A film I never thought I'd see in 4k, Universal Soldier looks absolutely stunning in this new transfer, entirely worth the upgrade for fans of the film or JCVD in general.
“Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Sgt. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) are two soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam and are brought back to life 25 years later for a secret government program. Known as “Unisols,” they are genetically enhanced, unstoppable killing machines without memory, feelings, or free will. But when Deveraux’s memory starts to return and he escapes the program, a superhuman chase across the country begins.”
I was somewhat of a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme growing up. I hadn’t seen his classics, but had seen enough of his stuff in the 90’s to appreciate the types of films he starred in, cranking them out one after another. It wasn’t until later in his career, with JCVD and Jean-Claude Van Johnson, that I started to develop a different kind of appreciation for the man, and eagerly wanted to revisit some of his older films I normally would have glossed over when I was younger. Universal Soldier was one of those films I never got around to seeing, so getting the chance to watch it for the first time in 4k was very exciting.
The story of Universal Soldier honestly doesn’t make much sense. A group of robot-like soldiers, two of which died twenty-five years prior in Vietnam in a fight against each other, one a madman and the other trying to protect two innocent people. Being dead for over ten hours doesn’t make much difference for the science of the late 60’s, as they are nevertheless somehow resurrected and transformed into automatons who have to been constantly cooled and have their brains wiped or else suffer a stroke. What they’ve been doing for the past 25 years isn’t explored, but today they are out completing missions for an elite and secretive military group and haven’t aged a day. Then, when on one of their missions to rescue tourists taken hostage by terrorists, Luc’s memories come flooding back of the events from 25 years ago, when he sees Sgt. Scott, now part of his Universal Soldier unit, and hostages that remind him of the ones he murdered in cold blood. Then, when a snooping reporting (Ally Walker) looking for a story uncovers the secret behind the military unit, Luc intervenes just as she’s about to be killed by Sgt. Scott, escaping the group and now on the run.
While this is often described as a ‘poor man’s Terminator’ there really is nothing machine-like about it. Some of the sound effects in the beginning I thought suggested otherwise, but turned out to be the eye-piece cameras zooming in and out, and not some cheap sound effect to make it seem as though the men were mechanical, although it really did seem that way. There are some cool action sequences, lots of guns and explosions, and great fight choreography, especially during the third act. Of course, the budget reflects the scope of things they are able to do, but surprisingly the filmmakers pull this off quite well, keeping the story contained to isolated areas to mask any budget restraints. Although the science is kind of hokey, the cooling aspect does lend a nice aspect to the story and a conflict to overcome in several sequences. I know I hadn’t seen the film in its entirety before, but Van Damme laying in a bathtub covered with mountains of bags of ice is an image that I do remember seeing on television at one time or another.
Jean-Claude Van Damme consistently surprises me with some of his roles where he isn’t the larger than life type of action star. His calm and cool demeanor suits him, and he balances that with his fighting sequences very well. He tones down his accent here, playing a half-Frenchman from Louisiana, a caring man who is only interested in saving lives and getting home. Dolph Lundgren as the villain definitely exceeded my expectations. Although he’s not going to reach the notoriety of Ivan Drago, it’s still a good performance despite what he’s given to work with, which is largely unimpressive one-liners that are in no way clever. The fight sequences between the two, in the third act, didn’t disappoint, and one of the highlights of the entire film.
Video
Universal Soldier is presented in 2160p 4k Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.40:1 featuring Dolby Vision. This new transfer looks absolutely fantastic, with the dynamic metadata providing the best picture possible in each sequence. The film is clear and very detailed, with some grain present but usually kept at a manageable level. Color balance is stunning, with the brights contrasted quite nicely against the deep darks of the film. There are some sequences that don’t look as good, but only a very few, as most of the film looks as though it was shot yesterday.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The audio was the biggest disappointment on the disc for me. Being an action film, I expected some top notch sound to go with my shooting and explosions. The surrounds sound fine, with a nice use for those guns and explosions and atmospheric effects. The dialogue, however, sounded very flat at times, not able to reach the ranges you’d be used to hearing. Although this was most noticeable in the beginning, it does seem to get a bit better as we progress in the film. Researching some of the previous releases, this seems to be a common issue that may stem from its production, but with the care it took to release the film with a new transfer, a new mix, perhaps Dolby Atmos mix, would have been really nice.
Special Features
4K Disc:
- Audio Commentary by Roland Emmerich, Dean Devlin, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Dolph Lundgren
- Audio Commentary by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin
- A Tale of Two Titans
Blu-Ray Disc:
- Guns, Genes, and Fighting Machines
- Alternate Ending
- Behind the Scenes
- Trailer
Universal Soldier isn’t Van Damme’s best, but it certainly is an entertaining thrill-ride that’s aged fairly well, with some good old 90’s B-movie humor that still gets a laugh. The 4k transfer alone with worth the purchase, but the audio issues prevent this from being a knock out of the park.
