Universal Soldier(1992) Movie Review 2/2
821 views · Published 2 June 2012 · 12:32 · Indexed 2 October 2026
Channel: OcpCommunications · 2012 · Film & Animation
Part two of my review of review of the action sci-fi classic, Universal Soldier(1992) starring ean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Ally Walker, Ed O'Ross, Jerry Orbach, Leon Rippy, Tico Wells, Ralf Moeller, Robert Trebor, Gene Davis, and Drew Snyder. Directed by Roland Emmerich. Trivia The first screenplay was initially called "Crystal Knights". The Grand Canyon bus chase has been used and edited as library footage into Fred Olen Ray's Critical Mass (2000) produced by Andrew Stevens' Phoenician Entertainment (a company that specialized in shooting low budget action films around stock footage). The original script presents a much darker depiction of the US military than what eventually ends up on the screen. In the original screenplay the Colonel in charge of the Unisol project orders 'Dolph Lungdren''s character to ruthlessly kill off all the civilian witnesses to his pursuit of 'Jean Claude Van Damme''s character. The Colonel also informs the head scientist that the terrorists at the dam were not terrorists at all, but mercenaries hired by the army to provide fake justification for the Universal Soldier programme. In the finished film these scenes are omitted so the witnesses are left unharmed and the gunmen killed by the Unisols at the dam were genuine terrorists. The Colonel and his men are actually heroic figures with a real and valid mission who just want their multi-million dollar Unisol back. Whereas military villains were de rigeur in the post Vietnam 1970s and well into the 80s, by the time of filming the reputation of the US military was at an all time high following the first Gulf War so it was considered unlikely that the audience would accept them being shown in such a poor light. In the film's unreleased first cut, the final battle between Luc and Andrew didn't include the scene in the barn, featured the death of Luc's mother, and concluded with the near-murder of Luc by Dr. Gregor, followed by the revelation that he eventually died because of his injuries.(If the film had ended this way I would have HATED it.)
