1 shocking and pleasing and much more
it gets laughs in its comicness in certain scenes
it gets shocks
like the beginning war scenes and the fight scenes
it gets more interesting as the plot unravels
great actors picked for such roles
the perfect killing machines
one insane in the brain
and one out to save lives that shouldn't be lost in the first place
the diner scene where the soldier orders alot of food and keeps eating and the guy says how you gonna pay for this and the soldier says "I just want to eat, I don't wanna hurt you, then he kicks ass while still enjoying his meal. and his reporter female friend comes in and says "good meal" as a question that is. and he says without words "makes a happy sigh" that's hilarious. and how she looks around and see everyone who got their ass kicked from keeping him from eating his food
priceless movie
worth the watch again and again
I'm glad I saw this on tv when I was younger
and I'm glad I got this on dvd
2 Universal Soldier with Van Damme
Universal Soldier realeased in 1993 is one of the best action flicks from Jean Claude Van Damme.
In fact, this film was done during Van Damme's increasing popularity.
Van Damme and Dolph play two 2 vietnam Vets who kill each other during the Vietnam War.
Actually the scene in Vietnam are intense and well directed.
Dolph, plays the psychotic and vindictive Staff Seargeant from the Army who wants to kill any Vietnamese (guilty or innocent) in path.
When Van Damme, tells the Sergeant that it's time to pull out , the crazy Sergeant sees him as a traitor and proceeds to beat up his comrade while Lungren tries to save the innocent Vietnam girl the Sergeant is holding hostage.
Eventually all of them die, or so we think.
The military eventuallys finds the dead bodies, but instead sends the Sergeant and Damme into a secret biochemical, regenerative expirement in which dead military soldiers are being revived as security soldiers known as the "Universal Soldiers".
The project at first is a success, but when Van Damme, starts recalling memories from his past, he remembers how his bloodthirsty Sergeant kills and all hell breaks loose.
It also reminds of the Robocop movie with Peter Weller, in which a dead cop is resurrected as a crime busting machine, but as the machine stars recollecting his past memories, the machine starts becoming more human.
The film has so many big budget stunts and fist fights and kickboxing action that you'll have to watch it a couple of times to appreciate the full value of this great sci fi film.
The other's film stars is the beautiful and sexy Alley Walker, who plays the reporter who joins Van Damne on his fight against the Universal Soldier.
Great critics like myself, remember Alley Walker from the great crime drama show "Profiler" on Nbc which lasted about 5 years.
Alley's character is great to watch, here character is very beautiful and has alot of humor and pizazz.
3 A good idea pretty well executed
I like this movie. Roland Emmerich turns out decent work when he starts with a decent idea.
And this movie is based on an extremely cool idea: a secret government project to use the reanimated corpses of dead soldiers as 'UniSols' ('UNIversal SOLdiers'). They're like killer combat zombies -- equipped to receive commands remotely, impervious to pain, quick to heal, and pretty much unstoppable although they tend to overheat if they stay active for too long.
The plot: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren were in Viet Nam together, Lundgren wacked out and started killing innocent civilians, Van Damme tried to stop him, and they wound up killing each other. (This is all in the first five minutes of the film.) Their corpses were packed in ice and shipped off to the UniSol project, and after the opening credits roll, they're on an antiterrorist mission as part of a S.W.A.T. team from hell. But a few things start to jog their memories, and it isn't long before the two of them are at it again . . .
You don't have to be a particular fan of the Muscles from Brussels to enjoy the concept here, but Van Damme is actually pretty effective in his role. At any rate the story is briskly paced and about as believable as stuff like this ever gets. It's nicely done if you like this sort of thing (which I do).
Ally Walker does nicely here too, as a newswoman who winds up accompanying Van Damme in his, um, travels. If you enjoyed her in _Profiler_ (as I did, and I stopped watching the show after she left), you'll like her in this.
An entertaining action-SF flick, then, and a cut above the usual 'B-movie' fare. This probably isn't Emmerich's best work (it seems to me to try a little too hard to be _The Terminator_), but it's well done.
4 off the FN' hook awesome !!!!
Universal Soldier is one of the most awesome movies i've ever seen about 2 soldiers in the vietnam war played brilliantly by jean claude van damme and dolph lungren who both kill eachother but are bought back to life years later as UNI SOLS who are programmed to deal with hostage situations, any way after a while van damme starts to regain his memory of who he was when he was human and leaves the UNI SOL camp, the head of the UNI SOL corporation sends all the UNI SOLS out to find van damme, after a while dolph lungren starts to regain his memory as well and takes over the command of the project and commands the UNI SOLS to seek and destroy Van Damme.
