Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012) User Reviews

Confusingly Unique Entry

[d_man1890 · 6/10 · 31 October 2012]

The new Unisol film is a surprisingly fresh take on an old franchise. The tone of the movie is completely different from the previous entries that it's hard to compare to its predecessors.

Our hero, john (Scott Adkins), awakes to find intruders in his home who kill his wife and daughter. After spending several months in a coma John awakes with a memory loss, only remembering the man who murdered his family, Luc Devreux (Van Damme). The storyline then becomes less comprehensive as we tag along John as he tries to piece everything. The main problem is that nothing is answered, the back story remains hidden and the characters motivations are left unexplained. The movie also suffers from bad pacing, the first half being painstakingly slow with no action happening for the first half of the movie.

The good news are that the second half features some badass action sequences and the R rating is used fully, it's a gory movie as it should be. Even though the frequent use of slo-mo is tiring, it doesn't ruin the experience. Too bad all of it is packed in the final scenes of the movie.

The movie draws inspiration from different places, from video games to horror movies to Apocalypse Now (you won't miss it), the unique style sets this movie apart from the others but it doesn't help the thin plot or anemic characters.

Universal Soldier 4: Day of Reckoning is unique and fresh and I applaud the director for taking a different approach. Adkins does a great job and proves his more than a stuntman. JVCD and Lundgren's roles are smaller than you would expect, but it's a treat to see them on screen again. The lack of a comprehensive plot and or continuity to other films of the series is what hinders this movie from getting a higher rating.

Final score: 6 out of 10

Not bad , fairly unique.

[katmanking · 6/10 · 26 October 2012]

I'm just going to say that this movie seriously should come with a seizure warning because I almost passed out from the flashing at certain scenes.

DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE PRONE TO EPILEPTIC SEIZURES!!!!!! No joke.

Otherwise it's good to see these guys on the same screen again. The movie is a little slow in parts but picks up quickly. Story develops quickly then plateaus a bit then picks up again.

Nothing that's going to curl your toes.. but a good flick.

Cheers!

Rare as well as acceptable following in which a man vows to kill the man responsible of a massacre : Luc Deveraux.

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 9 November 2013]

-Plot : Strange follow-up with three veteran but exceptional action men : Van Damme as Luc Deveraux , Lundgren as Andrew Scott and Scott Adkins as John . With top-secret technology, the undercover agency has created a next-generation Universal Soldier - an elite fighter genetically altered into a programmable killing machine , forming a tough army of genetically enhanced warriors . With this "UniSol" Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) leading the way, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski , and Dolph Lundgren , both of them are threatening to unleash a world rebellion . The only one who can stop them is John (Scott Adkins) , a UniSol who's been decommissioned for years and living an easy family life . John looks to take down Luc Deveraux after a home invasion claims his wife and daughter. The fight pits John against Andrew Scott and an army of genetically enhanced warriors ; meanwhile, he must contend with a UniSol in relentless pursuit . John must make a full-out assault on the heavily armed hideout . But inside, John'll discover these virtually indestructible warriors . Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), Deveraux's (Luc Deveraux's codename in the UNISOL program is GR44) vicious UniSol enemy from the original Universal Soldier, have been secretly reanimated , upgraded and leading a riot . As Deveraux has emerged operating the Unisol Church of Eventualism, taking in wayward Unisols whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents . Luc is preparing to government overthrow and build a new order ruled by Unisols without state control . Now, these elite fighters led by Deveraux are loaded and programmed to kill; and the fate of millions hinges on this high-action showdown . John carries out a dangerous travel until the fateful meeting with Luc Deveraux (in similar role to General Kurtz/Brando from Apocalypse now, about a boss turned crazy) who has gone murderer and nut .

