Plot
Luc and Scott were killed in Vietnam, but the army has a secret project for reanimating dead people as near-perfect soldiers.
Release Year: 1992
Rating: 5.7/10 (32,623 voted)
Director:
Roland Emmerich
Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Ally Walker
Storyline An elite team of soldiers has been used against terrorists where they use astounding physical capabilities to overcome them. Victoria, a reporter, follows them and discovers a part of their secret. When one of the team kills her cameraman she tries to escape. Luc, one of the soldiers begins to have flashbacks and turns sides and helps her as the remainder of the team follows to protect their secrets.
Writers: Richard Rothstein, Christopher Leitch
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme
-
Luc Deveraux
/
GR44
Dolph Lundgren
-
Andrew Scott
/
GR13
Ally Walker
-
Veronica Roberts
Ed O'Ross
-
Colonel Perry
Jerry Orbach
-
Dr. Christopher Gregor
Leon Rippy
-
Woodward
Tico Wells
-
Garth
Ralf Moeller
-
GR76
Robert Trebor
-
Motel Owner
Gene Davis
-
Lieutenant
Drew Snyder
-
Charles
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister
-
GR55
Simon Rhee
-
GR61
Eric Norris
-
GR86
Michael Winther
-
Technician
Taglines:
Almost human...Almost perfect...Almost under control.
Trivia:
The UniSol's basic sidearm seen in throughout the film is a Magnum Research Inc. .357 Magnum Desert Eagle.
Goofs:
Plot holes:
When Luc and Veronica make their escape from the motel, they drive through the office and interrupt the motel owner's mother reading a newspaper. Are we to believe she sat and happily read the paper during the previous sequence when the motel was shot to pieces by 4 heavily armed men?
Quotes: Luc:
[asking Veronica to help him look on his naked body for a tracer]
Look for something hard. Luc:
[looking down]
Is that supposed to be there? Veronica:
Yes, yes it's very normal.
User Review
Dolph Lundgren + Jean Claude Van Damme = Awesome
Rating: 8/10
I remember first watching 'Universal Soldier' on TV when I was about 8
or 9 years old. After that, whenever I saw it it didn't have sound, or
I was rather inebriated, or both, or had other circumstances prevent me
from appreciating the awesomeness of Van Damme v. Lundgren, until it
was on TV again recently, and I got to revel in the glory of 'Universal
Soldier'.
Van Damme plays Luc Deveraux, a soldier serving in Vietnam, under the
command of Sergeant Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren). Deveraux has an
attack of conscience when Scott seems to lose his altogether. In fact,
Scott seems to be somewhere between insane and plain evil. After
Deveraux refuses - on Scott's orders - to kill innocent villagers, the
two soldiers kill each other. Listed as Missing-in-Action, the bodies
of the two soldiers are used in the Universal Soldier program, and the
two are re-activated some time later as GR-44 (Van Damme) and GR-13
(Lundgren), supposedly with no memories of their past.
When reporter Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker) stumbles onto some things
she shouldn't have seen (seriously, if you want to keep your project
secret, you don't drive around in an armoured bus, leaving unlocked
crates lying around outside), her cameraman is murdered by one of the
UniSols. GR-44 has flashes of his past, and takes Veronica on the run,
with the slightly (very?) unstable GR-13 in hot-pursuit.
Action abounds for the rest of the movie, and while there isn't
anything truly special, it is way cool, or even Awesome. We have car
chases, heavy vehicle chases, Van Damme beating people up, and Lundgren
being one of the awesomest bad guys ever. What is there to complain
about? Nothing, that's what. I must say that Dolph Lundgren is at his
best playing villains, and I'd even argue that his role in 'Universal
Soldier' has been some of his best work to date. Van Damme also gets to
credit 'Univeral Soldier' as being one his best movies.
Plot-wise? Again, little - if no - originality, and a pretty thin plot.
However, as I always say "Less plot = More action = Awesome", and
everyone is happy, and if you don't agree, then you really should not
be watching 'Universal Soldier'.
I love 'Universal Soldier'. It stands close to the pinnacle of action
B-movies, a genre everybody loves! It is a shame that I can the
official and un-official sequels on DVD, but I can't get the original
in all its awesome glory on DVD here in Australia. 'Universal Soldier'
is a must-see for action fans everywhere - 8/10
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