With awesome fight scenes and many memorablelines and good special effects Universal Soldier is an explosive action packed ride thats enjoyable from start to the awesome climax of the film. Dolph Lungren is awesome as the evil psychotic sergent.
highly reccomended to buy on DVD with a few extra features like trailers, multiple sound options and a bonus music clip entitled 'body count's in the house' , great song played at the end of the movie.
5 Better than I expected...
It came as no suprise that the critics panned "Universal Soldier" upon it's original theatrical release. I always have hated Roland Emmerich films, this being the only one that I hadn't seen in theaters. But I did want to see it now, and the reson was Ally Walker.
I always liked the television show "The Profiler", which aired for sveral years in the mid 90s, and it's re-runs are on today. I always liked the actress who played "Sam", the main character.
Her name is Ally Walker. She hasn't been in many films, but "Universal Soldier" was one of her first, and most well-known.
... For some reason, the huge movie store in my nieborhood had lost thier copy of it, so I bought it on Amazon.com. I was pleasently suprised by the film, and I wish I would have reserved my judjement.
I give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars. This is because not only is Ally Walker great in it, but Van Damme and especially Lundgren are, too. Dolph Lundgren isn't exactly a great actor, but he does well here. For me, Lundgren's bad guy is the most memorable aspect of this film.
The action scenes are solid, and at times quite unique. The main problem with the film is that there is no real explanation of how or why these UniSols were created. How exactly did they do this (bring the dead back to life)? The answer in the film was too brief and simple.
This film will never be a favorite of any film critic. But, if you are looking for a fun Action-Adventure film with three good performances, look no further than "Universal Soldier".
6 Action, action, action.
Jean-Claude Van Damme doesn't make very many good "movies". That is, unless you're in the mood for a total mindless action picture. That's pretty much what UNIVERSAL SOLDIER is, a total mindless action movie. The movie has a semi-believable plot and Van Damme gives on of the best performances of his career (he sort-of seems like he is talking). There aren't many one on one fighting scenes, but there is tons of action.
7 An action classic!
Van Damme and Lundgren are two vietnam soldiers who kill eachother in the war and are later resurrected as military cyborgs, but then start to get flashbacks and are soon trying to kill eachother again. Van Damme is good, but Lundgren steals the show as the psychotic seargant, who would have thought he was a good actor? Director Roland Emmerich (Godzilla) directs this film beautifully, if only he'd gone on to make more good movies like this. Overall this is a very entertaining flick and definitely on of the best action movies ever, although the sequel I thought was one of the worst ever... Great movie, highly recommended
8 Get the R2 version
This DVD is non-anamorphic, shows the film in a slighty incorrect aspect ratio, has no extra features and the case is a snapper. Now, the R2 version is 16x9 enhanced, includes Dolby Digital AND DTS 5.1 tracks, commentary from the director and producer, some trailers, motion menus and a couple of featurettes.
So if you are a fan on the movie (and why not, it's way cool) then the R2 DVD is the one to buy.
9 Good Movie With A Few Flaws
First of all, if the viewer is looking for a deep, sensitive film, keep looking . . . this is pure action with a dose of sensitivity thrown in to make the main character more appealing. The premise is clever: Technology creates a new breed of supermen to be soldiers to spare the lives of the regular populace. These Unisols are powerful, tireless and self-healing, with neither conscience nor free will to get in the way of being the perfect fighting machines . . . until something goes wrong. Two soldiers who died as mortal enemies---Van Damme's Luc and Dolph Lundgren's Scott---regain their supposedly purged memories and go haywire. Luc simply wants to go home, and enlists a reporter to help him. Scott wants Luc dead, and he'll destroy anyone or anything that gets in his way.
This is a surprisingly good movie, given the genre. Its major weakness, amazingly enough, is not the acting; it's the writing, which leaves some holes in the plot big enough to drive a truck through. The process for creating the Unisols from dead men is glossed over and technically quite weak, especially since this is supposed to be a science-fiction movie. Things are a little too simplistic, with the military predictably the bad guys and the crusading reporter a bit too self-serving and self-righteous.
