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Three years ago, director John Hyams' Universal Soldier: Regeneration breathed new life into a thought-dead franchise and thereby made one of the best action pictures of the year. To say that I was interested in seeing this follow-up is an understatement: with a good deal of the previous one's cast and crew returning, along with the new additions of martial arts' "it" guy Scott Adkins and cult fight choreographer Larnell Stovall, this one looked like a surefire topper to its immediate prequel and another great action outing. Did the movie live up to my high expectations? ...well, at least partially. This is, without question, a great action outing with some of the better fight scenes put out this year. However, the same way that "Regeneration" was a huge departure from the style of its bouncier predecessors, so too is "Day of Reckoning" a departure from the standard action genre as we know it, with a storyline so far removed from what I was expecting that it took a bit of time for me to contemplate whether it counted for or against the movie. Overall, this one's definitely worth checking out and even buying, but depending on your expectations, it counts as the end of the "Universal Soldier" franchise.
The story: a husband and father (Adkins, Undisputed III: Redemption) is beaten half to death and sees his family murdered before him by Luc Devereaux, the maverick Unisol (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Recovering from his injuries and plagued by inexplicable hallucinations, he sets out to untangle the mystery behind the killing and exact vengeance on Devereaux.
For those of you who watched the last film, you'll glean from summary that things do not neatly pick up from where the story left off. Looking at the cast list and film poster, you'll no doubt also wonder what the heck Dolph Lundgren and Andrei Arlovski are doing in this picture, since they'd recently been killed off. And as a matter of fact, why is Luc now killing people? Questions like these, along with several others presented by the film's narrative, have flustered enough viewers for them to declare this a "semi sequel" that's not necessarily part of the same story arc. Me, I think it is a proper sequel, and that we're to assume that a good deal of time has passed since the previous flick and this one. Luc Devereaux has become an enigmatic figure to both allies and enemies with a rather grandiose master plan. The character played by Andrei Arlovski is not the same as his last one; I don't think there's meant to be any connection between them, and Arlovski's sporting a beard to make sure he doesn't look too much like the other character. And as for Dolph Lundgren...well, he was cloned once before, wasn't he? His name is never spoken in the film, so I'm wont to think that he isn't even supposed to be Andrew Scott anymore, regardless of what the credits tell us. I've been able to placate myself with these answers, but people who don't want this kind of ambiguity are probably going to be disappointed.
Personally, what jarred me more than any part of the plot was the style of the movie. With its numerous storyline twists, hallucination scenes, and insane amounts of bloodletting, this is very nearly a horror film. At the very least, this one gives equal balance to the action/thriller label. Having the characters rediscover parts of their personal history has always been a component of the series, but in "Day of Reckoning," it's an uninhibitedly dark process, complete with psycho-thriller imagery. I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about it, since this more than any of the character-related aspects makes the film feel wholly different from its predecessors. With that said, it does inspire some decent intensity out of the performers... Despite his third-name billing, Scott is clearly the lead in this movie and carries things well, giving a strong performance and again demonstrating why he is the new top action hero in all respects even if Hollywood hasn't caught on yet. Van Damme has surprisingly few scenes in the movie, but those he does partake in are good: he doesn't even need to speak anymore to get his points across, as demonstrated in any scene he shares with his Unisol subordinates (he has those, by the way). Dolph Lundgren has even less screentime than Van Damme (seriously, what are these two doing with top billing?), but does okay with another nice and crazy monologue. Andrei Arlovski, though he, like Adkins, has more screentime than Van Damme and Lundgren combined, doesn't have much to act, and love interest Mariah Bonner (Freerunner) isn't very memorable.
