It’s hard to believe but it’s been 17 years since the first UNIVERSAL SOLDIER film came out. In that time both stars Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren have made a number of pictures, some bad, some good, some in between. Both have gone on to the direct to DVD stature. Oddly enough, some of the direct to DVD films have been better than those released theatrically. The same can be said of those featuring both stars. Does that hold true with UNIVERSAL SOLDIER REGENERATION?
The movie begins with terrorists kidnapping a teenage boy and girl to hold hostage. The children are the offspring of the country where the now famous city of Chernobyl is located. Famed for the accidental nuclear power plant leak, the plant remains to this day thought the city is deserted.
Demanding the release of their comrades in arms, the terrorists have placed explosive charges on the power plant and are willing to set them off should their demands not be met. Having the kids on board is sort of icing on the cake in an attempt to force the issue.
The U.S. military and that of the locals are brought in with an elite team to try and put an end to this situation. They bring along a four of the old universal soldiers (UniSols) from the past when they discover that one of the main enforcers for these terrorists is the next generation UniSol, the NGU or Next Generation UniSol as portrayed by MMA fighter Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski. These indestructible soldiers are built to withstand anything but the new generation exceeds the previous ones.
The NGU can withstand bullets and beatings and is controlled by a scientist who left the UniSol program feeling he wasn’t appreciated and now out to earn money as a gun for hire so that he might finish his experiments. Of course the terrorists don’t appreciate him any more than his previous employers did. As back up, he’s brought along one of the old UniSols, Andrew (Dolph Lundgren).
When the elite U.S. team finds themselves shot to pieces and taken out by the one NGU, they make the decision to recruit the best of the best. That would be Luc Deveraux (Jean Claude Van Damme) who is in the middle of re-assimilation into the real world with the help of a psychiatrist. Realizing he is needed, months of work is tossed aside and enhancing drugs are used to bring him back to his full potential so that he might take out the terrorists.
Not only are fans of the series treated to Van Damme coming back in a role they loved, they get Lundgren back as his adversary as well. The two face off when Deveraux hits the abandoned power plant/city as Andrew now has a mind of his own and is searching for answers. A non-stop battle royal between the two has them bashing through walls, beating one another and falling from buildings only to get up and continue the battle.
Not only does Deveraux face Andrew though, keep in mind the NGU is out there waiting as well. So you get two big action packed face offs in this film for the price of one!
Does the movie hold up though? For a direct to DVD film it’s not bad. There’s plenty of action from start to finish. But on the whole it lacks some of the humor from the first film, some of the humanity, and feels more like people just bashing each other about than anything else.
Of the main characters Lundgren’s comes off best with Andrew facing his past in his own mind. The questions posed to the UniSol’s are one’s he asks of his creators, questions about emotions the UniSol’s aren’t supposed to have and about the universe. Andrew wondered aloud about his place in the world and is tortured by his past. Lundgren, for an actor so many are willing to disregard as an action star, does a great job showing the torment of Andrew.
The same can’t be said of Van Damme. His performance here displays little or nothing. The character is now devoid of any and all emotion, even during the scenes in which he is supposed to be rehabilitating himself. It’s nothing more than jump, kick, spin with only sparse dialogue. We see nothing of what is going on inside Deveraux’s mind. He returns to the killing machine seen at the beginning of the original film. Even an attempt to see some glimpse at the end offers little.
The movie is an action packed film. It does offer some great fight sequences. But for the most part it feels hollow. You’re left with a feeling not that it’s been done before but that there was no need for this film. Perhaps the words I’m looking for are cookie cutter. One part bad terrorists, one part main bad guy, one part good guy, toss into blender and make sure good guy wins. A simple formula that works, but in this case one that makes you wish for so much more.
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