Reviews: Universal Soldier (1992) Movie Review
Genres: Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action, Crime
Subgenres:
Our honest review of Universal Soldier (1992) breaks down its scares, pacing, and whether this horror movie truly stands the test of time.
Universal Soldier (1992) is a 1h 42-min rated R American science fiction action-thriller film that was shot in Los Angeles, California, USA and several locations in Arizona, USA. Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day (1996), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)) executed the film with a polished and energetic look/feel. Universal Soldier felt like an epic movie when I first saw it with the action scenes that was slickly shot and could not be any better. It was an intense roller-coaster ride that only got better and brutal with time. There were exhilarating scenarios including gunplay, fist fights, humor, truck chase, grenades, and carnage. I was not expecting to get a few emotional scenes which were a great treat for me because I am a sap for drama movies but please do not think there will be teary scenes.
Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme - Double Impact (1991), Kickboxer (1989), Bloodsport (1988)) was part of U.S. Army Special Forces team in 1969 in Vietnam. His leader Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren - The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012), Rocky IV (1985)) became crazy, and the two had a showdown resulting in both of them dying. Luc and Andrew’s deaths were covered up and marked as missing in action because their corpses were cryogenically frozen. The duo was revived but has no memories of their previous lives and was enrolled in the "Universal Soldier" program where they are part of an elite counter-terrorism unit. Skip forward - Luc began regaining part of his memory from before he was killed which leads the story to progress on an exciting path.
The final battle between Lundgren and Van Damme could have been way better since both of these trained men has martial art fighting abilities. There were a few flaws that did not hamper the movie much, but I felt that a little more attention to details would have helped. Universal Soldier makes a good mindless violent watch with a few good friends. There was no shortage for gore as there was needles in the cheek, gunshots to the head, sliced off ears, bullets in the eye/face, open wounds and lots of other brutal, gory scenes that will satisfy gorehounds. The music, sound, actors, backgrounds/sets, fast pace, loudness, and cinematography were excellent.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Universal Soldier Rating Scores
- Our Score: 7/10
- Overall Score: 5.27/10
- IMDB: 6.1/10
- MetaCritic: 3.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 3.4/10
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