Production-wise, the movie is strong. It looks very crisp, and definitely worthy of the theatrical release it's supposedly going to get, but speaking preemptively, I don't know where the reported 3D is supposed to come in. Action-wise, the film is a powerhouse of extremely brutal hand-to-hand action. Is it as good as I had been expecting? ...it might be better to point that it wasn't *what* I was expecting. After their first collaboration in the aforementioned "Undisputed 3" set the bar for all future martial arts flicks, I had been expecting that Adkins and Larnell Stovall would present us with more lightning-speed martial arts wizardry, but what they delivered instead are brawls. Violent, gritty, gory brawls. I think this had to do with the physical constraints of many of the performers, and in a way, it's disappointing...but then again, the fights tend to be better than good and easy to appreciate for both the physicality of the performers and the gamely shooting and editing style of the filmmakers. We've got seven fights here, and while the fights Andrei Arlovski has with a nameless Unisol and Dolph Lundgren are pretty lackluster, the rest of the clashes are lengthy, technically sound, and appear like either fight could win all the things I want in a fight. My personal favorite is the second showdown between Adkins and Arlovski, wherein they beat the hell out of each other with baseball bats. While not the barn-burner I had been hoping it to be, Adkins vs. Van Damme during the finale is definitely the best fight the two have had beating the snot out of their outings in The Shepherd: Border Patrol and Assassination Games.
If I were to nitpick, I'd point out that the Unisols seem a bit frailer than usual, this time around, but neither this nor any of the other criticisms I've written about the film could keep it from the relatively high rating it's getting. Whether or not you appreciate it, I think, depends on both how much you enjoyed the last film and how far you think the action genre can be bent until the filmmakers have to make a choice whether they want to make an action film or a horror flick. The strength of this one's action scenes determined that it could be bent pretty far this time, but overall, I could have done without the change in direction. While there's nothing in the film that I don't explicitly dislike, the things I'm uncertain about keep this one from a perfect score. While its rating is the same I gave to "Regeneration," the four stars for "Day of Reckoning" are of a slightly less enthusiastic variety.
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The UNcensored NC-17 version of Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning is an above average sci-fi/action movie, nowhere near as good as its predecessor Regeneration, though. However despite the director's promise that the uncensored version will be released for home media this is not the case here. I don't buy INCOMPLETE movies, so I'm not buying Day of Reckoning until they correct this mistake!By the way, don't expect to see too much of Jean-Claude Van Damme or Dolph Lundgren in this one! They're only in it for a few minutes.
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John Hyams, who directed 2009's surprisingly watchable "Universal Soldier: Regeneration," returned to write and direct this equally well-made but unpleasant and unrelentingly bonkers sequel starring Scott Adkins as a former military man whose wife and child are murdered. Who's responsible for their deaths? None other than Jean-Claude Van Damme's Luc Deveraux, who makes the transition from former movie hero to full-on psycho in a portentous tale of Luc's "UniSol" squadron wanting to take over the world...or is it all just a government conspiracy? Paced so slowly that each scene tends to linger on for minutes at a time, with a tone more akin to a horror film than the series' origins, "Day of Reckoning" features the requisite Dolph Lundgren cameo and is stylishly shot by Hyams (son of Peter), but the subject matter is so dour that the grim mood eventually overpowers the director's best intentions. Sony's Blu-Ray includes a commentary with Hyams and Lundgren along with a trio of Making Of featurettes, a 1080p transfer and DTS MA audio.Honest reviews on Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
Isn't it the norm for sequels to get worse as a franchise progresses? Simply not the case for Day of Reckoning. After injecting new life into the Universal Soldier series with Regeneration, director John Hyams continues the path of delivering hardcore action vets exactly what they desire. A dark atmosphere, bone crunching martial arts, and a JCVD who is enjoying a nice phase II of his career. To give away plot details would simply spoil the surprises that await. Just know that Day of Reckoning is well worth your time, and action lovers clamoring for something different need look no further. Strong, strong recommend.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
