Le soldat

Saw this many years ago when it first came out. It was advertised on TV with the skiing scenes so that was what drew my interest. I was the only person in the theatre for the showing that I went to so I sat directly in the middle seat of the theatre. The projectionist came down and saw that I was sitting there and while walking back up to his booth muttered `I do have to show this again' Needless to say it was not one of the better films I've ever seen. Not the worst but no where near the best. I've never seen this film on a cable channel or even in a video store so I don't know if it even can be viewed today. Actually no loss if it isn't.

Not a great movie, but better than other films. The Soldier is about the cold war between the Soviets and Ameriacans. This movie is similar to James Bond but is more violent than the Bond films. Ken Wahl is the C I A's version of James Bond. However, I find the movie is inferiorly made compared to the Bond series. I hate seeing a few good scenes wasted in a film which has choppy directing, an unbelievable script, and bad acting. I like these kind of films but this movie is like a HBO style, low budget film. I wish the makers had more time and money to make this movie the way it should have been made. The Soldier is an 3 or 5 out of 10. Watch it on late night TV.

At the time this movie had some teeth and a small reason to exist, however those things have both since been swallowed up by time.

Check it out only if you are going through an 80's B action phase :)

I saw it when it first came out, and I think I was a sophomore in high school. Carter and his "maliase" (pardon the spelling) were out, Reagan and his pro-America anti-evil empire were in. The Soviets were considered a real threat. Perhaps like today's Bin Laden with a few thousand nukes pointed at us.

Yes, the acting tended to be stiff, and there were some things that happened in the movie that didn't make too much sense. You know what? It was not a documentary. Tangerine Dream did an excellent job with the score, the opening scene was great, good action sequences that were of course pro-American, and it had a patriotic ending. It was a good movie for it's time. Back in 1982, it was considered very cool to be very patriotic, and this movie fit the time.

Probably the best Glickenhaus film, great action sequences, over the top yes, but a lot of fun. Especially the beginning and the plutonium theft scenes.

The only downsides are the film drags slightly in the middle and Klaus Kinski has a minuscule role. Only gets one line I think. No great acting performances but action speaks louder than words in these sort of films and there is plenty. A ninja sequence with Steve James is a bit wasted as this angle could have been used more throughout the film i think, maybe in the assault on the missile base? Apart from those minor points it is overall a very good and underrated film. Certainly worth watching.