You may not have been aware, but the Universal Soldier franchise has been given a new impetus over the past few years: director John Hyams has convinced the stars Jean-Claude Van Dammeand Dolph Lundgren will return in the “gritty” sequel “Universal Soldier: Rebirth.”
And the trio returned in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, another gritty installment in the franchise, but this time combining elements of sci-fi, horror and mystery (a good move to break away from the tired formula).
But the plot begins ominously - with a creepy episode with a first-person view of the main character, family man John (Scott Adkins), the victim of an attack during which three masked raiders beat him to a pulp in his own home before killing his wife and child in front of him.
Nine months pass, and John, who has just woken up from a coma, has only one thing on his mind: revenge. Subsequently, the audience's attention is focused on his attempts to find out the identities of the attackers and their motives, in order to then drive their coffin once and for all, forcing them to die a painful death.
As you may have already guessed from the title, the Unisol project has something to do with this tragedy, but John is suffering from his own personal crisis, which calls into question the strength of the moral spirit of the protagonist.
Intriguing stuff, with touches of Frankenstein, Blade Runner and Total Recall. Even elements of “Apocalypse Now” were used. But as much as the odd choice to tell the story through John's eyes, it's also disappointing that the audience is fed bits of information that confuse rather than illuminate what's going on. Indeed, the narrative offers more questions than answers, so by the end it becomes difficult to understand the motivations of many of the characters.
But watching the movie "Universal Soldier" only for the sake of the plot is for the eccentric viewer, and fortunately, there is plenty of action here.
Adkins, who starred in the summer blockbuster The Expendables 2, may lack the charisma of his co-stars, but he can fight with the best of them, most notably in a spectacular scene in a sporting goods store involving a brawl between himself and Andrei "Pitbull" Arlovski.
The brutality of the violence is something to witness, with Hyams directing every scene so brilliantly that you can practically feel the momentum of every blow, and using 3D to properly immerse the viewer in the thick of the action.
There's an over-emphasis on slow motion in some places, and the film goes overboard with sequences of people chasing each other down long corridors, but the sheer action of Day of Reckoning puts it on par with The Raid, the best action movie of the year.
In fact, the only disappointment in this regard was that Van Damme and Lundgren never fought with each other, long-time partners only occasionally appear on the screen together, and show off in “cameos”, instead of being in the center of events, judging by the credits as such (note: and by the inscriptions on the posters too) .
The result was a very unconventional "Universal Soldier", but one in which the creators had the courage to try something new. It may not be entirely successful in places, but in an era when filmmakers take seeming delight in rehashing the same film over and over again, you have to give Hyams credit for mixing the tried and tested formulas. And, with a seemingly “open” ending to the film, there is hope that he will be given the opportunity to further explore the Unisol universe.
Verdict:
Universal Soldier is an entertaining film that dares to try something different.
Rating: 6/10
Author: Chris Tilley
Source: ign.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
Home » Reviews » Translated reviews »
Tags: Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins
Tags: Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins
I watched Unisol 4 a couple of hours ago. Some kind of mixed impression. Let's just say... Van Damme is absolutely useless there, and Adkins can be replaced by anyone else. Dolph Lundgren looked bright and charismatic, having noticeably improved his acting and physical fitness. As for the direction, the aesthetics of the film and the plot... everything seems so modern and brutal, they wave bats, smash shops, chop off fingers, but something is missing and leaves the impression of a “cultural education school”...
Character posters:
[img]http://articulationtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/US4-adkins.jpg[/img]
[img]http://articulationtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/US4-vandamme.jpg[/img]
[img]http://articulationtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/US4-lundgren.jpg[/img]
New trailer
youtube.com/watch?v=B_hGGgwXZuc
Exactly =)
Of course, there weren’t as many people as, say, at the premiere of a full-fledged blockbuster with A-class stars, but a decent amount of people came. And to blatantly NOT show footage of fans and say that Scott was upset by the small number of fans who came - this is complete nonsense. In addition, other media (who also spent the whole day with Scott and interviewed him) have the opposite opinion
PS + the first three parts brought HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS... this is a very funny joke =)
Are the correspondents and representatives of the channel who interviewed Scott and spent the entire time at the premiere blatantly lying? =))
COMPLETE nonsense, I speak as a person who was at the premiere
Oh, there is someone down there who liked it: he and I noted, and someone else there)
It’s just that his name (and yours) is in the code.