While I did enjoy the original "Universal Soldier" (1992), I wasn't exactly gaga over it. In my opinion, it was okay. I liked it scarcely more than your average low-budget action/kick flick. I felt the same way about "Universal Soldier: The Return" (1999). It was decent enough. So by the time "Universal Soldier: Regeneration" came out in 2009, I'd basically resigned myself to ignoring it. That is until I heard nothing but great things about it for so long that I finally broke down. Everything I heard was correct. I dug the hell out of it. Better than the 1st. A lot better! The only real complaint I had about it was the blatant use of stunt-doubles during the film's lengthy (and otherwise awesome) climax. Even with their obvious presence, the action scenes were still very enjoyable. So when I heard that "Regeneration"'s director, John Hyams, was re-teaming with Jean Claude Van Damme (Expendables 2) & Dolph Lundgren (Expendables 2), plus adding Scott Adkins (Expendables 2) and bringing in fight choreographer extraordinaire, Larnell Stovall (Undisputed 3), I could not help but start geekin' out.Did it live up to the hype I imbued it with? Yes. Well, eventually. Admittedly, I missed a lot the first time I watched it and was initially disappointed. It was actually with great reluctance that I gave this a 2nd viewing as soon as I did, and am very glad I did. This isn't really much of a direct continuation in terms of sequence to "Regeneration" but takes the same characters to different places, situations and even personalities, some quite drastically. Now, personally, I really dig it when sequels do stuff like that but others may not. The influence of flicks like "Apocalypse Now", and "The Manchurian Candidate", combined with various other horror and action ingredients, were all welcome additions. These components are, however, not without risk. Hyams runs the gamble of alienating fans of the franchise. Could someone not familiar with the franchise just pop it in and enjoy it? Hard to say. My inclination is toward no but it's definitely possible.
Who ever is responsible for Van Damme & Lundgrens' faces on the cover is on shaky ground, too. They're barely in it. It doesn't bother me so much but it's still rude. Considering it happened on Hyams' most recent film that barely included its cover-boy, Van Damme, I'd have to place blame on the director. Or Van Damme. Lundgren actually has more screen time than he did in "Regeneration" but that's not saying much. Also absent is his character's splendid delivery of existential masochism. Instead the entire movie has a feel of masochistic existentialism.
The plot? I'll give the non-complicated version: Scott Adkins plays John, a man whose sole memory after awakening from a 9-month coma is of Luc Devereaux (Van Damme) murdering his wife and young daughter. When he is finally discharged from the hospital he goes about finding out who this Deveraux jerk is and what he can do to get revenge on the dude. Lotsa other stuff ensues, much of it pretty neat.
And how is this action once it finally arrives? Awesome, gross, intense, disappointing, the list goes on. I am quite a fan of Stovall's choreography. Especially in flicks like "Undisputed 3" and "Never Back Down 2". But if I had a gripe about his work, the use of slow motion is exactly what it would entail. It was my only complaint about the fights in "Undisputed 3". But while the slo-mo was completely unnecessary in "U3", its presence did little harm to the fights. They are truly some of my favorites. Perhaps all that crap's added in post-production? I dunno, I'm not a filmmaker. I just know that as a dude who loves his fight scenes, too much slow motion drives me nuts. Subtlety is the key. Same with wires, editing, stunt doubles, etc. If these things can be used to enhance the action, then I'm all for 'em. But that's rarely the case. I was warned about the lengthy finale of "Day of Reckoning"'s excessive slow motion long before I saw it but had heard so many great things in spite of that flaw, I figured it was still worth getting excited about. Even expecting mega-slo-mo I was still not prepared for that much of it. A dose I'd call near-fatal. Poison control suggested I skip back a few scenes to watch the groovy Adkins/Arlovski brawl in the sporting goods store. A fight scene can tell a story and it's assumed the slow motion is for that reason. I reckon it's even partially successful. But it detracted from my overall enjoyment.
The Sony DVD features 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and runs 113 minutes. English is the only spoken language but subtitles are available in English, English SDH, Spanish. The specialties include 3 "making of " featurettes and commentary with Hyams & Lundgren.
For the 4th movie in a franchise (even though it wisely ignores "The Return") this film was taken very seriously by all involved. Adkins is really good in this. Some will argue with me on that but I've seen him be bad in other movies and he's not doing that here. If not for the superfluous slow motion of the last act, this is a 5-star flick. I can't recommend it without reservations but if you enjoy good action films where imagination triumphs over budgetary restrictions, then, by all means.
2012
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