However, its flaws are minor and are easy to overlook in light of the movie's good qualities. The action sequences are well-choreographed and the special effects are solidly done. One such effect was the removal of body hair from the men playing the artificially enhanced soldiers, which gave them a plastic appearance. The blood, wounds and explosions are all quite realistic and definitely not for the squeamish. By far, the best aspects of this flick are both the special effects and the acting. Ally Walker is both tough and funny as the reporter who helps Luc in his quest for information and his journey home. Dolph Lundgren is creepy and convincing as the psychotic Andrew Scott, with a healthy dose of black humor thrown in with his cruelty. Quite surprisingly, Jean-Claude Van Damme does an excellent job of conveying Luc Devereaux as a vulnerable, almost childlike man emerging from a long nightmare. Since there isn't much dialogue, he uses his facial expressions, particularly his large eyes, and his body language much more effectively than his words. The rest of the cast is also effective and believable in their roles, even the other big hulks they cast as the rest of the soldiers. Like in Terminator, the amount of dialogue is kept to a minimum and therefore the actors' shortcomings are not put on display.
We aren't big Van Damme fans, but found this movie very enjoyable and quite entertaining. It had some humorous moments, and was more intelligent than most of his movies. This DVD was well worth its money in entertainment value.
10 Ultra Heaven
Jean-Claude Van Damme vs. Dolph Lundgren. Enough said. This movie is about two Vietnam soldiers who died killing each other. They were reincarnated and brought back in present day as 'Unisols'. A secret government operation used the dead soldiers to infiltrate terrorist attacks under computer programming. The two men eventually regain their memories and fight to the finish! Heaven! Heaven sent these two lords for the holiest movie of all. Van Damme beats up guys at a diner because he couldn't pay for the lunch bill and Lundgren kicks three guys in the face at one time. Talent! There is a good pacing to this movie that even grandma could keep up with, and it's still lordage. You may need to sit down on this one, it's intense with a final fight in a barn. Tons of kicks and 360's for everyone to enjoy.
11 NO
Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren in the same movie... (screams of torture). This movie is unbelievably average and you would think director Roland Emmerich of "Independence Day" would have come up with something better than this movie. Van Damme doesn't speak much, that's a plus. Lundgren talks too much and needs to put a sock in it. Awful.
12 Lundgren, Van Damme Shine in Action Confrontation
Pitting two of the action genre's superstars against one another, Universal Soldier is surprisingly entertaining in its delivery of non-stop action and intensity.
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Luc Deveraux, an American solider who is murdered in the line of duty during the Vietnam War by his deranged commanding officer, Sgt. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren). Three decades later, Deveraux resurfaces as a Unisol, a human being that has been genetically juiced for combat by the U.S. armed forces. When his memory returns, Deveraux deserts the Universal Solider program with the psychotic Scott in hot pursuit.
Lundgren returns as the "antagonist," a role he successfully played earlier in his career as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and would later undertake in Johnny Nmemonic. Here, he plays it to he hilt, playfully shouting typical action movie dialogue - "Are we having fun yet?" - and reveling in his character's sinister plunge into post-traumatic stress disorder.
From the outset, director Roland Emmerich builds the tension that is so often lacking in today's action films. Lundgren is sinister and proves himself in the opening scene as a formidable match for Van Damme. As the film progresses, his descent into evil becomes more and more entertaining. Emmerich's approach succeeds at building the tension for the ultimate showdown. The audience wants to see this confrontation by film's end -- and it's worth the wait.
The DVD has few extra features, but what options that are present -- theatrical trailer, production notes, etc. -- are more than satisfying for an action film more than a decade old.
13 A great film, a pretty good DVD.
Action fans can't be without this Damme DVD, this one of his best films. The DVD includes both a teaser and a theatrical trailer; you also find some production notes and a short behind the scenes featurette. The movie is displayed in widescreen format and the audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1. I would have liked to see a little more from great action film like this, but at least it didn't get left behind on VHS like so many of the other early nineties action films. Now don't get me wrong this isn't an Oscar winning film but there is something about mindless action films of this caliber you just don't find in current cinema anymore. Some people say that's a good thing, but come on, Van Damme can kick really high!!
14 Van Damme And Lundgren a deadly combo!
Probally Van Damme's best movie to date. as he must fend off Dolph Lundgren after being reanimated by the government. The Action is done well and the story weak but credible.
15 Universally Terrible.
The premise is pure recycled Terminator 2, and the performances lead the viewer to believe Arnold is Oscar-worthy in comparison. Van Damme and Lundgren star as soldiers who killed each other in Vietnam, only to be reanimated 25 years later and continue their battle in present day. If only they'd stayed dead.
