In my mind there are only two Universal Soldier movies, and if you watch Universal Soldier (1992) and Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) you will have a complete, unspoiled Universal Soldier experience. Give everything else with the UniSol name attached to it a miss, it just spoils it!
Universal Soldier (1992) is a classic of its time and genre. It was destroyed with two "unofficial" sequels that I have never seen and never care to.
Then came the official sequel, Universal Soldier: The Return (1999). JCVD was back, which gave the movie some cred, but it deviated too far from what made Universal Soldier (1992) good. "The Return" was didn't have the same "feel". It was too "shiny", too "clean", just too "Hollywood".
When I got word of another Universal Soldier sequel I avoided it like the plague! I wasn't going to fall into temptation, but it was the reviews here on IMDb that finally turned me. I finally buckled due to the overwhelming praise of Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009).
"Regeneration" really is SO good for its budget. It took the UniSol series from the "classic for its time" bracket and thrust it into gritty reality. A worthy and brilliant sequel (that thankfully ignores the events of "The Return" and still doesn't get the praise it deserves. WATCH THIS FILM!
"Regeneration" leaves room for a direct sequel, which if made in the same tone would have been brilliant! But "Day of Reckoning" ignores the lot of it and goes in a completely different direction again! I have no idea why or what they were thinking after the acclaim of "Regeneration". Everyone involved should be fired and never be allowed to work again!
This film does not star JCVD or DL. They are extras at most. This film follows a new character and his story which intertwines into a re- imagined UniSol universe almost completely unrelated to anything before it.
JCVD and DL look extremely old, even more so than in "Regeneration" where they just got away with it!
This film shouldn't have been made. They had all the ingredients to run with a better sequel after the events of "Regeneration".
I am in fact a little angry that I have seen "DOR". It has left a foul taste in my mouth again just like I felt after I watched "The Return".
In a way I hope they still do another one because their track record suggests their next one will be good again. On the other hand JCVD and DL are far too old.
It will take several sittings of the original and "Regeneration" to erase this movie from memory. And just like how I believe there are only three Star Wars films, only three Indiana Jones films and Joel Schumacher never made a Batman film - there are only two UniSol film: the original and "Regeneration". Watch these two films again and again if you have to, just give this one (and any others) a miss.
Thank me later.
(2 stars for some pretty reasonable and gritty action and fight scenes for its budget - only good part of the film).
Universal Soldier (1992) is a classic of its time and genre. It was destroyed with two "unofficial" sequels that I have never seen and never care to.
Then came the official sequel, Universal Soldier: The Return (1999). JCVD was back, which gave the movie some cred, but it deviated too far from what made Universal Soldier (1992) good. "The Return" was didn't have the same "feel". It was too "shiny", too "clean", just too "Hollywood".
When I got word of another Universal Soldier sequel I avoided it like the plague! I wasn't going to fall into temptation, but it was the reviews here on IMDb that finally turned me. I finally buckled due to the overwhelming praise of Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009).
"Regeneration" really is SO good for its budget. It took the UniSol series from the "classic for its time" bracket and thrust it into gritty reality. A worthy and brilliant sequel (that thankfully ignores the events of "The Return" and still doesn't get the praise it deserves. WATCH THIS FILM!
"Regeneration" leaves room for a direct sequel, which if made in the same tone would have been brilliant! But "Day of Reckoning" ignores the lot of it and goes in a completely different direction again! I have no idea why or what they were thinking after the acclaim of "Regeneration". Everyone involved should be fired and never be allowed to work again!
This film does not star JCVD or DL. They are extras at most. This film follows a new character and his story which intertwines into a re- imagined UniSol universe almost completely unrelated to anything before it.
JCVD and DL look extremely old, even more so than in "Regeneration" where they just got away with it!
This film shouldn't have been made. They had all the ingredients to run with a better sequel after the events of "Regeneration".
I am in fact a little angry that I have seen "DOR". It has left a foul taste in my mouth again just like I felt after I watched "The Return".
In a way I hope they still do another one because their track record suggests their next one will be good again. On the other hand JCVD and DL are far too old.
It will take several sittings of the original and "Regeneration" to erase this movie from memory. And just like how I believe there are only three Star Wars films, only three Indiana Jones films and Joel Schumacher never made a Batman film - there are only two UniSol film: the original and "Regeneration". Watch these two films again and again if you have to, just give this one (and any others) a miss.
Thank me later.
(2 stars for some pretty reasonable and gritty action and fight scenes for its budget - only good part of the film).