Universal Soldier: Le Jour du jugement

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

Well Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning was brutal to say the least. Dark from start to end. Fight scenes were played out well, it didn't feel rushed to get the fight over like a lot of movies seem to do, it took its time and gave you the feeling like you were just standing there watching the thing happen, thanks to a wide pulled back viewing angle and steady cam. Even tho they were super human this made the combat feel realistic and solid in a visceral and disturbing way, As someone who hasn't seen a Universal Soldier movie since i was a kid i found the plot a little slow yet slightly confusing like i was missing some important information which actually kept me interested enough to care about what was going on even tho it ended up the only way it could have. No one goes into a movie like this expecting to have there mind blown away by the story anyway so it cant be faulted here. I believe this movie is a success because it does what it was trying to do so well.

Acting - 7 Story - 5 Pacing - 7 Action - 9 Overall Feel - 7

Led by Luc Devereaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) a cloned UniSol Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) are now wanted by the government who will do anything to find them a wipe out their UniSol army for good.

Universal Soldier fans maybe left scratching their heads, however, sci- fi action fans looking for slick, stylish direction with hard hitting violence and a Philip K. Dick tone - in the vain of Impostor (2001) maybe impressed by director John Hyams offering.

While not a fun hammy 90s hit like it's original this is smaller personal story adds another angle on UniSol. Reckoning may have benefited from being a stand alone low budget Dredd/Memento/Bourne-like film as it's so far removed to the original's feel.

This is actor/stuntman Scott Adkins film with very limited screen-time for Van Damme or Lundgren which isn't such a bad thing as their characters have become dismembered to those in the first outing. Nevertheless, Adkins as John carries it under Hyams games console shoot 'em up direction. While this film may not be Adkins Jason Statham 'star vehicle' it shows he's a convincing action man with some range of emotion to match as John goes on his hunt for Devereaux in some Apocalypse Now (1979) homage of sorts.

With excellent camera-work, lighting, stunts, ambiguous script, perfect moody atmosphere it's not a normal action film - and with nudity, blood and horror like gore it's not for the faint hearted either.

Don't expect a rehash or even the Universal Soldier you fell in love with and you may be surprised by this basic, dark, testosterone injected ride.

Now somebody needs to remake 1987's cheese-fest Dead Prey with Adkins as the lead.

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.