The "plot" develops nowhere beyond the point when both soldiers experience flashbacks that revive their past rivalry. The remainder of the film is simply a SLOW, boring chase sequence climaxing in the requisite final face-off.
Van Damme, believe it or not, fails miserably at acting wooden. His attempt to mimic Schwarzenegger's role as the Terminator is so bad that it's not even laughable, just painful - he looks like he's trying to hold back a giggle the entire time. Lundgren, on the other hand, overacts just as badly, trying to seethe evil as the villain and simply reminds the viewer why he's best tolerated when he keeps his mouth shut.
Considering the "talent" involved, however, one doesn't come to UNIVERSAL SOLDIER expecting performances and plotlines out of CITIZEN KANE. One simply expects action, and lots of it. And that's where this film fails as well. For a film about soldiers, there's little firepower and gunplay to be found. Van Damme's martial arts skills are barely showcased, save for a brawl at a diner and during his final battle with Lundgren. And Lundgren's trademark...wait...his fighting skills?...no...his muscles?...not really...well, anyway, Dolph Lundrgen spends most of this movie in a truck. I wish a truck would run over this DVD.
16 a fun Friday-Night movie.
the movie was very,very good......for a friday-nighter.if u wanna see a movie with a good plot DO NOT see this one.but if u want action then DO see this one.i reccommend that you rent it first instead of throwing ur money on it.
17 Van Damme At His Best!
This is the movie that you identift with ean Claude Van Damme. Of course Van Damme is the hero of this film. The villain is the very personification of evil. The force of evil is well played by Dolph Lungren. The two are part of a program cal UnoSol. They were killed in the Vietnam war. Lungren was an unworthy soldier while Van Damme served honorably. They had conflicts while still alive and in Vietnam. As robot soldiers they resume their life and death struggle. They battle all over the country. Lungren shows himself to be a vicious killing machine. It is up to Van Damme to stop him. Besides being an excellent movie the ending caps it off. Be sure to see this movie,you will not be dissapointed.
18 Not Van Damme's best movie, but it's a good one
In "Universal Soldier," Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a man who was supposedly killed in a war and is revived as a cyborg who is ordered around by the people who made him. Even though he's now mostly a robot, Van Damme keeps seeing flashes of things that happened in the past. These flashbacks turn him against one of his cyborg allies (Dolph Lundgren) and eventually leads to his freedom from being controlled by his creators. But the creators won't let Van Damme go free without them doing everything they can to get him back and under their control once again.
"Universal Soldier" is a good overall movie, but I didn't think it was the best Van Damme movie. The only thing that keeps the movie from being boring are the few fighting sequences and the feud between Van Damme and Lundgren. Jean-Claude Van Damme does one of his best acting jobs in this movie and Dolph Lundgren also did a good job. There is a few fighting sequences in the movie, but when compared to most of the other Van Damme movies, there's really not that much fighting involved in "Universal Soldier." I recommend anybody who likes Van Damme movies or good action movies to get "Universal Soldier." It doesn't have the best script or the best plot, but it is entertaining nonetheless.
19 Best Dolph Villain
A must-see action film. One of Dolph Lundgren's best performances. He plays a really great psycho villain; no cardboard performance here (at least not from Dolph). The action in the movie is non-stop and Dolph has some good one-liners that rival Arnold. Van Damme's performance is on target in some parts and lame in others.
20 Awesome
Has to be the best action movie ever made!
21 Top draw entertainment
This Sci-fi action is one of the better of the genre and ask any Dolph or Jean-claude fan then they would probably say this rates as one of their best. The film goes on at a cracking pace and the action is always pulse pounding. You have a bit of humour even from the two mono-sylabic beefcakes and the story although not brilliant and at times predictable is still good enough for an action film. The action is okay and this is probably the best performance from Van-Damme that i have seen even though he was more wooden than a woodland area, and Dolph's performance is great, he far outshines Van-Damme and really does look scarily pyschotic at times, in fact dare i say it he probably shows too much emotion at certain points for a human zombie. If you want to watch an entertaining blokes movie then you can't go too wrong by picking this little gem of a film, in the words of Montgomery Burns, Excellent!
