Universal Soldier: Regeneration Blu Ray Review
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 02.09.2010
Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren return for one of the best DTV movies you will see this year.
Directed by John Hyams
Writers Victor Ostrovsky
Cinematographers Peter Hyams
Original Music Kris Hill and Michael Krassner
Cast
Jean-Claude Van Damme ... Luc Deveraux
Dolph Lundgren ... Andrew Scott
Andrei 'The Pit Bull' Arlovski ... NGU
Mike Pyle ... Captain Kevin Burke
Corey Johnson ... Col. John Coby
Garry Cooper ... Dr. Porter
Emily Joyce ... Dr. Sandra Flemming
Zahary Baharov ... Commander Topov
Aki Avni ... General Boris
Kerry Shale ... Dr. Colin
Runtime: 97 min
MPAA: Rated R for pervasive strong brutal violence and some language. Official Website
The Film
It is a little different to review a direct-to-DVD action flick. You don’t expect as much with these movies but still want to be entertained while receiving a somewhat interesting story, maybe with some above average acting. Even with lowered expectations, you mainly end up with movies like Art of War II: Betrayal, an abysmal uninteresting B-movie with horrid action.
The Universal Soldier franchise is full of these horrid efforts. It was not always supposed to be this way. I remember when the original movie came out, in theaters, and ended up being a decent action flick which both made its budget back and remained interesting. That was 1992 and much has changed since then. Director Roland Emmerich has since moved on to destroying the world one movie at a time. Dolph Lundgren retired and then returned better and even more badass than before. Jean Claude Van Damme become nothing more than a straight-to-DVD movie star until his eye turning role in JCVD a couple of years back.
Along the way, the franchise continued to spurn out sequels. In 1998, two TV movies were released as follow ups to the original with a completely different and unknown cast playing the same characters as the first movie. The in 1999, Jean Claude Van Damme returned with his own sequel with Michael Jai White (Spawn) and Bill Goldberg as the bad guys. To be honest, the three sequels barely equal one bad movie between them. Now, glory of all glories, we get another sequel. This is considered Part 3 because the two without Van Damme have been completely ignored in the continuity. And this time, Dolph Lundgren is back.
A lot of people may question the big man’s return but let’s just say the movie was based on dead soldiers being reanimated as super soldiers, so anything can realistically happen in this movie. The plot is simple. The leader of an extremist group in Russia wants political prisoners released and has kidnapped the Russian prime minister’s son and daughter to force his hand. These men also have taken over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and, if their demands are not met, have threatened to blow it up releasing toxins into the atmosphere.
This opening scene kicks off the movie with a bang. We follow the son and daughter until they leave a museum and are kidnapped. Dozens of people are gunned down at this point and an exciting car chase ensues. I have seen some crappy action scenes in these types of movies but was pleasantly surprised at the excellent camera work in this movie, from start to finish. The father/son team of Peter and John Hyams are at the helm for this movie and they do not disappoint. It is interesting to me to see that Peter Hyams (Timecop, The Relic) is not the director, but instead the DP for his son’s feature debut. The two men have created a movie that looks much better than its DTV status.
The plot takes a little stumble after the kidnapping. The government realizes that the man who led the kidnapping was not injured when he should have died after the blitzkrieg of violence. They surmise he might be a UniSol and call in the man who created the next generation UniSol’s to help them. He unleashes four of the five remaining Uni-Sol’s to retake the plant and they are all quickly, and easily dispatched by the new UniSol helping the terrorists. This UniSol is played by former UFC Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski and he does an amazing job in the role he is asked to play. He rarely speaks and is only there to kick ass. By that criteria, he is perfect for the role.
My problem is that these are super soldiers, and are supposed to be fast, strong and almost invulnerable. They are all killed relatively easily by the bad guy. If they are so great, why did they die so quickly? I understand they were setup to be nothing more than tools to prove why they needed Van Damme to come back to fight but their quick demise makes the entire program seem to be a bit overrated. I don’t know how it could be fixed but that came across to me as weak storytelling.
This leads to the recruiting of the fifth UniSol, Luc Deveraux (Van Damme), who has spent the last few years being “rehabilitated” to exist in society. He is then given the shot of super soldier serum and sent in to stop the terrorist’s UniSol but finds his old enemy Andrew Scott (Lundgren) waiting there for him. I won’t reveal how Scott was revived after his wood chipper finale in the first movie, but it makes sense.