-Comment : This moving picture contains noisy action , thrills , shootouts and fierce combats in brutal, life-and-death style . This exciting story by the same director John Hyams& Doug Magnuson and Jon Greenhalgh and producer Moshe Diamant deals with a strange journey proceeded by John to investigate his origins and discover the family killing until find out the terrible truth . The starring's travel is narrated as a surrealist odyssey leading to the dreadful and violent final but when the protagonist find Luc Deveraux the scenarios are darkest and gloomiest . Thrilling screenplay dispenses absurd excitement as well as violence and lots of fights . Acceptable action movie full of struggles , crossfire and tension , this is a stylized action-suspense film , though there are some slow-moving scenes . The tension of this picture keeps snowballing as the clock ticks ever close for a groundbreaking as well as spectacular final . Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins have some scenes together at an impressive fighting . Dolph Lundgren filmed his parts for the movie in just 5 days, whilst Jean-Claude Van Damme filmed for 20 days , though they have no scenes together. The director, John Hyams, is son of notorious cameraman and filmmaker Peter Hyams . However , P.J. Pesce was considered to direct the movie and Simon Fellows was originally signed to direct but he was replaced during pre-production . Released theatrically in a few countries and Direct-To-Video (DVD & Blu-ray) in the rest of the world . Filmmaker John Hyams quickly understood the freedom and malleability that direct to video presents and has gone about creating some incredibly interesting genre fare. According to director John Hyams, the fight between Scott Adkins and Jean-Claude Van Damme was designed to be much flashier and more acrobatic but had to be redesigned when Adkins tore a ligament in his knee prior to filming . Hyams made his feature length film in 1997 when wrote, directed, and produced the critically acclaimed "One Dog Day," , he subsequently filmed ¨Universal Soldier: Regeneration¨ , this ¨Day of reckoning¨ and ¨Dragon Eyes¨ , in which displayed an acute understanding of the action genre .

-Universal Soldier Series : being based on Christopher Leitch and Dean Devlin characters , they are the followings : The best film of the series was the original ¨Universal soldier¨ by Roland Emmerich with Jean-Claude Van Damme , Dolph Lundgren , Ally Walker , Ed O'Ross ; it was followed by ¨Universal soldier : the return¨ with Jean-Claude Van Damme , Michael Jai White , Heidi Schanz , Xander Berkeley and Justin Lazard as subsequent Universal Soldier films ignore the events of The Return and outright contradict it in a number of ways ; while still an official entry, it is no longer considered part of the series canon . ¨Universal Sodier : Regeneration¨ by John Hyams with Van Damme , Dolph Lundgren , Andrei Arlovski and ¨Universal soldier : day of reckoning¨(2012) by John Hyams with Scott Adkins , Andrei 'The Pit Bull' Arlovski , Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme , but here they have not scenes together . And two TV films : ¨Universal soldier : Brothers in arms¨ (1998) by Jeff Woolnough with Matt Battaglia , Gary Busey , Burt Reynolds , Richard McMillan and Chandra West and ¨Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business¨ (1999) by Jeff Woolnough with Burt Reynolds Juan Chioran , Claudette Roche and Matt Battaglia .

Universal Soldier oozes ambiguity, blood, gore and action.

[amesmonde · 31 March 2013]

Led by Luc Devereaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) a cloned UniSol Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) are now wanted by the government who will do anything to find them a wipe out their UniSol army for good.

Universal Soldier fans maybe left scratching their heads, however, sci- fi action fans looking for slick, stylish direction with hard hitting violence and a Philip K. Dick tone - in the vain of Impostor (2001) maybe impressed by director John Hyams offering.

While not a fun hammy 90s hit like it's original this is smaller personal story adds another angle on UniSol. Reckoning may have benefited from being a stand alone low budget Dredd/Memento/Bourne-like film as it's so far removed to the original's feel.

This is actor/stuntman Scott Adkins film with very limited screen-time for Van Damme or Lundgren which isn't such a bad thing as their characters have become dismembered to those in the first outing. Nevertheless, Adkins as John carries it under Hyams games console shoot 'em up direction. While this film may not be Adkins Jason Statham 'star vehicle' it shows he's a convincing action man with some range of emotion to match as John goes on his hunt for Devereaux in some Apocalypse Now (1979) homage of sorts.

With excellent camera-work, lighting, stunts, ambiguous script, perfect moody atmosphere it's not a normal action film - and with nudity, blood and horror like gore it's not for the faint hearted either.

Don't expect a rehash or even the Universal Soldier you fell in love with and you may be surprised by this basic, dark, testosterone injected ride.