22 how far will you go to save a hostage?
it starts in vietnam when many soilders die, when only the commondo and french van-damme is still alive, when van-damme sees the commondo he sees a necklace of ears and two innocent hostages, when van-damme argued the gun was pulled out to him ,the commondo and van-damme evutally kill each other, many years later tecnology rebuilt them as killing roberts for the goverment, when the first mission is complete van-damme sees is enemy in his eye, later on in there second mission when the commondo and him are back in a hostage setuation van-damme's meamory come's back and luckily him and the girl get out together, when they know where he is the team come to hunt him and the girl down, van-damme and the girl always luckily run away until they fight back, when the mission is over the commondo takes over command and forces everyone to stick to the mission,at the end it is only van-damme and the commond ready to fight, to know who wins the fight you have to buy the movie.
23 Van Damme scores again!
Universal Soldier is a great movie for anyone who enjoys action or science fiction films. This film truly deserves a place in the Movie Hall of Fame. It has a great commando attack scene in the beginning second only to the final battle in The Rock. However, this movie contains very intense combat scenes and is not for the faint of heart.
24 Enjoyable
Ok so its not the most slickly plotted movies of all time and the acting is pretty bad but if your looking for a movie that is enjoyable go for this. If u like films to have more acting then special effects then stay well clear but if u like Van Damme then this is worth a look.
25 one of the worst god dame movies ever
this just proves that all americans are dumb anyone who likes this movie is any american and that is not a good thing i only have to say one thing VAN DAMME
26 DVD transfer well done but short on extras
The movie has a lot of action in it and a decent story. I bought the DVD and like the movie. The DVD has above average picture and sound that make the special effects even more stunning. The DVD is short on extras though. It does have trailors, but no commentary track. It also has a behind the scenes special, but it only lasts 6 minutes. It is still a good action movie and worth seeing.
27 Brilliant
The movie starts off when he is in the Vietnam war and try's to save some Innocent people but Dolph Lundgren shoot's them so they get into a little Brawl and they shoot eachother and there dead so a couple of years later he get's brought back to life as a universal soldier and then start's to remember his past life and go's with a journalist to find more answers and dolph try's to stop them and at the end was the best part because of so much suspense and action it must have been the most electrifying Action sequals in the History of Action Films so obviously it's a fantastic film.
28 UNIVERSAL SOLDIER IS INTENSE
Jean Claude Van Damme, we all agree, is not one of the most cerebral actors, but he never fails in making movies both intense and enjoyable.
Universal Soldier is no exception to this rule, and with Dolph Lundgren complementing him, Universal Soldier is thrust into the realm of classics.
Admittedly, this movie does not stack up to CYBORG, but it has all the elements of a great Van Damme picture. The fight scene at the end is inspired and well choreographed, and you will cheer for Dolph every time he spouts his "Traitor" line.
Any fan of Van Damme, Martial arts, or science fiction will no doubt enjoy Universal Soldier. A must see!
29 THE BEST VAN DAMME 'S DONE YET! DOLPH LUNDGREN ROCKS!
JEAN CLAUDE'S ACTING HAS NEVER BEEN AS PRETTY AS HIS FACE; STILL HE MANAGES TO DO MUCH BETTER THAN USUAL IN THIS FILM. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE LUNDRGREN FAN. HE'S BEAUTIFUL, CAN DO JUST ABOUT ANY ACCENT WELL,FOR A SWEDE HE HAS A CONVINCING AMERICAN ACCENT. NOT TOO MENTION HE'S AN EXCELLENT ACTOR. NO MATTER HOW LAME THE SCRIPT HE MANAGES TO ALWAYS TURN IN A SUPERB PERFORMANCE. THIS MOVIE IS NO EXCEPTION. FILLED WITH GREAT STUNTS, EXPLOSIONS, AND AN EXCELLENT WAR/FIGHT SCENE BETWEEN LUNDGREN AND VAN DAMME AT THE END.
30 Ok,Typical Van Damme with a little Sci-fi
It was a decent movie i happen to live where it was filmed see the annotation.Universal Soldier has what almost every Van Damme movie doesn't.Sci-Fi.That's the only thing that makes this vehicle unique.
31 Human nature
They were created to fight against everything but their beings could not reject and fight against their human nature.
32 Whatta Film
Universal Soldier is a high action film with great scenes. Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme are an excellent 1-2 punch in this film. Looking forward to Universal Soldier 2 with Van Damme and Bill Goldberg.
33 Van Damme and Dolph are at their very best!
Van Damme and Dolph Battle each other on the big screen and it's EXPLOSIVE! Van Damme and Dolph are brought back to life after the vietnam war,and have become the "perfect" soldiers.But when Van damme saves a reporter from Dolphs strange behavior,Dolph will stop at nothing to track them both down,and ultimately,engaging in one-on-one battle with Van damme! 'ACTION-PACKED'!!!
