Universal Soldier (1992)

Before he scored big with the Sci-Fi/Disaster hits STARGATE, INDEPENDENCE DAY, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and 2012, German director Roland Emmerich replaced THE FUGITIVE director Andrew Davis to helm the Tri-Star/Carolco Pictures Action/Sci-Fi movie UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. Released in 1992, Two U.S. Army soldiers, the homeward bound Private Luc Devreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and the psychotic Sergeant Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), kill each other during a deadly Confrontation in 1969 Vietnam. Twenty-Five Years Later, both Devreaux and Scott are brought back to life, along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers, for a secret government program of an elite counter terrorism unit called UniSols, aka Universal Soldiers. They are genetically enhanced, unstoppable killing machines without memory, feelings or free will. Meanwhile, a snoopy and cocky news reporter named Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker) stumbles upon the secret of the UniSols. But when Devreaux and Scott begin to regain patches of memory from their former lives, Devreaux escapes, along with Veronica, from the program, leading Scott to go on a blood lust chase across the west to find them and kill them. The film also stars Ed O’ Ross (Red Heat) as UniSol Commander in Charge Colonel Perry, Leon Rippy (Eight Legged Freaks) as UniSol technician Dr. Woodward Haynes, Tommy “Tiny” Lester (Friday) and Ralf Moeller (Ridley Scott’s Gladiator) as UniSols GR55 and GR74, and Jerry Orbach (TV’s Law and Order) as UniSol creator Dr. Christopher Gregor. I remember seeing this movie when I was a little kid and the only scene that I remember watching was the first part of the diner scene and that was it. I finally saw the whole movie when I was eighteen and I loved it. I had no idea that Emmerich directed this movie and I must say that this is one of the best films he has ever made next to Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012. Both Van Damme and Lundgren's performances were both awesome and fantastic, and the final scene between them at Van Damme's character's home was great. This was the final film that was to be recorded in CDS (Cinema Digital Sound), an early digital sound format that would later form to DTS. Mainstream critics dismissed the movie as a TERMINATOR 2 clone, or as a typical, mindless action film. While it was poorly received by other critics, the film grossed $10,057,084 from 1,916 theaters with a $5,249 per screen average and taking the 2nd spot. From there, it made $36,299,898 in US ticket sales, becoming a moderate hit. Overseas, it was much more popular, mostly opening at #1, making over $65 million overseas, which earned the film a total of $102 million worldwide, on a $23 million budget that was filmed throughout the state of Arizona and some interiors in Los Angeles during the late summer of 1991. UNIVERSAL SOLDIER is one of the best action movies I have ever seen and when you watch it, you'll love it too.