zhankristo I've been a Van Damme fan since I can't remember and while I do understand why critics may be harsh on him as an actor or his movies, it is not hard to get why he has such a ''cult following'', his movies are fun, simple and entertaining. Universal Soldier may be the best of his golden era. A movie that has everything you need in an action flick: a little drama, humor, cool car chases and of course the action itself. Even thou the main event is the clash between Luc and Sargent Scott, a character like Veronica Roberts still manages to stay in the spotlight, making her to this day one of my favorite female characters in an action movie. This is always a safe choice for me when I'm feeling nostalgic.

Leofwine_draca Big, dumb, loud, and fun. Four words that could aptly summarise the appeal of this blockbuster movie which proved a hit with audiences back in '92 and spawned three inferior sequels. UNIVERSAL SOLDIER is probably Van Damme's most successful mainstream movie to date and his pairing with Lundgren as the enemy is a good one; Lundgren's height alone gives him the imposing edge over the smaller, tougher Van Damme and their final one-on-one battle is one to remember. Packed with lots of hard-edged violence and some unwanted comic relief from a highly annoying female support (Ally Walker), UNIVERSAL SOLDIER is a movie that gets better as it goes along.At first, the sheer woodenness of Van Damme and Lundgren is inexcusable. I know that they're supposed to be playing emotionless dead robots, but even after they first rebel they seem wooden and unable to even say their lines convincingly. Thankfully this wears off as time goes on and the pair settle down into their roles. In fact Lundgren goes a 360-degree turnaround at the end and actually becomes quite good as the psychotic soldier who believes that he's surrounded by the enemy. Van Damme? Well, here he plays a more sympathetic character than usual which will no doubt endear him to female fans, while still providing the high-kicking action that the fans expect. Ally Walker is terrible, though, as the intensely annoying female lead, and although it's good to see Ed O'Ross make an appearance as a colonel, he's underused and killed off quickly.The flimsy plot strings together a scene of big-budget action sequences (no surprise, as most of Roland Emmerich's films are thus styled, e.g. INDEPENDENCE DAY) which are pretty impressive. From the opening hostage stakeout at the Hoover Dam to the shoot-up at a motel, to the climatic truck chase and the final battle with Van Damme and Lundgren, things just keep getting better and better. The high body count sees lots of people getting shot or killed in nasty ways, and of course there's the usual quota of bullet-shedding and big explosions.Lundgren's method of death at the end of the movie (like you couldn't guess) is highly graphic and unexpected. The loud score is sufficiently adrenaline-pumping to work and the film tries so hard to please that the feeling rubs off on the audience. Although it may be dumb entertainment, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER "delivers the groceries" so to speak and is quite watchable in a forgettable way, in that it passes the time and engages the attention but doesn't leave much impact afterwards. It may be a popcorn movie but it's undoubtedly a well-made one.

SnoopyStyle During the Vietnam war, Private Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) tries to stop Sergeant Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) who has gone mad. It ends in a massacre and the military tries to cover it up. Their dead bodies are used in a secret experiment. In the present day, Colonel Perry commands these Universal Soldiers in a rescue mission when terrorists take 30 hostages. Reporter Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker) follows the team back to their base. The soldiers start experiencing traumatic recalls and Scott goes crazy once again. Deveraux saves Veronica and goes on the run.This introduced me to director Roland Emmerich. This is a simple action thriller and it's fun. The story works. It's not complicated. Sure, it has that Terminator flavor but that's a good thing. This uses Van Damme and Lundgren to their best possible side. It lets them be a little bit robotic. It's an excellent action B-movie.

jokerswild1 The plot is pretty unoriginal, but the existence of the plot in this particular film is really just an excuse for action, and the action in question is good enough to make this worth your time.If you looked at the poster and saw the names of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, you probably figured out that the acting would be pretty poor, and you were right. Van Damme tries his best, but he doesn't really have it in him. To be fair though, Luc Deveraux isn't a compellingly written character in the first place. Lundgren is OK when he's just an emotionless soldier, but pretty hammy once his character's true personality reemerges. Even though neither of them are very convincing actors, the opening of the film is actually quite dark and compelling. As previously stated, the action is quite good, with the best sequences being in the third act. The cinematography and production values are of high quality as well.