Universal Soldier (1992)

Universal Soldier is a 1992 American military science-fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich, produced by Allen Shapiro, Craig Baumgarten, and Joel B. Michaels, and written by Richard Rothstein, Christopher Leitch, and Dean Devlin. The film tells the story of Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a former U.S. Army soldier who was killed in the Vietnam War in 1969, and returned to life following a secret military project called the “Universal Soldier” program. However, he finds out about his past, though his memory was erased, and escapes alongside a young TV journalist (Ally Walker). Along the way, they have to deal with the return of his archenemy, Sgt. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), who had lost his sanity in the Vietnam War, and became a psychotic megalomaniac, intent on killing him and leading the Universal Soldiers.

Universal Soldier was released by TriStar Pictures on July 10, 1992. The film has a 35% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $95 million worldwide against its budget of $23 million and spawned a series of films: theatrical sequel Universal Soldier: The Return, alternative direct-to-video sequel Universal Soldier: Regeneration, standalone direct-to-video film Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, and two direct-to-TV films, Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. It was the first film on-screen collaboration between Van Damme and Lundgren in the film series, who both later worked together in The Expendables 2 and Black Water, and their voice-roles in Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Plot.

In 1969, a U.S. Army team is ordered to secure a village against North Vietnamese forces. Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) discovers members of his squad and villagers murdered, all with their ears removed. Deveraux finds his sergeant, Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), who has gone insane and made a necklace of severed ears, and who is holding a young couple hostage. Deveraux, nearing the end of his tour of duty, tries to reason with Scott, who executes the man and orders Deveraux to shoot the girl to prove his loyalty. Deveraux refuses, and tries to save the girl, but she is killed by a grenade thrown by Scott. After shooting each other to death, Deveraux and Scott’s corpses are recovered by a second squad and cryogenically frozen, their deaths classified as “missing in action”.

Revisiting the Universal Soldier Franchise

Deveraux and Scott’s corpses are reanimated decades later (but with their memories lost) and selected for the “Universal Soldier” (UniSol) program, an elite counter-terrorism unit. They are deployed via an Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy to the Hoover Dam to resolve a hostage situation. The team demonstrates their superior training and physical abilities against the terrorists, such as when GR76 (Ralf Möller) withstands close-range rifle fire. After the area is secured, Deveraux begins to regain memory from his former life upon seeing two hostages who strongly resemble the villagers he tried to save in Vietnam, causing him to disobey commands from the control team and become unresponsive.

In the mobile command center, the UniSols are revealed to be genetically augmented soldiers with enhanced self-healing abilities and superior strength, but they also tend to overheat and shut down. They are given a neural serum to keep their minds susceptible and their past memories suppressed. Because of the glitch, Woodward (Leon Rippy), one of the technicians on the project, feels removing Deveraux from the team until he can be further analyzed may be better, but UniSol commander Colonel Perry (Ed O’Ross) refuses. TV journalist Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker), who was fired while covering the Hoover Dam incident, tries to get a story on the UniSol project to get her job back. Roberts sneaks onto the base with a cameraman, discovering GR76 immersed in ice, still alive despite normally fatal injuries.

When her presence is noticed, Deveraux and Scott are ordered to capture her dead or alive. She flees to her cameraman’s car, but they crash. Scott coldly murders the cameraman against orders before Deveraux stops him from shooting Roberts. Together, Deveraux and Roberts escape in a UniSol vehicle. Colonel Perry insists on preventing knowledge of the UniSol program getting out, and sends the remaining UniSols to find Deveraux and Roberts. Deveraux and Roberts flee to a motel, where Roberts discovers she has been framed for the murder of her cameraman. Deveraux collapses from overheating and has to take an ice bath.

The UniSols completely destroy the motel, but Deveraux and Roberts hide in a bed until they leave and steal a car. The couple flees to a gas station, where Deveraux has Roberts remove a tracking device from his leg. They set a trap and when the UniSols arrive the gas station explodes. Colonel Perry terminates the mission after this failure and Scott’s previously insane personality resurfaces, causing him to kill Perry and all but two doctors. Deveraux and Roberts sneak onto the command center bus and steal UniSol documents. Scott then takes control of the mindlessly obedient UniSol team, commanding them to kill Deveraux and Roberts.

Production, Release.

In February 1990, Andrew Davis was hired to direct, and he also contributed to the screenplay. He was later replaced by Roland Emmerich, who brought on his creative partner Dean Devlin to rewrite aspects of the script. Principal photography began in August 1991. Carolco, the company that produced the film, was having financial troubles and hoped that the film’s box-office return would keep them afloat. At the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, Van Damme and Lundgren were involved in a verbal altercation that almost turned physical when both men pushed each other, only to be separated. On his website, Lundgren confirmed that it was just a publicity stunt to promote the film. It was the last film that used the multichannel surround-sound format, Cinema Digital Sound.

Universal Soldier: A Look At One of the Best Action Films of the ’90s

Home media, Box office.

Universal Soldier was released via VHS and Laserdisc in 1992/1993 by Live Home Video, and was released via DVD in 1998 by Artisan Entertainment. The foreign releases from 1993 to 2001, are on DVD, Laserdisc, and VHS by Columbia TriStar Home Video.[citation needed]. The film was double-featured with Universal Soldier: The Return via DVD in Norwegian by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment in 2001. Universal Soldier opened in theaters on July 10, 1992 where it grossed $10,057,084 from 1916 theaters with a $5,249 per screen average. It opened and peaked at number two, behind A League of Their Own’s second weekend. Grossing $36,299,898 in the US and Canada and $59 million internationally ($44 million via TriStar), for a worldwide gross of $95 million.

Cast:

Jean-Claude Van Damme as Luc Deveraux
Dolph Lundgren as Andrew Scott
Ally Walker as Veronica Roberts
Ed O’Ross as Colonel Perry
Leon Rippy as Woodward
Tico Wells as Garth
Ralf Moeller as GR76 (credited as Ralph Moeller)
Robert Trebor as the motel owner
Gene Davis as Lieutenant
Drew Snyder as Charles
Jerry Orbach as Dr. Gregor