StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com When the first Universal Soldier (1992) film came out, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren were very much in their prime of popularity. Both had been in their fair share of widely known movies and were often included into the same category as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. It was also the movie that had one of the earliest collaborations between the big name action stars aside from Rocky IV (1985). Later on the series went underground to TV sequels but did not fair well financially due to the lack of star power. A few years later, Van Damme came back to the series in Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) but it too failed horribly. The poor writing in general and silly nature of the end product felt nothing like the first movie. With that it was no shock that the franchise remained dead a good decade before producers thought maybe another film could be made. When they did, it was met with open arms but also rolling eyes. It was passable at best but not good.Instead of being a third story time line to the original, one could consider this the first real sequel to Universal Soldier (1992). The reason behind this being that it completely ignores the events of Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) and has a more serious tone. The Ukranian Prime Minister's children have been captured by terrorist leader Topov (Zachary Baharov) and held in Chernobyl as ransom. Special forces are developing a plan to get them out but are stuck because Topov has teamed up with scientist Dr. Colin (Kerry Shale) from the UniSol project now known as Black Tower. On their side they have the next generation UniSol or NGU (Andrei Arlovski), an emotionless killing machine. After a few attempts it is decided by Dr. Porter (Gary Cooper), another scientist from the Black Tower project, to bring back Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme). However Colins has a backup and that's having Andrew Scott's body (Dolph Lundgren) on standby if a problem arises.For a continuation of the original story, the writing is average at its greatest. Yet there are still a lot of unanswered questions. So what did become of Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker)? How is Andrew Scott's body intact after the finale of Universal Soldier (1992)? Again, the UniSol project was only known by a select group of scientists so where was Dr. Colins and Dr. Porter? These questions just begin to add up over time. Written by Victor Ostrovsky (in his only credit ever), the only thing in the script that is relatively untainted is the fact that Deveraux has been in rehabilitation since the end of Universal Soldier (1992). But as for development very little of what Deveraux feels is explained and his reconvening with Scott only triggers old memories. Nothing is explained as to how both of them feel. It even seemed at one point that Scott was thinking about something but he ends up getting cut short. Why throw in something that might work only to completely negate it?There's also appearances from others like Corey Johnson, Mike Pyle, Emily Joyce and even son of the star himself, Kris Van Damme. Directing this feature is John Hyams, the son of director Peter Hyams. Hyams Sr. was the man behind 2010 (1984) and would later direct End of Days (1999). The direction here by John Hyams isn't that impressive. It's very linear in story structure. However when it comes action, the stunts and sequences are well staged. Much of the action that occurs throughout the running time are energetic by default and are very lively. The types of violence ranges from hand-to-hand combat, shootouts to improvised weapons. Also the interactions between Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme are noteworthy to view. Since these two characters share a history together that boils both their blood, it's interesting to have the two meet in a situation that is very familiar to them. Andrei Arlovski as NGU is a competent fighter too but since his character has very few words, not much can be said.Camera-work was managed by Peter Hyams, which was unfortunately disappointing. Seeing that Hyams Sr. has had previous experience in doing cinematography, it's surprising that here the look to this picture is so unappealing. With credits to movies like 2010 (1984), Running Scared (1986), Narrow Margin (1990) and Timecop (1994), the visuals to this film should've look at least okay. Instead many scenes have dull colors and the backgrounds look to much like everything else surrounding it. Music was another problem when viewing this sequel. Composed by Kris Hill and Michael Krassner, the music is just as forgettable. Featuring only a few different cues, much of the sounds are just electronic clicks and warps. There's really no main theme and the cues for various sequences are about as anonymous as they get. As far as it's known, not even an official release of the music has been announced. So it's even harder for a fan of the music to really enjoy it. Although it would be hard to say whether it's worth it or not.Stepping up from the previous sequel, the script attempts to connect to the first film. Yet only a couple places does it actually work. Camera-work and music aren't that good but Dolph Lundgren and Jean- Claude Van Damme are fun watch on screen again and the action is good too.