Now somebody needs to remake 1987's cheese-fest Dead Prey with Adkins as the lead.

More of a poor re-imagining than anything else. Ignores the great work done by "Regeneration"

[abbottsam · 2/10 · 7 December 2012]

In my mind there are only two Universal Soldier movies, and if you watch Universal Soldier (1992) and Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) you will have a complete, unspoiled Universal Soldier experience. Give everything else with the UniSol name attached to it a miss, it just spoils it!

Universal Soldier (1992) is a classic of its time and genre. It was destroyed with two "unofficial" sequels that I have never seen and never care to.

Then came the official sequel, Universal Soldier: The Return (1999). JCVD was back, which gave the movie some cred, but it deviated too far from what made Universal Soldier (1992) good. "The Return" was didn't have the same "feel". It was too "shiny", too "clean", just too "Hollywood".

When I got word of another Universal Soldier sequel I avoided it like the plague! I wasn't going to fall into temptation, but it was the reviews here on IMDb that finally turned me. I finally buckled due to the overwhelming praise of Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009).

"Regeneration" really is SO good for its budget. It took the UniSol series from the "classic for its time" bracket and thrust it into gritty reality. A worthy and brilliant sequel (that thankfully ignores the events of "The Return" and still doesn't get the praise it deserves. WATCH THIS FILM!

"Regeneration" leaves room for a direct sequel, which if made in the same tone would have been brilliant! But "Day of Reckoning" ignores the lot of it and goes in a completely different direction again! I have no idea why or what they were thinking after the acclaim of "Regeneration". Everyone involved should be fired and never be allowed to work again!

This film does not star JCVD or DL. They are extras at most. This film follows a new character and his story which intertwines into a re- imagined UniSol universe almost completely unrelated to anything before it.

JCVD and DL look extremely old, even more so than in "Regeneration" where they just got away with it!

This film shouldn't have been made. They had all the ingredients to run with a better sequel after the events of "Regeneration".

I am in fact a little angry that I have seen "DOR". It has left a foul taste in my mouth again just like I felt after I watched "The Return".

In a way I hope they still do another one because their track record suggests their next one will be good again. On the other hand JCVD and DL are far too old.

It will take several sittings of the original and "Regeneration" to erase this movie from memory. And just like how I believe there are only three Star Wars films, only three Indiana Jones films and Joel Schumacher never made a Batman film - there are only two UniSol film: the original and "Regeneration". Watch these two films again and again if you have to, just give this one (and any others) a miss.

Thank me later.

(2 stars for some pretty reasonable and gritty action and fight scenes for its budget - only good part of the film).

Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning: Clones & confusion

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 6 July 2018]

The Universal Soldier franchise as terrible as they've been must have been profitable otherwise they wouldn't have lasted. So with that in mind it begs the question, why would they overhaul the entire formula?

The Universal Soldier films have been brainless action flicks about the genetically modified undead soldiers but here it goes in a totally different direction and is no better for it.

It tells the story of a man who witnesses his wife and daughter murdered by home invaders. He wakes up from a coma and begins to investigate what happened to him, why he was targetted and the man who was responsible Luc Deveraux!

Yes thats right, Van Dammes character and the main protagonist throughout the franchise. So with Van Damme reprising and Lungren along for the ride yet again we see a brand new type of Universal Soldier movie.

Sadly it just doesn't work, though it starts strong it quickly becomes apparent that the writers had no idea where they were going with this new approach and it all falls apart. The plot is a jumbled mess and the only redeeming factor is the action which is more on point than usual.

Sadly its impossible to get past just how much of a baffling mess Day of Reckonings story is, what they've done to the two recurring characters and makes me very much hope this is the last addition to the franchise.

