Plot: What’s it about?
Remember Luc Devereaux? Yeah, you know, the Vietnam veteran who was brought back to “life” as the ultimate weapon in warfare, or a Universal Soldier. Well, he managed to escape his identity, and now he is a normal human, without his mechanical enhancement. In order to prevent the problems with the Unisol Universal Soldier project that occurred in the first film, Luc now oversees the whole shooting match. The soldiers are controlled by a highly advanced self aware computer, SETH, who keeps them in line and what not during their training. The government makes a decision to close the Universal Soldier project, and that does not sit well with SETH, as without the project, he will cease to exist. As such, SETH takes the law into his hands, takes control of the soldiers, and commandeers the building, trying to flex his muscle and keep the soldiers concept going. But the system has some protection against such a plan, and so within 8 hours, SETH will shut down forever, unless a code is entered into the computers. But SETH and his soldiers don’t know that code. Who does? Of course, Luc is the only one with the code, but he doesn’t want to give up the digits. So SETH decides to take matters onto itself, and implants it’s knowledge into a bio-created body, so Seth (Michael Jai White) is now alive and kicking. The soldiers must capture Luc, keep him alive, and get the code, or else the entire song and dance will be in deep kimchee.
So how is the movie? Depends on what you’re looking for. I expected a decent action flick, with a laughable plot and some subpar acting, and I was not disappointed. From time to time, I like to just kick back and enjoy a movie, without thinking, just watching. This movie does not call upon your intellect at any point, it seeks to entertain, and it succeeds. Of course, if you don’t like action you’ll hate it, but what did you expect with Van Damme as the star? The movie has some nice effects, with an acceptable amount of gunfire and fighting. I had been looking for a nice action flick lately, and this certainly fills that need. This has everything action fans could want, but little that anyone would desire. So, if you like action, give this movie a shot.
As you might expect from an action movie, the cast is not there for their traditional thespian skills. These are action style actors, they may not have impeccable timing or delivery, but they are good at what they do, action. Getting the top billing is action master Jean-Claude Van Damme (Kickboxer, Sudden Death), who is a sure bet for action fans. I admit it freely, if Van Damme is on the cast, I like the movie, providing it’s action or adventure. He’s not a Shakespearean actor, but he knows action, and has my loyalty. He gives another solid performance here, with his muddled dialogue and excellent ass kicking. You may not like him or the genre, but you have to admit, he’s one of the best at it. Professional wrestler Bill Goldberg makes a fool of himself in this movie, but again, he looks and acts the role of mentally challenged muscle head perfectly. The other major role is played by Michael Jai White (Spawn, Ringmaster), who plays the role well, but I don’t recommend him trying other genres. The rest of the cast includes Daniel Von Bargen (The Postman, Thinner), Xander Berkeley (Gattaca, Leaving Las Vegas), and Heidi Schanz (Underworld).
Video: How does it look?
Columbia has given the fourth Universal Soldier movie (2&3 were direct to cable) a great visual treatment, including both a full screen version and a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The image looks clean, with little wear signs, and a solid overall crispness. Colors are full and rich, with great metallic tones as well as the normal primaries. Black levels are correct, rendering excellent shadow layering and darkness detail. Compression errors are MIA, which is AOK with me.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a high energy action movie, and as such it has a nice 5.1 track, which will give your system some practice. When the action heats up, all the channels will come alive, you’ll think you’re right next to Luc, dodging bullets and punching muscle bound dudes. Even when the surrounds are cooling down, you’ll notice some nice subtle use of them. Dialogue is clear at all times, never overshadowed by the booming effects or minimal score.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Columbia has issued this disc with some nice bonus features, which leads me to believe it’s a Special Edition. Hey chucko, the packaging doesn’t say Special Edition.[Editor’s note: Nice use of the word “chucko”] I know, but it’s still packed to the gills with goodies. You get not one but three featurettes, all of which are short but very fun to watch. The first is a sort of Van Damme retrospective, the second is one Michael Jai White’s training for the film, and the third is a look behind the scenes of this movie. They aren’t very long, but together they form a nice group. You also get talent files, and a large gallery of trailers for Van Damme movies, including this one of course.
