Universal Soldier: Le Jour du jugement

Certainly, this "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" is no match for the first movie in the series, but it is at least better than the last couple of movie that have managed to be spawned off this franchise.

However, this movie is all testosterone and action, and there is surprisingly little storyline to it. So I am guessing you'd think that it would make it a man's movie? Well, hardly... I would say that this movie is sort of falling into the category of something to watch when you have a really, really bad hangover the next day and just want to relax on the couch without having to put your mind to work. This movie is mindnumbingly devoid of any inspiring storyline or anything that even remotely starts to would appeal to anyone looking for a movie with some depth.

This is simply put, action, fighting and car chases, nothing more.

"Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" is a little bit too experimental for my liking as well, bordering on being too avantgarde and artsy at times. Especially the scenes with the mind-control stuff. If you are prone to epileptic seizures from flashing lights, stay well clear of this movie.

The upsides to "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" is the amount of fighting, action and raw violence that it has. Basically, it is all that is has.

However, if you get suckered in by Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren on the cover, as I did, you are in for a rude awakening. Sure they are in the movie, but only have small roles and do not actually have that much screen time. So it is sort of a lame attempt of luring in people to the movie by using their names on the cover.

"Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" is not the choice of movie to watch if you want something to stimulate your mind or at the very least have you using your mind to follow a storyline. This is just action, pure and simple.

I'm just going to say that this movie seriously should come with a seizure warning because I almost passed out from the flashing at certain scenes.

DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE PRONE TO EPILEPTIC SEIZURES!!!!!! No joke.

Otherwise it's good to see these guys on the same screen again. The movie is a little slow in parts but picks up quickly. Story develops quickly then plateaus a bit then picks up again.

Nothing that's going to curl your toes.. but a good flick.

Cheers!

Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren used to be kings of the Martial Arts franchise in direct to video action, People were lining up to rent their movies, when they both starred in the first universal soldier. movie (in which they were great) They made a dynamic duo which I haven't seen repeated since double impact. But a long time has passed since than,and the world has changed.The direct to video marked has changed along with the rest of the world. Sadly Dolph Lundgren and Van Damme has not. Not unless you wanna count aging. Look at them now, they have either wasted all their money on coke, or they just simply don't understand how over the hill they are. They are like a couple of worn out prostitutes they'll do anything for money now matter how degrading or stupid it is. This movie is complete sh*t. Where shall I start? Sense. This movie makes none. Storyline it none existent. I can't find it at anyway. Directing and line delivering is so bad it make you cringe . The pace of the movie is slow. I've seen turtles age faster than the pace of this movie. The main plot about Scott Andrew,(Dolph Lundgren 's character) having gone rouge. Makes even less sense cause he got shredded in the first Universal soldiers movie, which was great by the way,really good and entertaining.

The end battle is just laughable. I don't think I've seen anything that bad since the first American ninja movie,that I used to love back when I was kid, but just make me cringe now. Which to me is a perfect example of and era that is over.Much like Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren s glory days

The Universal Soldier franchise as terrible as they've been must have been profitable otherwise they wouldn't have lasted. So with that in mind it begs the question, why would they overhaul the entire formula?

The Universal Soldier films have been brainless action flicks about the genetically modified undead soldiers but here it goes in a totally different direction and is no better for it.

It tells the story of a man who witnesses his wife and daughter murdered by home invaders. He wakes up from a coma and begins to investigate what happened to him, why he was targetted and the man who was responsible Luc Deveraux!

Yes thats right, Van Dammes character and the main protagonist throughout the franchise. So with Van Damme reprising and Lungren along for the ride yet again we see a brand new type of Universal Soldier movie.

Sadly it just doesn't work, though it starts strong it quickly becomes apparent that the writers had no idea where they were going with this new approach and it all falls apart. The plot is a jumbled mess and the only redeeming factor is the action which is more on point than usual.

Sadly its impossible to get past just how much of a baffling mess Day of Reckonings story is, what they've done to the two recurring characters and makes me very much hope this is the last addition to the franchise.

The Good:

Interesting opening scene

SFX are actually on point

The Bad:

Makes absolutely no sense

Major shift will not have please fans of the franchise

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Upon seeing a gun mens penis's shrivel up

This movie is NOT for epileptics

Losing half of your foot won't affect your ability to walk

The new Unisol film is a surprisingly fresh take on an old franchise. The tone of the movie is completely different from the previous entries that it's hard to compare to its predecessors.

Our hero, john (Scott Adkins), awakes to find intruders in his home who kill his wife and daughter. After spending several months in a coma John awakes with a memory loss, only remembering the man who murdered his family, Luc Devreux (Van Damme). The storyline then becomes less comprehensive as we tag along John as he tries to piece everything. The main problem is that nothing is answered, the back story remains hidden and the characters motivations are left unexplained. The movie also suffers from bad pacing, the first half being painstakingly slow with no action happening for the first half of the movie.

The good news are that the second half features some badass action sequences and the R rating is used fully, it's a gory movie as it should be. Even though the frequent use of slo-mo is tiring, it doesn't ruin the experience. Too bad all of it is packed in the final scenes of the movie.

The movie draws inspiration from different places, from video games to horror movies to Apocalypse Now (you won't miss it), the unique style sets this movie apart from the others but it doesn't help the thin plot or anemic characters.

Universal Soldier 4: Day of Reckoning is unique and fresh and I applaud the director for taking a different approach. Adkins does a great job and proves his more than a stuntman. JVCD and Lundgren's roles are smaller than you would expect, but it's a treat to see them on screen again. The lack of a comprehensive plot and or continuity to other films of the series is what hinders this movie from getting a higher rating.

Final score: 6 out of 10