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Overall Rating : 6.5/10
Directed By : John Hyams
Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD)
Dolph Lundgren (The Expendables)
Andrei Arlovski (MMA fighter)
Mike Pyle (MMA fighter)
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : February. 11, 2010
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| PLOT With stolen top-secret technology, terrorists have created a next-generation Universal Soldier - an elite fighter genetically altered into a programmable killing machine. With this "UniSol" leading the way, they seize the crippled Chernobyl nuclear reactor, threatening to unleash a lethal radioactive cloud. The only one who can stop them is Luc Deveraux, a UniSol who's been decommissioned for years. Reactivated and retrained, Deveraux must make a full-out assault on the heavily armed fortress. But inside, he'll discover not one but two of these virtually indestructible warriors. Andrew Scott, Deveraux's vicious UniSol enemy from the original Universal Soldier, has been secretly reanimated and upgraded. Now, these elite fighters are locked, loaded and programmed to kill; and the fate of millions hinges on this high-action showdown. |
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| THE REVIEW The story behind UNIVERSAL SOLDIER : REGENERATION, begins with a band as the two teenage children of Russian's Prime Minister are are kidnapped, amidst heavy gunfire and an adrenaline filled car chase by a group of rebel soldiers. Their reasoning? They are holding the children as sort of a ransom deal as they want their fellow countrymen, whom are in lock-up to be released. If the minister fails to comply to their demands, the group will kill the abductees and set of a massive explosive that they have rigged up in Chernobyl. To push the issue, in the mean time, to show that they meant business they release a deadly weapon, a Uni-Sol, which is the ultimate man made super soldier, who shares human features. Except this one is no ordinary Uni-Sol, it's a NGU(Next Generation Uni-sol), one much more function-able, stronger and impossible to beat than ever before. The good guys, the freedom fighters, if you will, attempt to fight back, utilizing their own Uni-Sols from the past, but as displayed the old technology used to power these soldiers, is no match against the new breed of Uni-dol that a demented scientist has developed. Feeling as if they are destined to be on the losing end, they reach deep back into the old playbook, deciding to resurrect an old Uni-Sol in the form of Luc Deveraux. Deveraux, who is considered by most to be the best ever of his kind, has been out of commission for a while, taken in by a woman who was working on making Deveraux normal, on the level of a real human. In this testing, V has been desensitized and is no longer the fighter that he was once created to be. So the military, must reverse what he has been taught, and teach him that his mission is to fight and protect. It doesn't take long and soon Luc Deveraux is back on the prowl again, ripping through many terrorists. But the rebel clan chose to not give up, as not only do they have the new soldier, but when tension rises in the group itself, the decision is made to resurrect an old enemy of Deveraux's, Andrew Scott. Before saying anything else about this film, I must admit that, it has been a while since I have seen any of the Universal Soldier films - so I went into UNIVERSAL SOLDIER : REGENERATION with more or less, a clean slate. REGENERATION is actually the 5th film of the story, but only the third major film, as the second and third movies were made for tv(with neither, Van Damme nor Lundgren). With this film, Director John Hyams takes the position from Simon Fellows, who was originally scheduled to direct. I cannot emphasize how much of a good move this turned out to be, because John Hyams, along with his father Peter as the Cinematographer(whom directed Van Damme in both, SUDDEN DEATH and TIMECOP), team up to deliver a straight-to-video action film, that is actually worth taking the time to watch. A great straight-to-video film, let alone an action kind, is truly hard to find these days, although they are churned out on the regular by all the major studios. I was surprised to find a rarity in REGENERATION after expecting all things mediocre(to be honest I almost passed on requesting this for review), but it has an engaging story, it's great looking on the cinematography and choreography sides of things, and it also stars two of the most celebrated action stars of all time, Van Damme and Lundgren. Although this film comes straight into our homes, this time bypassing a theatrical run in the states, it possesses all of the thingd that make a good Action flick and what the most diehard fans need to enjoy a film like this - A story that actually amounts to something, and action scenes that actually do pack a punch, With this film, the Hyams team are straight forward; there is no flashy camera tricks, nor is there a Director, whom feels the need to go the extra mile to prove a point. In other words UNIVERSAL SOLDIER : REGENERATION is right on point with an "old-school" actioner, no MTV, music video edits, just in your-face gritty violent action., the only way it should be in an action movie. No on to what most are probably wondering, do Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgen, still have what it takes to be prominent action stars? Well, if this film is any indication, the answer would have to be that, yes they do! Out of the two, Van Damme is a more major element to the story, but in the end both have an opportunity to shine, especially in an action-packed fight scene between the two near the film's conclusion. But also adding more appeal her is the former MMA champion Andrei "the Pitbull"Arlovsky is the seemingly unstoppable, NGU soldier. Here, minus his scruffy beard that he normally sports, Arlovsky pours on the "mean" saying no more than a mere, "yes" or "no" through out. He exceeds my expectations, as he creates a formidable villain here with basically his actions alone - a worth opponent for our hero, Deveraux. To sum things up, i'd have to say that despite what I may have thought that I would receive here, to my surprise, I found UNIVERSAL SOLDIER : REGENERATION, to be film that is well above average. |
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| GORE
METER 5/10 There are some great fight scenes herein. There are multiple stabbings, and a few impalements that are pretty brutal. There are also scenes in which people are beaten to a bloody pulp with no more than a Uni-Sol's fists. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4/10 As for the score, nothing really stood out to me, as I was more caught up in other elements of the film, but it is of the expected action/adventure/sci-fi brand. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM UNIVERSAL SOLDIER : REGENERATION, is a film that starts with action and ends with action, and in between it tells a story that keeps you interested - not to mention that it's a film that reunites two big names of the action genre. There's not much more that I could say other than its a film, truly worth taking time out to see if you are a fan of this type of film. I must say that after the film, JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme still proves that he has what it takes to be the star that he is to his many fans. This can also be echoed for Dolph Lundgren, who has a good showing here, it's not a big role that he has here, but it's almost essential. We will see more of him in Sylvester Stallone's film, THE EXPENDABLES later this year, as he stars along side a few other badassess(a film that Van Damme ironically passed on being a part of as well). |
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