None of that matters. What happens after Luc enters Chernobyl is why you want to watch this movie anyway. From the time he enters, we get almost 25 minutes of non-stop fighting action between the three UniSol’s and it is glorious to behold. The veteran action stars may be around fifty years old but they can still fight like no one’s business. When you add in the ultimate fighting techniques of Arlovski, you have a true masterpiece for any B-movie action fan.
The acting is decent, with Lundgren giving the most bang-for-your-buck every second he is on screen. He is less the psychotic Andrew Scott from the original movie and more a Frankenstein’s Monster character here. He spends much of the movie contemplating something he can’t seem to remember, something he feels like he needs to say. It is a very interesting turn for his character and he is clearly the most interesting character in the entire film. Be on the lookout for his Blade Runner moment during his fight with Van Damme. It is hilarious and one of the most inspired things I have seen lately. Van Damme doesn’t seem to be giving that much effort here but that may be due to his character’s lack of an emotional state in this movie. The supporting actors are more miss than hit with the rogue scientist a low rent Steve Buscemi/Joe Pantoliano wannabe and the main human soldier we are asked to follow (MMA fighter Mark Pyle) comes across as a poor man’s Marc Blucas (if that is even possible).
That is expected in this type of movie and I can live with it. I am not looking for Oscar worthy performances in a straight-to-DVD Jean Claude Van Damme movie. I am looking for a balls-to-the-wall action flick. The Van Damme/Lundgren fight alone makes this movie an easy recommendation. It is one of the most entertaining DTV movies I have ever seen.
The Video
This is a DTV movie so I don’t expect too much, even though it is a Blu-Ray. It is presented in 1080p, 2.35:1 transfer that tries to show the cold, lifeless appearance of the country around Chernobyl more than it tries to appear pretty. I like the look of the movie and feel that a more polished look would have been out of place in this atmosphere. It is a decent transfer for what it is.
The Audio
This DTV has a DTS-HD 5.1 lossless soundtrack and is amazing to listen to. The movie is full of explosions, machine guns and more and everything sounds amazing. There is a bit of the imbalance I hate in various Blu-Rays where the sound is so amazing that you need to turn it down and then the dialogue scenes don’t match up, making you turn up the volume again. I would like to see more balance in the two tracks.
The Packaging
This is a typical Blu-Ray keep case and the art work is just fine. The menu system is great and I found myself able to bounce around between different areas of the Blu-Ray easily.
The Extras
Audio Commentary - This track is an automatic win for one reason: DOLPH FREAKING LUNDGREN. The track allows director John Hyams and Lundgren to talk about the movie and the track is a blast to listen to. The entire commentary while Lundgren is fighting Van Damme is an epic win, as Dolph is hilarious. They share antidotes and talk about everything you can think of, remaining interesting throughout.
Behind the Lines (18:44) - This is a pretty damn good look at the making of the movie. The feature talks to just about everyone involved including Lundgren, Van Damme, Andrei Arlovski and Mike Pyle. It is a solid piece looking at everything from story development to the acting to the look of the movie.
BD-Live (Movie IQ) - This is a BD-Live feature that plays along with the movie. Whenever a symbol appears on your screen, you can click ENTER and information pops up, including listing every cast member in the scene, where they shot it at, what song might be playing and a bunch of trivia (much of it repeats itself through the movie). Because it uses an Internet connection, the trivia remains updated. It is slightly interesting but grows tiresome after a while.
Trailers - Black Dynamite, The Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day, Armored, The Damned United, Zombieland, The Stepfather, Universal Soldier: The Return, "Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season," and Snatch.
The Film: 8.5/10.0 The Video: 7.0/10.0 The Audio: 7.0/10.0 The Packaging: 10.0/10.0 The Extras: 7.5/10.0
The 411: I have seen a lot of direct-to-DVD movies in my life (even back when they were actually direct-to-video). Most of the movies are brainless action flicks that range from entertaining to ridiculous. The fact this is a sequel to a movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren means it will not get much respect. However, there is a lot to like in this movie. This is one of Lundgren’s very good performances as the man is getting better with age. The fight scenes are tremendous and the direction by first time director John Hyams is fantastic. It looks decent and sounds spectacular on Blu-Ray and the extras are solid for anyone wanting to see behind the curtain some. As I said, this is one of the best DTV movies I have ever seen and I can recommend it to anyone who loves this specific genre.
