The coolest
thing about the ’90s was the action movies. They seemed to be produced at a
never-ending rate, and we had so many action heroes to choose from. Universal
Soldier falls under one of those ’90s movies that was meant to be seen
with that mindset.
If you watch the
movie now, you might get annoyed with the science and how the plot skips over
things to jump straight into the action.
Thanks to the level of intelligence and insight we all have today, this movie
couldn’t be made now. Add to that some acting and dialogue that could be called
below par by any standard, and it’s easy to see why it might not hold up. That
said, the non-stop action is what keeps it as one of those ’90s movies you’ve
got to see—especially if you’re watching it through a ’90s lens.
The movie’s plot
starts with our two leads, Luc (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Scott (Dolph
Lundgren), as U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War. Luc is on his last tour and
looking forward to going home, but his sergeant, Scott, has lost it mentally.
Scott is killing everyone, including members of his own platoon, calling them
traitors.
When Luc confronts him, trying to calm Scott down, Scott orders him to kill
innocent Vietnamese villagers, which Luc refuses. Scott kills them anyway, and
he and Luc end up fighting, leading to both of their deaths.
In the present
day, we see both of them as part of an elite force called the Universal
Soldiers. This force consists of dead MIA soldiers brought back to life through
some weird science and programmed to follow orders. They’re deployed on
impossible missions that living soldiers can’t handle, and they always succeed.
During one mission, Luc starts having memory flashes, causing him to disobey
orders. He looks back at Scott, remembering what happened more than two decades
ago.
The Army is
proud of their Universal Soldiers, but when a reporter (Veronica, played by
Ally Walker) decides to dig deeper, she gets caught. The Army sends Luc, Scott,
and other soldiers to apprehend her. Soon, Scott starts replaying the events
before his death—he shoots the cameraman. Luc, too, begins reliving his past
and attacks Scott, then runs away with Veronica.
Before long, the
entire Universal Soldier program is in chaos, with Scott going rogue and Luc
trying to get home while also saving Veronica.
Well, that’s the
plot. It’s not the best, but the action and pacing are what make this movie
memorable and fun.
Many useless sequels were made after this, and I stand by my opinion that they
were pointless.
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