The Good:

Interesting opening scene

SFX are actually on point

The Bad:

Makes absolutely no sense

Major shift will not have please fans of the franchise

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Upon seeing a gun mens penis's shrivel up

This movie is NOT for epileptics

Losing half of your foot won't affect your ability to walk

NOT Universal Soldier. Avoid it at all cost

[utpal_das · 1/10 · 1 November 2012]

I had to write a review since this movie was so bad. First of all, JCVD and Dolph have a total of 3 minutes of screen time... COMBINED. VD doesn't speak till the last scene, Dolph has a total of 10 words beside a pseudo speech. Story... Scott is a created soldier given a memory of a family which is then killed so that he develops a rage, why? don't know, who made him, some government wing, why they are against JCVD, no idea, what does Dolph do, I wish I had an answer, why were JCVD and Lundgren in my movie? You tell me! This is no way related to the Universal Soldier series, even the later ones featuring Goldberg and Kiana Tom were much better. Scott, as the Russian was likable in those kick boxing movie series (forgetting the name), well he cant act for sure and he he was just horrible. Just watch the first Universal Soldier movie and enjoy Dolph going all psycho, avoid this at all cost. 2 stars just because it had some nice martial arts actors, thats all

That's the spirit soldier....

[FlashCallahan · 7/10 · 3 November 2012]

John awakens from a coma to discover his wife and daughter were slaughtered in, and he vows to kill the man responsible, Luc Deveraux.

While John tries to piece his life back together, things get more complicated when he is pursued by a relentless UniSol named Magnus.

Deveraux and surviving UniSol Andrew Scott are preparing to build a new order ruled by Unisols without government oversight. They are weeding out the weak and constantly testing their strongest warriors in brutal, life-and-death combat.

Luc takes in wayward Unisols whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents.

As John gets closer to Deveraux and the rogue army of genetically enhanced warriors, he discovers more about himself and begins to call into question everything he believed to be true......

If you are thinking of something along the line sod the original film, this is as farther from that film as you could expect. It's as if Herzog, Lynch, and Cronenberg have taken the franchise and mutated it.

The film begins in a very disturbing way, and sets the whole tone of the film, dark and grim and unsettling. Adkins proves himself as a bona-fide action star in this, and stands well against Van Damme and Lundgren........and this is the major problem with the film.

The stars are hardly in it. Lundgren is in a total of three scenes, lasting around eight minutes, and Van Damme is in it a little more, but has nothing to do until the last ten minutes of the film, so if you are after them in a film, this is very deceptive.

Another problem I had with the film was the strobe lights in a couple of scenes, I literally had to come back to the film later, as it made me feel nauseous.

It takes a while to get going, and after one gruesome scene at a 'parlour' the action really gets going. We have a great car chase, and then a mental fight in a sports shop.

After the confusing plot comes to a head, we have the final third, which contains an almost one shot edit of Adkins going on a killing spree before finally meeting Van Damme.

So all in all, it's a very big risk for a Universal Soldier movie as it will divide fans. But it works, and it really gets exciting after the fifty minute mark.

If you thought JCVD had bad movies before, this is his "Planet 9 from Outer Space"

[eidelbus-344-245087 · 1/10 · 24 January 2013]

Think of Highlander II, Matrix 2 and 3, Son of the Mask, Superman IV and other sequels that should have never been made, not just because they were terrible movies in their own right, but because they committed cinematic blasphemy: completely ignoring characters and stories that the original good movie established.

Ed Wood would have been delighted with this exceptionally badly written, badly produced, badly directed, badly acted, badly edited movie with bad special effects. Even by the low standards set by unfortunately too many of JCVD's movies, it was a terrible action movie, and about the worst sci-fi you can imagine.

I've seen almost every JCVD movie, and he's never been lower than this, even in the UniSol movie where they ran around Chernobyl. My wife sighed as she noticed "JCVD" in the end fight scene was clearly a stunt double. But there isn't even much JCVD in this, or Dolph Lundgren either, only a confusing, drawn-out plot in which a newly engineered UniSol slowly discovers that his partial fake memories were faked so he can be tricked into pursuing and killing JCVD.

This "film" even had to use the terrible effect of rapidly shifting to a white frame and back, known to cause seizures in epileptics. But don't worry about the effect giving you nausea. When it happens a third of the way through, you'll already have nausea from the movie being so bad.

