Review of Universal Soldier (1972) by Tim B — 15 Apr 2018

After watching two of my favorite action stars in several recent movies (Van Damme and Lundgren), the nostalgia in me came about and I suddenly had a flashback to this flick. I rummaged through my attic VHS collection an had a sit down with Universal Soldier.

I still remember seeing this on the satellite dish for the first time and being totally wowed by it. It was good to go back to that feeling of being a kid and not giving a sh*t about rent, bills, work etc.

This is one of those flicks that makes me a seven-year-old again and I needed that kick. People who be hatin' on flicks like this, go at it all you want. I don't write this stuff because I am trying to give the final say on what people should watch.

I like discussing movies, I like interpreting movies and these type of movies speak to me. I don't think these movies are dumb by any sense of the word. They're made to entertain us and for all the intense dramas and 'sophisticated' thrillers, we get the action flick with badasses ready to keep us amused without subplots or subtext.

I, for one, can use them every now and again and this one is one of my favorites! A lot of hand-to-hand combat, fighting, guns, chase scenes and many moments of bloody violence! Not solely relying on action, the flick also kept the look and feel of the film and Roland Emmerich's amazing eye was on top of that.

The color blue gave the flick a surreal look and the odd artistic touches he put in various parts was the cherry on top (all about those angles!) Granted, the film's plot isn't the most involving but it didn't want to be either.

It still managed to bring some softer moments to the table. I didn't swoon over it but I still bought them nevertheless (especially when it came to Van Damme's character). Speaking of Van Damme, the man underplayed the part and it worked in his favor.

The man's a great actor, period. Dolph Lundgren also shines and gets to showcase some pretty morbid moments. Made me forget his blah role in Stash House fairly quickly. Ally Walker made her role a lot better than it had right to be.

She also made me chuckle (intentionally) a few times! Ed O'Ross is a major character actor and does no less than he has before. Shines as always. On the downer, the same reason I praised the movie was sort of what I fault it for.

The movie didn't really delve a lot on the story side of things. There was some development in terms of the dualities in the 'human vs robot' side but then dropped to make way for the action.

I can't complain but I would've liked some kind of payoff as I was invested once it surfaced. Alas, I didn't get it, but the substitute worked well enough in the meantime! This is a no- holds-barred, action-packed, well shot and (at times) funny flick that defines well what ENTERTAINMENT means to me.

Loved the flick and will gladly see it again in the future!