November 21, 2012 -- This is officially the third sequel in the Universal Soldier series of movies (it carries the alternate title of “Universal Soldier 4: Day of Reckoning”) even though I found eight movies in IMDB.com with Universal Soldier-related titles. The first one, released in 1971, has no relationship to this series. The first in this particular series was released in 1992. Two of the big stars of that film return in this latest one, Jean-Claude Van Damme (“The Expendables 2”) as Luc Deveraux and Dolph Lundgren (“The Expendables 2”) as Andrew Scott.

The idea behind the series is that somewhere in the Military is a secret unit composed of dead soldiers brought back to life with some kind of medical wizardry (human cloning is also involved in this particular episode). These “Universal Soldiers” (a title I suspect is based on a 1964 anti-war song of the same name written by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie and popularized by singer-songwriter Donovan a year later) can be programmed to perform dangerous military missions. If shot, or even if some of their limbs are amputated, they heal and grow back the missing limbs. They are powerful warriors who are almost indestructible.

The problem with the Universal Soldier program is that the soldiers themselves are mentally unstable and they tend to kill their creators, and anyone else they feel like killing, sort of like a team of Frankenstein monsters. You would think that would be a fatal flaw in the program, but it continues on, movie after movie.

In this particular story, the main character, John (Scott Adkins of “The Expendables 2”) is brutally attacked by Luc Deveraux and his men one night in his home. He witnesses Deveraux kill his wife and daughter. He wakes up in a hospital after being in a coma for months. An FBI agent, Gorman (Rus Blackwell of “Battle Los Angeles”) asks John if he remembers who attacked his family and John identifies a photo of Deveraux.

After John leaves the hospital, he decides to track down Deveraux himself. As soon as he starts to track Deveraux, he has to survive a series of grotesquely brutal, violent attacks which continue at regular intervals through the rest of the film. His first clue leads him to a strip bar (all the strippers there appear topless in the film) where he meets a dancer, Sarah (Mariah Bonner of “The Social Network”) who seems to know him. As these vicious attacks continue, it becomes obvious that John himself is a Universal Soldier.

When it gets to the point in the film where somebody is drilling a hole in John's head with a drill press and is not using any anesthesia, I said “enough of this.” The level of violence shown in this film is extreme. Those who are prone to photosensitive seizures should be warned this film also has some scenes with very intense, bright stroboscopic effects. These scenes are intense and they last some time. These scenes could induce seizures in some people.

While I liked the way the film ended, I found the level of violence in the film repugnant and most of the characters irredeemable, disposable and forgettable. None of them are particularly bright, either. It is hard to stomach a film like this that holds human life in such low regard. It has the artistic sensibilities of a slaughterhouse. This film rates an F.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2012 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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