A much higher class of straight to DVD

[moby1974 · 7/10 · 26 October 2012]

OK this is a very odd film. It does not feel right, its hard to explain but on this film Hyams has nailed it (with help) the direction/editing/cinematography/music....its all too good for this type of film. Not long in to the film I was shocked at how good it all looked from a film structure point, its not a Alien or Godfarther standard but its far above straight to DVD movies, its far better than most big screen films. The only thing that reminds you that this is a small screen film is the cast and their acting ability's (Scott does a good job where he can), but then again if you rented this film you would not be expecting any Oscars, but when it comes to the action side they do a very good job, its very upfront and bloody. The film sits around the 7/10 area, most of these films would normally hit a 5/10 but this one picks up points for the effort that has gone in to making something more than a cheap straight to DVD film. I hope that the same guys who put this together get a bigger film with a upgrade in actors, if they can make a film that looks this good with a low budget I would like to see what happens with a few more million thrown in.

Shameful effort

[lukerowett · 1/10 · 24 January 2013]

I fast forwarded from 10 minutes in, this film lacks the basics, such as extras, and possibly a director.

There is a 30 second scene which involves a man deciding whether or not to answer his phone, then zooms in slowly and pointlessly as he says hello.

The acting is deadpan, pathetic, and monotone.

The film is violent in a tasteless way.

Don't waste your time or money.

JCVD has done far superior films than this, choose one of the others!

1/10

Great in parts, but sometimes too slow

[MyNameIsMARTHA · 8/10 · 11 September 2012]

Just the basic story: Scott Adkins awakes in hospital after he dreams about JCVD and some guys in black uniforms kill his wife and daughter. He is then approached by some sort of government agent and starts to search for the killer of his family but it is more difficult than it seems.

To be completely honest: I don't think I got the story completely. It includes clones, implanted memories and some twists you wouldn't really expect from a movie like this. This isn't really like the first Universal Soldier (funny), this is actually pretty grim and dry and compared to "Regeneration" it has a way more complex story and clear lead actor this time: Scott Adkins. The first scene is actually a first-person one take, like in an ego shooter. It's a gimmick and I'm not really a fan of this, but it isn't bad at all. It's also raw and brutal as Scott gets beat up by a crowbar and then his wife is killed by a head shot with lots of blood splattering around (The death of his daughter isn't shown). The "Eastern block industrial" feeling is gone, this is rural America - and it's for the better. Of course there aren't any big sets like in The Expendables. This time there's also nudity. A brothel for the Universal Soldiers (where Andrei Arlovski is wrecking some havoc) and a strip club. All this is told with various "experimental" techniques. Strange sounds, flashbacks in which, for example, his daughter appears or his mirror image turns into Van Damme and so on. It's a little bit TOO ambitious for a movie like this. It wants to be deep, David Lynch-like, and, while I appreciate the intention of going away from the simple story of Regeneration the "arthouse approach" doesn't really fit. Scott Adkins also simply isn't a good actor to pull that off. And he still lacks the presence of the old action heroes.

Well, yes, the actors. They are horrible. With the exception of Van Damme whose performance as the leader of the rogue Universal Soldier is pretty good and is mysterious presence is definitely something. Dolph finally channels the Andrew Scott from the first movie again, at least, a little bit, and he actually has the only funny line in the movie - "That's the spirit, soldier". What he says when he gets a machete into his arm. You could pretty much picture that in the first movie. Yes, in the movie is serious. No funny one-liners. The only funny thing are the splatter scenes. The movie has lots of it. Adkins loses his fingers, Arlovski half of his foot. Lots of head shots, even an old grandmother gets one, the brothel whores are mercilessly slaughtered.

And now to the good things. I mean the really good things. The action scenes. While, I admit it, the first part of the movie is a little bit slow and tries to tell the story as mysterious as possible, it is from time to time pushed by some little action scenes. These are really well-shot, without fast cuts, quite the opposite, slow-mo is used. For what they are (small scale scenes in a movie with a low budget) they are really top-notch. They don't have large set pieces but that is compensates by the violence. Then there is a car chase which is the only action scene that I found a little bit average. It's really nothing special, the one in Regeneration was much better. But of course, the whole scene leads right into a nice battle between Adkins and Arlovski where the beat each other with baseball bats, dumbbells and whatever.