ma-cortes -Plot : With stolen top-secret technology, terrorists have created a next-generation Universal Soldier - an elite fighter genetically altered into a programmable killing machine . With this "UniSol" (Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski) leading the way, they seize the crippled Chernobyl nuclear reactor, threatening to unleash a lethal radioactive cloud . The only one who can stop them is Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a UniSol who's been decommissioned for years . Luc is nowadays protected by Dr. Sandra Flemming (Emily Joyce) . Reactivated and retrained, Deveraux must make a full-out assault on the heavily armed fortress. Luc Deveraux's codename in the UNISOL program is GR44 and is assigned a dangerous mission by the military staff (Corey Johnson as Col. John Coby and Mike Pyle as Captain Kevin Burke). But inside, he'll discover not one but two of these virtually indestructible warriors . Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), Deveraux's vicious UniSol enemy from the original Universal Soldier, has been secretly reanimated and upgraded. Now, these elite fighters are locked, loaded and programmed to kill; and the fate of millions hinges on this high-action showdown .-Comment : This moving picture contains noisy action , thrills , shootouts and fierce combats . From start to finish the action is unstoppable and frenetic . Thrilling screenplay dispenses absurd excitement as well as violence and lots of fights . Acceptable action movie full of struggles , crossfire and tension , this is a fast-paced, stylized action-suspense film . Screenwriter John Fasano and his son John Cody Fasano designed the special military costumes worn by the old and new model Unisols in US : TNG . The tension of this picture keeps snowballing as the clock ticks ever close for a groundbreaking as well as spectacular final . Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren have some scenes together at an impressive fighting . Dolph Lundgren filmed his parts for the movie in just 5 days, whilst Jean-Claude Van Damme filmed for 20 days. This film marks the first time Peter Hyams has acted as cinematographer without also directing . The director, John Hyams, is his son . However , P.J. Pesce was considered to direct the movie and Simon Fellows was originally signed to direct but he was replaced during pre-production . Released theatrically in a few countries and Direct-To-Video (DVD & Blu-ray) in the rest of the world . Filmmaker John Hyams quickly understood the freedom and malleability that direct to video presents and has gone about creating some incredibly interesting genre fare. Hyams made his feature length film in 1997 when wrote, directed, and produced the critically acclaimed "One Dog Day," , he subsequently filmed this ¨Universal Soldier: Regeneration¨ and ¨Dragon Eyes¨ , in which displayed an acute understanding of the action genre .-Series : The best film of the series was the original ¨Universal soldier¨ by Roland Emmerich with Jean-Claude Van Damme , Dolph Lundgren , Ally Walker , Ed O'Ross ; it was followed by ¨Universal soldier : the return¨ with Jean-Claude Van Damme , Michael Jai White , Heidi Schanz , Xander Berkeley and Justin Lazard as subsequent Universal Soldier films ignore the events of The Return and outright contradict it in a number of ways ; while still an official entry, it is no longer considered part of the series canon . ¨Universal soldier : day of reckoning¨(2012) by John Hyams with Scott Adkins , Andrei 'The Pit Bull' Arlovski , Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme , but here they have not scenes together . And two TV films : ¨Universal soldier : Brothers in arms¨ (1998) by Jeff Woolnough with Matt Battaglia , Gary Busey , Burt Reynolds , Richard McMillan and Chandra West and ¨Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business¨ (1999) by Jeff Woolnough with Burt Reynolds Juan Chioran , Claudette Roche and Matt Battaglia .

Michael_Elliott Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The third film in the series has a group of terrorists creating a updated, faster and stronger universal soldier so the government sends in Luc (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who must try to defeat them while also dealing with his old nemesis Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren). UNIVERAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION is actually the best of the first three movies because it's smart enough to know to keep the action going no matter what happens. I'd say there's at least twenty people killed within the opening six-minutes or so and things keep up this rapid pace from start to finish. This really doesn't look like a low-budget movie and the majority of the action scenes are extremely well shot and performed. Outside of the obvious CGI blood, the action scenes are really well done and I thought they contained quite a bit of excitement and especially the showdown between Van Damme and Lundgren, which is so good that it was worth sitting through the horrid second movie just to get to this one. Director John Hyams does a very good job at keeping the film moving at a fast pace and as I said the action scenes, the most important thing, are extremely good. Both Van Damme and Lundgren are too old to be doing this but they still manage to pack a major punch. You're typical art-house fan is going to hate this but if you're just wanting some nice action and fun then this here actually delivers.

Comeuppance Reviews When a terrorist group takes over part of Chernobyl and threatens radioactive death if their demands are not met (and they kidnapped the son and daughter of a prominent politician to boot), Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) is called back into active duty. Now in a kind of rehab/therapy where he's learning to live again, he must retrain for combat. He faces his toughest challenge yet, as the terrorists used stolen technology to create the ultimate emotionless, unstoppable killing machine, dubbed "The Freak" by U.S. forces (Orlovsky). But they also open Pandora's box and resurrect Deveraux's old nemesis Andrew Scott (Dolph). Deveraux has his work cut out for him this time around...It's actually pretty shocking how good Universal Soldier: Regeneration truly is. It doesn't even really HAVE to be this good. Far from your average "dumb" action movie, this seems to be a rejection of that notion, striking an excellent, precise balance between melancholy intelligence and frighteningly brutal violence.Regeneration appears to be a reaction to The Return. Almost as if the filmmakers were embarrassed by the badness and silliness of that unfortunate outing, the swung the pendulum back the other direction (almost too much), creating a dark, adult, nihilistically violent creation, but it's not without some emotion and humanity as well. Just a great job done all around.Everything from the production values, to the acting, to the action, and everything else in between is light years beyond The Return, making it truly a travesty that that turkey was released theatrically in the U.S., while this wasn't. Regeneration is well-shot and well-directed by John Hyams, son of director Peter. Hyams treats the material seriously and with respect, and everything that happens plotwise makes perfect sense. It's all idea-based (even retaining the best ideas from the first Universal Soldier film), not throwaway action. In the hands of another director, this could have been half-heartedly slagged off as "just another Universal Soldier movie". But the fact that Hyams does not do that, or even come close, is totally refreshing and comes as a great relief for true action fans.Hyams hits all the right notes - from utilizing the bleak Bulgarian locations to their fullest potential, to bringing the Universal Soldier franchise into the present day. Using the Navy Seal-like soldiers strongly reminiscent of the U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the uncompromising nature of war, as a background to amplify the audience's fears about our own mortality. After all, even our best soldiers are no match for their SuperSoldiers. We'll definitely be watching to see what Hyams does in the future, as he seems to have a strong grasp of how to do muscular action.Undoubtedly, many consumers probably thought that this IS just another Universal Soldier installment - it's almost a shame that this movie doesn't have another title. Having been burned on The Return, consumers might not know what they're truly getting here - something much, much different and worthwhile.Van Damme puts in an excellent performance, Dolph is always awesome, and Orlovsky is perfectly cast as the scary freak. All the actors in the film do a pitch-perfect job. A definite win for everyone involved, we enthusiastically support Universal Soldier: Regeneration.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com