This ain’t your daddy’s UNIVERSAL SOLDIER! Many years ago I saw the first sequel to Roland Emmerich’s 1992 actioner, which came in the form of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN. It was an abyssmal, made-for-TV experience that had none of the flair that Emmerich is known for and none of the “kick” that Van Damme built a career on. Subsequently, I skipped anything after, including sequels and spinoffs. However, this red-band trailer for UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING is so strange, violent, and trippy that I almost feel like they’ve reached a tipping point and gone in a more inspired direction.
The trailer plays like a modern day APOCALYPSE NOW only with more flipping cars and martial arts, complete with a bald-headed Van Damme wearing face paint, looking much like Tim Curry in Stephen King’s IT, minus the red hair and clown suit. Of course, we have our favorite Swede, Dolph Lundgren, chewing up scenery like it’s his last meal and a very adept bad ass in the form of Scott Adkins. All in all, this is one I’ll definitely be catching, if even just to satisfy my curiosity.
Watch for the strobes:
I think it’s really cool that this franchise has moved in a direction that isn’t replicating the original over and over again. Far from it. It may not be Shakespeare, but it may be Shakespeare with kicks to the throat. The film is getting some pretty solid reviews thus far, so that’s a little more incentive to catch it.
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING, directed by John Hyams, starring Scott Adkins, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, is slated to hit On Demand on October 25, 2012 with a limited theatrical run on November 30, 2012.