Still, all this doesn't make up for the lengths in the beginning. To be honest, if the movie would have went on like that I would have been a little bit disappointed. But then it comes. The showdown is better than anything seen in THE EXPENDABLES I or II and whatever. Really. I cannot think of many action movies that have such an awesome final act where everything just gets bigger and bigger and culminates into two "boss battles". The whole things begins with a minute-long one take where Adkins wrecks havoc and kills UniSols left and there without the movie having a cut.

After the disappointing "Dragon Eyes" John Hyams redeems himself and showed that the great action from Regeneration wasn't just a lucky punch. He can also write, although perhaps next time he should get some help. I hope that in the near future he can at least rise enough to take charge of a movie with Jason Statham and his typical production values.

I've decided to give this movie a 8/10 because of the great climax.

Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning was brutal to say the least. Dark from start to end

[randlez74 · 7/10 · 5 August 2013]

Well Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning was brutal to say the least. Dark from start to end. Fight scenes were played out well, it didn't feel rushed to get the fight over like a lot of movies seem to do, it took its time and gave you the feeling like you were just standing there watching the thing happen, thanks to a wide pulled back viewing angle and steady cam. Even tho they were super human this made the combat feel realistic and solid in a visceral and disturbing way, As someone who hasn't seen a Universal Soldier movie since i was a kid i found the plot a little slow yet slightly confusing like i was missing some important information which actually kept me interested enough to care about what was going on even tho it ended up the only way it could have. No one goes into a movie like this expecting to have there mind blown away by the story anyway so it cant be faulted here. I believe this movie is a success because it does what it was trying to do so well.

Acting - 7 Story - 5 Pacing - 7 Action - 9 Overall Feel - 7

Let me just say that this is in fact the worst Universal Soldier movie ever :(

[dancardoso_22 · 1/10 · 28 October 2012]

I'm a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme, and i like some movies of Dolph Lundgren , but this one blah practical no history and the clone come on some wanna be??? Trying to make a cont. on the history?? doesn't feel like it,lack of passion, feeling to much blood and lights, come on on the others when they try to control them, there weren't anything like that what were you thinking epileptic shock? well you got the shock part right at least, and the scene of the car accident to much for a scene, the fighting scenes were practically like Van-Damme fighting, all those moves and, what about the history??? Very disappointed for a sequel. negative points :(

disappointed

[jmanguiat · 27 October 2012]

'Universal Soldier: Day of reckoning' - I was so exited to watch this movie because I am a fan of the whole franchise. I am also an Adkins fan and have watched all the undisputed movies.

I found this movie quite hard to follow...i thought it would be a typical ass kicking straight forward action flick but I was sadly mistaken.

The action was gritty and satisfying but I can not say the same for the actual storyline. Very confused throughout...the story did reveal itself in the end but that was definitely one aspect I didn't enjoy.

This movie is definitely worth a watch with seemingly invincible soldiers with superhuman strength, VanDamme, Dolph and Adkins should be enough to persuade you :) 6/10 and too much flashing!

Utter sh(insert the letter you're thinking of)t

[mattiasahlberg · 1/10 · 26 October 2012]

The first Universal Soldiers movie was a straight up 80-style fun action movie with a bit of humor, the sequels to it were however crap. Going in to this I had some hope for this movie as both Van Damme and Lundgren where returning to the franchise.

My hopes were soon dashed by a beginning that looked like a crappy horror movie (think paranormal activityesque). What followed was more or less a splatter horror movie with guns and without the jump scares. And to make things worse Van Damme and Lundgren are hardly in it. Don't waste your time on this one, if you're feeling nostalgic you're better of giving the first one a re-watch.

Cannot believe some of the things that have been said about this film

[masochistic_tendencies · 1/10 · 20 December 2012]

I would like to state I am a fan of JCVD and Dolph; I have watched the universal soldier series as they came out and have no clue why either actor agreed to be part of this.

I actually made an account just to try to help anyone out there who may read this, hopefully before they read too many positive reviews about this film.

The fact that some people have stated how realistic the action is shows that the reviewer is either 11 years old, senile or just plainly deluded. One reviewer even likened this to 'the raid', an action film where the actor can actually perform the martial arts shown rather than rely on bad effects.

As some other reviewers with sense have pointed out, this is nothing like the rest of the universal soldier series. It is in fact a terrible action movie in its own right that relies on flashing lights, dark imagery, the tiniest shred of plot and an audience who love watching power rangers.

