Universal Soldier *** (1992, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Ally Walker) – Classic Movie Review 8487

Director Roland Emmerich’s 1992 action sci-fi thriller Universal Soldier proved a good-sized hit for him and his exciting action stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. It cost $23,000,000, and grossed $36,299,898, with a cumulative worldwide gross of $101,999,898.

Back then we were celebrating the long and eagerly awaited teaming of Van Damme and Lundgren, at the time the two rivals for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s crown, as they fight it out in a medium-warm sci-fi action thriller, which is nevertheless one of Van Damme’s best movies.

They play US soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam in 1969, only to be revived decades later as cyborgs on state police duty as part of the secret military programme UniSol to create an elite counter-terrorism unit. But good guy Luc Devereaux, now GR44 (Van Damme) keeps remembering Nam and bad guy Andrew Scott, now GR13 (Lundgren) goes haywire, killing everybody in sight on his way to trying to terminate GR44 (Van Damme) and Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker), a woman reporter he has fallen for.

Universal Soldier has some interesting ideas but offers only routine action thrills, with a run-of-the-mill story. We were already used to better in those days, but nevertheless it is quite professionally and sparkily done and thankfully it does exhibit a sense of humour (Van Damme asks ‘Accent? What accent’) and the major set-piece at the motel-garage is excitingly executed. That apart, oddly, it is the chase and action scenes that seem ordinary. Oddly again perhaps, Van Damme outclasses Lundgren, but then he is the main star and has got a lot more to do.

Also in the cast are Ally Walker, Ed O’Ross, Jerry Orbach, Leon Rippy, Tico Wells, Ralf Moeller, Robert Trebor, Gene Davis, Drew Snyder, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, Simon Rhee, Eric Norris, and Michael Winther.

Universal Soldier is directed by Roland Emmerich, runs 104 minutes, is made by StudioCanal, Carolco Pictures, IndieProd Company Productions, is released by TriStar Pictures (1992) (US) and Guild Film Distribution (1992) (UK), is written by Richard Rothstein and Christopher Leitch, is shot in Technicolor by Karl Walter Lindenlaub, is produced by Allen Shapiro and Craig Baumgarten, is scored by Christopher Franke and is designed by Holger Gross, with special effects by Kit West.

It is rated R for strong graphic violence and for strong language.

It was shot in various locations in Arizona between 12 August 1991 and 30 October 1991.

It is followed by Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business, both with Matt Battaglia.

It was announced in October 2018 that Richard Wenk, the screenwriter behind The Equalizer, The Expendables 2 and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, is working on a ‘re-imagining’, ‘not a remake and not a redo’ of Universal Soldier. ‘Very much like The Equalizer,’ he said, ‘it’s the title that inspired me and not the movies.’

Emmerich is most famous for Independence Day.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8487

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