I had a chance to see the MMA-inspired action flick Universal Soldier: Regeneration tonight and thought it might be appropriate to write a review here. For those who are born in the 90s or otherwise unaware, Universal Soldier was kind of a big deal when it came out in 1992. It starred a big time combo of non-American action stars in Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Van Damme made 12 movies from 1988 to 1994. Picking up where Chuck Norris left off, Van Damme became a popular martial arts film star stateside and a huge action star overseas. The biggest financial success he made was Timecop which grossed over $101-million though, like most of his films, it was poorly received by critics. Lundgren came on the scene a few years before Van Damme. The hulking Swede landed a prime gig as Sylvester Stallone's Russian nemesis Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Lundgren followed that up with roles as He-Man in Masters of the Universe and Frank Castle in the first film based of The Punisher comic. Universal Soldier, directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012), enjoyed modest success in North America. It made back it's $20-million budget roughly twice over. However Van Damme and Lundgren's popularity overseas propelled the film to gross another $60-million internationally pushing it's total gross to over $100-million. Unfortunately the film was released in 1992, months after James Cameron's epic action masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Universal Soldier was compared unfavorably to T2. Universal Soldier spawned two made-for-TV sequels, Universal Soldier 2: Brothers in Arms, and Universal Soldier 3: Unfinished Business, both made in 1998. Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) was the first theatrical sequel to the original and the first time Van Damme reprised his role as Luc Deveraux. The made-for-TV sequels and the theatrical sequel were panned by critics and were not successful financially, with The Return barely making back its budget. Regeneration was not released theatrically in North America (straight to DVD) but did get into theatres in parts of Asia and the Middle East. All of the films and TV movies focus on reanimated soldiers endowed with superhuman abilities. They are usually tasked with foiling terrorist plots as well as fighting rogue or villainous soldiers of their own ilk. I'll let Wikipedia explain the plot rather than type it out myself... ...led by Captain Kevin Burke, played by UFC veteran Mike Pyle. As billed, Dolph Lundgren shows up as Andrew Scott as well. He's worked a little on his American accent since '92 but still delivers lines like Ivan Drago. At this point the film just becomes straightforward action. Inevitably Deveraux gets drawn back into the fray. Fights ensue, secondary characters expire, old foes become new enemies, and a final confrontation ends with an explosion. More or less what you'd expect. Kristopher Van Varenberg, JCVD's son, makes an appearance as well. Kristopher has been in five films but they've all been Van Damme vehicles. I guess his career hasn't taken off just yet. So, is it any good? Yeah, not bad. It succeeds as a mindless action film. The fighting and shooting sequences are tight and dramatic. Dialogue and "acting" are kept to a minimum. Women are relegated to the sidelines. It keeps up a fast pace from opening to closing credits and really doesn't waste any time at all getting things done. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are pretty good. Director John Hyams has been interested in MMA for a while, directing The Smashing Machine: The Story of Mark Kerr in 2002. The influence is obvious when Arlovski and Pyle square-off. Knees, elbows, and judo throws are the norm now for action sequences but remember that when Universal Soldier came out it was all about jumping and spinning. As a result the fights are faster and more brutal. They also tend not to drag on or bore you which is a plus. Arlovski is extremely robotic in the film but that is appropriate. His stoic, emotionless performance is more or less what you'd expect from an athlete in his first film (re: Rich Franklin in Cyborg Soldier, Chuck Liddell in anything). He pulls off a ruthless killing machine pretty easily. Hardly speaks. Doesn't make you wonder why so many of the UniSol units aren't American... at least not much. Mike Pyle is better. Playing a role normally reserved for the likes of Barry Pepper or perhaps Jake Busey, Pyle works his way through being an unruly soldier willing to do what it takes to get the job done--but not at the expense of his honour. His southern drawl lends some credibility to his character. Most of his time on screen is spent pacing around with a machine gun but considering the subject of the film he probably couldn't ask for much more. Without giving too much away it would seem we haven't seen the last of him in the series either, though reprisals for JCVD and others seem unlikely. If you have 90-minutes to kill and you aren't overly particular with the action movies you watch, Regeneration is worthwhile. It's more efficient than the overwrought schlock being pumped out of Hollywood right now like From Paris with Love or Legion. It doesn't pretend to be more than it is. JCVD and Lundgren sleepwalk through it but at this point in their careers they are probably happy to be working. I guess the question now is whether Arlovski and Pyle have movie careers in line. Both fighters are past their prime and would like to have this to fall back on. Arlovski will probably have work based on his size and looks. Pyle's going to have to work harder. I guess we'll see what comes of it. At least in Regeneration they got off to a decent start.
This movie was somewhat funny seeing Van Damme at such an old age. Growing up, he was my mom's Hollywood crush where she says he had at least one "nude" scene showing off his butt in every movie. So I rented this for her as a joke. It's really slow if you ask me, but still a decent movie.
