Universal Soldier (1992)
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A former soldier resurrected by a secret military project must fight to regain his humanity against his own former squad.
The story
In 1969, a U.S. Army team secures a village against North Vietnamese forces, where soldier Luc Deveraux witnesses his squad being murdered by his insane sergeant, Andrew Scott. After both men are killed and cryogenically frozen, they are reanimated decades later as part of the 'Universal Soldier' program—an elite counter-terrorism unit of genetically augmented humans. Equipped with neural serums to suppress memories and enhanced physical abilities, the team is deployed against terrorists. However, Deveraux begins to regain memories of his past life, causing him to disobey commands and become unresponsive, leading to a confrontation with the military project's handlers.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1969, U.S. Army soldier Luc Deveraux is killed in Vietnam after his sergeant, Andrew Scott, goes insane and murders their squad. Their bodies are cryogenically frozen and later reanimated for the 'Universal Soldier' program, an elite unit of genetically augmented soldiers with enhanced strength and self-healing. While on a mission against terrorists, Deveraux regains memories of his past life, causing him to malfunction. When a journalist, Veronica Roberts, sneaks onto the base and discovers the project, Deveraux and Roberts flee together. They are pursued by the other UniSols, including a mindless Scott. After several narrow escapes involving a motel destruction and a gas station explosion, they steal documents revealing the project's flaws: the soldiers' bodies overheat and their memories of their final moments are amplified. Scott, believing he is still in Vietnam, eventually kills the project's commander. The group is eventually cornered by Scott in Louisiana. Deveraux injects himself with Scott's muscle enhancers to match his strength, eventually impaling Scott on a hay harvester. Roberts survives the final battle and is reunited with Deveraux.
- First release year
- 1992
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Roland Emmerich
- Writers
- Richard Rothstein · writer; Christopher Leitch · writer; Dean Devlin · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jean-Claude Van Damme · Luc Deveraux; Dolph Lundgren · Andrew Scott; Ally Walker; Ed O'Ross; Jerry Orbach
- Genres
- military science-fiction action; martial arts science fiction
- Themes
- resurrection; memory erasure and alteration; genetic engineering
- Tone and mood
- action; sci-fi
- Premise and plot tags
- military science-fiction; counter-terrorism; super-soldier
- Franchise connections
- Universal Soldier
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics, who dismissed it as a Terminator 2 clone or a mindless action film. However, it was a commercial success, grossing $120 million worldwide on a $23 million budget. Audiences gave it a 'B' grade on CinemaScore.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 35 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Production trivia
- Van Damme and Lundgren had a verbal altercation at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, which was later confirmed as a publicity stunt.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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