Le Soldat

I saw THE SOLDIER in the theater, on HBO or Movie Channel (I can't remember which), and in college. Now, I was a freshman at a military college, and they showed this one weekend. Everybody cheered during the title sequence, when words like "DEMOCRACY" and pictures of B-52s were shown, and booed for "COMMUNIST" and pictures of Soviet leaders. Yes, it was the height of the Cold War, and we were training to fight the Soviet Menace, the Evil Empire, the Reds. And we all loved the opening scene in Philadelphia, when the limo, targeted by the terrorists, turns out to be bait to draw the bad guys into the open, so Ken Wahl and his team can hose them with their weapons. But, let's face it, the dialogue was bad, and Ken Wahl has two acting modes--steely resolve and steely anger. But it was a fun little movie in which the good guys will, the bad guys lose, and a Porche gets destroyed jumping the Berlin Wall! It's James Bond with naked breasts and more firepower. And, of course, the "Politically Correct" crowd hates it. But THE SOLDIER, like RED DAWN and THE FINAL OPTION, are definitely products of the Cold War. We, the US and NATO, are good. We stand for freedom, democracy, and peace. They, the Soviets and their minions, stood for oppression, conquest, and war. Of course, we are going to win in these films. Did they ever make a movie about WW2 in which the Nazis won? It seems that most people will try to quickly forget the past, even if that past is less that 20 years earlier. Just enjoy films like these for what they are, movies from an earlier era. Just remember, "SKY BLUE ICE DAWN!"

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.

A film so ridiculous it's almost good. Released a year after "For Your Eyes Only", this is similar in only one respect a skiing chase scene. Even this is pretty poorly done. The cast are uniformly dismal and the music isn't much better. The only saving grace is that it doesn't overstay it's welcome and they didn't make a sequel.

The Soldier is absolutely one of this worst movies I have ever seen in my life. Just name an aspect of a movie; acting, writing, directing and it is bad. Probably the worst parts are the action; a man is hit in the chest with a half-dozen bullets from a machine gun by the hero (who is flying through the air on skis at the time, don't ask) and croaks out the complete plans of the bad guys to the hero for no particular reason. And that is not the dumbest scene by far. Only rent this if you want to laugh at a movie.