaux’s hometown), they are pursued not just by Col. Perry and co, by another escaped cyborg soldier, the unhinged Sgt. Andrew Scott (Lundgren), who has gone rogue and still thinks the Vietnam War is raging. Rance Howard plays Devereux’s folksy dad, whilst ‘Tiny’ Lister, Simon Rhee, and Ralph Moeller are fellow UniSol’s, whilst Jerry Orbach and an almost unrecognisable Leon Rippy play scientists. Michael Jai White (who would go on to be the main villain in “Universal Soldier: The Return”) can briefly be seen as a soldier in the Vietnam segment.

 

You know you’re in for an interesting time when the two main stars’ characters kill each other in the opening scene. Director Roland Emmerich (“Stargate”, “ID4”, “The Day After Tomorrow”) broke out with this 1992 sci-fi/action flick, which is easily one of the best “Terminator” variants/rip-offs. It’s not as disturbing and gonzo as the later “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning”, but it’s a fun action movie in the early 1990s mould.

 

The highlight here is clearly Dolph Lundgren having the time of his life as the psycho villain. In what is the man’s best performance to date, Lundgren is a sadistic hoot before and after his character’s technological upgrade. How sadistic? Well, he wears a necklace made up of the ears of his victims. And that’s before he gets turned into a ‘super-soldier’! It’s in the second half that Lundgren – and the film itself – really kick into high gear, as his true unhinged self starts to override his supposedly more compliant robotic self. I know the most obvious comparison is the first two “Terminator” films, but “Highlander” is another influence here and Lundgren comes off like a better version of Clancy Brown’s Kurgan.  In an otherwise very loud film, JCVD gives a rather quiet, mild-mannered performance that works well for him and earns one’s sympathy easily.

 

The supporting cast is full of interesting names and faces, but the best-known among them, Jerry Orbach surprisingly doesn’t give a performance of any great distinction. Far more impressive are a no-nonsense a-hole Ed O’Ross as the general, and a sleazy, perfectly cast Robert Trebor as a motel owner. On the downside we have the irritating Ally Walker swearing and chain-smoking and acting the part of a tough reporter. Linda Hamilton or Sigourney Weaver she ain’t, though she sure does try damn hard. Too damn hard. All the time. Abrasive and obnoxious, her hat puts in a more measured performance. She’s a constant irritation.

 

As shot by Karl Walter Lindenlaub (“Stargate”, “ID4”, “Ninja Assassin”) and scored by Christopher Franke (“Fortress 2”, “Green Street Hooligans”), it’s a good-looking and good-sounding film in the “Terminator 2” mould. Emmerich rarely makes an unattractive film, let’s face it. What is rather different in this early-ish stage of his career is that it’s a pretty straightforward, contained story. It’s no big epic alien invasion, or apocalyptic event flick, and Emmerich proves to be pretty effective in directing violent action. I must say though, that his valiant attempts at hiding the fact that JCVD is considerably more diminutive than Lundgren and the other UniSol actors are pretty hit and miss.

 

One of the better “Terminator” variants, with an over-the-top villain reminiscent of “Highlander”. This fun piece of machismo gets a boost from Dolph Lundgren’s completely bonkers performance as a sadistic, deranged Vietnam veteran. Emmerich proves so good at directing action it’s kind of a shame he ended up focussing on the disaster movie genre for the most part. The screenplay is by the trio of Dean Devlin (“ID4”, “Stargate”), Christopher Leitch (director of the appalling “Teen Wolf Too”), and Richard Rothstein (writer-director of the limp TV movie “Bates Motel”).

 

Rating: B