Universal Soldier (1992)

Before Roland Emmerich made big budget stuff like 'Independence Day', he made this one. And you can tell it has the Emmerich stamp over it, even though this is probably a lot more violent than his later works.

Yes, I know that in 'Independence Day', a lot of things get blown up and probably an enormous amount of people die, but the violence here is a lot more gruesome and up close and personal.

Also, this has both Jean-Claude Van Damme ànd Dolph Lundgren in it. So what's not to like?

Van Damme and Lundgren are two soldiers who kill each other during the Vietnam War after the latter goes nuts. They are whisked away to some secret military experiment and are brought back in the present day as enhanced supersoldiers. The feel and act like cyborgs, but they are more akin to hypercharged humans. They also need to cool down on a regular basis, because apparently the science that upgraded them, makes them overheat rapidly. A plotpoint that quickly gets forgotten for most of the time, so don't pin the film down on this.

But then Van Damme begins to have flashbacks of the past and he escapes with a reporter, while in the meantime Lundgren reverts back to his psycho ways of old and he is singlemindedly chasing Van Damme because he is convinced he is a deserter and needs to be put down.

Also: Lundgren's character collects ears and hangs them round his neck, just in case we didn't get that he's a psycho.

Not a lot more to say, actually. This is one of those action films that were so prevalent during the late 80s and early 90s: a completely bonkers story, no real character development, just running from point A to point B with some action set pieces and fun fighting scenes thrown in.

You will notice that this one has a lot of influences and ideas from films like 'The Terminator'. Sure, it's supposed to be different, but it's clearly there.

What does stand out for me is perhaps the wonderful overacting by our friend Dolph. He relishes in the role of a complete nutcase and you can tell he's having a blast. It's good to have such a colourful character, because truthfully, Van Damme is a bit bland and colourless here, which is a shame, because he is capable of more. But perhaps two 'larger than life' characters might have been a bit too much.

It's a silly film, but it's enjoyable if you take it for what it is.