Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning

This is considered the 3^rd part in the Universal Soldier franchise, placed directly after the previous film Universal Soldier: Regeneration which itself was a direct sequel to Universal Soldier. I know what you’re thinking, what happened to that one with Goldberg in it? Well Universal Soldier: The Return is now no longer considered Canon and is completely left behind and forgotten about like some bastard child. It was terrible anyways so no loss. Part of me wishes they would have done that with Batman & Robin, but I guess in a way they did. 

John (Scott Adkins) witnesses his wife and daughter brutally murdered. Nine months later he awakens from a coma haunted by images of the attack, he vows to kill the man responsible: Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Deveraux, now leader of a local terrorist group along with Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) sets to wreak havoc on the world by unleashing an army of amped up Unisols. As John starts to unveil Deveraux and his army of beef cake warriors, he discovers more about himself and begins to call into question everything he believed to be true. 

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning in parts is brutal, it's a no holds bar gore fest. It's easy to understand why it's rated R. Hands are being cut off, guys heads are being blow off, men's genitals are flying through the screen, women’s innards are smeared over the walls. If you like your action movies served up with a round house kick to the face you have come to the right place.

As I said this is supposed to be a direct sequel to Regeneration, however it’s hard to place where this part fits in with the series. Luc Deveraux is a bad guy, when did that happen? Wasn’t he always out for what’s right. Why is he trying to turn on his country? I can understand that he wants the ones that turned him into the “mutant of a man” to pay but to make him the central villain is something of bizarre. I mean when terminator switched roles from T1 to T2 it made sense, they explained it well enough for the audience to grab hold of that idea. Yet here, it’s just that, here. Nothing really is explained. It’s almost as if there was a missing film. 

The story itself is interesting at the start; it’s your basic revenge actioner “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." But it doesn’t stay there for long. Revelations are revealed that change plot to a wider scope, almost a drama film, for almost half the movie we are opened to a world of cloning, lies, brain scans and boobs. Keep in mind I’m not complaining about the last part of that sentence it’s just that I wanted an action movie, I wanted what the cover, trailer and blurb on the case suggests.  

Dolph Lundgren and Van Damme are at the top of the billing here (their names at the top of the name of the movie) suggesting they play major parts in the film, yet I would say Lundgren features for hardly 5 of the 114 minute running time and Van Damme gets a ‘Darth Maul’ screen time of 15 minutes mostly comprising of a recurring shot from the opening of the film.  That’s all well and good but I loathe when studios/distributors market movies like this. I understand that it brings the market and that Scott Adkins isn’t a house hold name just yet, but man does he kick some serious arse in this movie. Stunt man turned action star, Adkins brings a new life to the aging heroes of recent films and shines with brute strength. He does his own stunts (most of which don’t comprise of wire work) and fight scenes and his acting is well beyond the top billing thieves.  

3D isn’t anything fantastic. Just offering a bit more depth, but for a movie with guts being splattered on walls why not use that to your advantage. That blood and guts could be splattered on to the screen. The depth is nice in scenes that offer the scope or the landscape for the depth of field but most of the movie takes place inside, so it goes unnoticed. If the 2D version is cheaper I recommend just going for that. 

Special Features, just a few interviews with the director and the major players of the cast. Nothing is really revealed about the making of the film. Rather than just why the actors decided to take the part. I found Jean Claude’s the most interesting here as he just looked so bored with it all. 

While Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning isn’t a fantastic movie, you know that you’re picking it up from the Direct to Video section of your local video store but honestly its miles above the rest that you’ll find there.