This is of. Tony Jaa fan page. Well it's written right there :)
Thanks, did Crete post this?
Illegitimate son of a Cheburashka toy and a ping-pong ball)
That is:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151192749344704&set=vb.407270716006722&type=2
Thai Cheburashka )))
I don't know. Either it’s an exhibition, or who knows :)
[img]https://fbcdn-sphotos-ea.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/427848_407271496006644_308926745_n.jpg[/img]
Hanuman? Suddenly. Thank you, Ilya, for bringing pride to the Thai nation!
It's been a while since we've seen Jaa perform live. I wonder what shape it's in?..
[img]https://fbcdn-sphotos-ba.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/423621_409710355762758_1169006999_n.jpg[/img]
Yeah, a bullet from a hard drive, rotated 90 degrees along the Z axis twice. ;)
Evil is not a movie blunder, just a bullet with a shifted center of gravity)))
This is a 3D effect
Exactly, and add: Have e carrot, its good for yu%)
By the way, I discovered a blunder in an excerpt from the film. When there is a shootout in the corridor, after Arlovsky's first shot, the victim has a wound on the right side of his chest, and when the camera moves behind the wounded man while reloading the shotgun, the exit hole is already on the left side. Shaitan is a bullet however.
He should have made a face and said “Yu ask so mani fucking quests” :)
and herak guyver kick))))
It’s obvious that they were teasing, but they themselves probably didn’t remember the name of the mushroom soup either. :)
You might think that he must remember the name of some 100500th restaurant or dish (most likely in Russian or French).
Ha))) It seems that all other sources reported that there were more fans of Adkins’ work (plus they pestered him with autographs and took pictures with him) than the organizers expected (why, this is a FIGHT) and he said that he did not expect such attention ( but here they say that on the contrary he is taking a break from his fame, which he actually does not have)
My opinion: either MTV was poorly prepared, or they are belittling the specialists.
something like that O_o
Adkins in Moscow
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu28tr_yyyyy-yyyyyy-y-yyyyyy_shortfilms
I was also at the premiere in St. Petersburg.
I took an autograph and was the first to do so, even before he entered the hall :)
To be honest, the film is absolutely nothing, I was only pleased with the action.
I liked the third part much more.
Come on Grishin, he’s still not that famous and the film is not a high-budget one, to put it mildly)
I was at the premiere, I saw Adkins. I didn’t manage to take a good photo, but I snatched an autograph)) He didn’t stay long. The crazy madam asked him questions. The crowd almost ate him up. The film is not very good. The audience is simply terrible!! One third was waiting for Scott. The other didn’t care. Someone behind me, even before Main Hiro appeared, said: “I hope he won’t be around for long.” The third actually laughed at the film.. They beat Adkins with a crowbar, and the people laugh, more than the girls, which was amazing. The impressions from everything turned out to be not very good. I hope he will be greeted more cheerfully at MSC. I always thought that real premieres are held somehow differently. This should be a Big Holiday!
Offtopic: Mr. Alex, have you received a letter with a hodgepodge of mini-news? :)
And this Saturday, September 29, the film is premiering at Mirage Cinema in St. Petersburg and Scott Adkins himself is coming!
I’ve already booked a ticket for myself, I’ll try my luck with getting an autograph. :)
Sanya, did you specifically find the review with the lowest rating? :-D
No, I only noticed the rating when I had translated almost everything. I found a couple more, but March, as always, is in his abstractionist repertoire, and someone in one of the reviews wrote such a spoiler that he immediately wanted to beat the author’s kidneys...
6 out of 10. Hmm... Very reserved review and rating. Although it is clear that according to the reviewer, the film is not a failure.