Do not waste your time watching this drivel. If you do not heed this warning, you too, could be left wondering how you will get that portion of your life back.

Someone Do Something!

[fcabanski · 1/10 · 1 February 2017]

At times this movie tries to be Terminator. There are lots of scenes of super human killers stalking through closed spaces (Terminator police station scene) and of super human killers driving a service truck while chasing the good guy (almost every Terminator movie).

At times this movie tries to be Universal Soldier. But those pieces feel thrown in just to warrant the title.

The fights are so MMA they become boring.

Characters' motivations aren't clear. The Van Damme character and the Dolph character seem to have some relationship, but they're never in the same scene. Looks like each one filmed his scenes on separate days.

For Universal Soldier, the problem is not enough action. There are long, woodenly acted scenes of discovery. Even the action scenes have over long build ups. A lot of this movie feels like one of the modern, SFX and camera trick dependent horror movies - not interesting, not scary, but the director showed his technical expertise.

The lead actor is awful - a body built, MMA guy with a generic Euro accent.

It would be a blessing if someone could remove the memory of this crap from my brain.

JCVD's movies were sometimes promoted with the concept of Van Damme-age - "maximum Van Damme-age, double the Van Damme-age. This one is minimum Van Damme-age.

The best trash I've seen in years.

[shadowtramp · 7/10 · 7 October 2012]

This one is a very good trash movie. And I'm serious.

It has story, a good one if you come to think about it seriously. It even has nice twist in the end. But it also has so many obviously stupid things that we heartily laughed about. It is just impossible to take it seriously.

It has very good combat scenes. Enough of blood and gore for my liking. But every single thing contradicts laws of nature so bluntly that it is just impossible to take it seriously.

The struggle between characters portrayed by Van Damme and Adkins is well shown. And you can even sympathize both to great extent. But every single bit of lighting and makeup will turn it to comics. And already sitting with a silly grin at your face you just can not take it seriously.

This is very good trash movie! And I really mean it! If you like to watch one do go for this. I haven't seen like this for several years now.

Once again

[Terryfan · 1/10 · 23 October 2015]

Once again I considered Universal Soldier the poor man's Terminator and this one is no different.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is a failed attempt to giving new life into the Universal Soldier series.

This is a series that should have just been retired years ago and this film should be enough to proof my case right.

I try to watch this movie on TV and later on Netflix it was unbearable.I mean the focus too much on gore and graphic fights pretty much ruins the film for me.

The acting in the film is simply put: Awful it's clear that no one here cared about acting or even putting forth the effort to make the story or characters interesting.

Perhaps it would have been better to have retired the series before even making this film because it was clearly a failed try at bringing back a film series that was never interesting to begin with

I give Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning an 1 out of 10

The greatest action movie David Lynch never made

[aidancramsay · 7/10 · 5 September 2017]

Honestly, it's pretty astonishing that this movie exists; it's the sort of project that could only have been brought into being via complete studio indifference to a franchise that probably should have died almost two decades ago. It's almost comically brutal, frequently surreal, and far, far more pretentious and high-minded than a movie called Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning has any right being. It's an art-horror movie hiding underneath the skin of action trash, and thinking of all the meathead bros who got tricked into watching what can best be described as what would happen if Gaspar Noe remade Apocalypse Now warms the cockles of my withered heart.

Maybe I'm overselling this. Universial Soldier: Day of Reckoning isn't quite as deep or clever as it thinks it is, but it WORKS. It's hypnotic and frequently mesmerizing in spite of its flaws, and the action scenes contain some of the best fight choreography you'll see in a modern American action movie. It's not a great movie, but it's damn good, and worth watching if just for what a gutsy move it was to make a late-in- the-game DTV sequel to a trashy movie no one really cares about as genuinely affecting and ambitious as this.

Very disappointing

[leszek4109 · 1/10 · 8 January 2013]

I have read quite few reviews of this movie - to my surprise, there were mostly good. So, I'm the odd one out - I hated this movie, it disappointed me to the fullest. Having seen all previous "Universal Soldier" movies, I was hoping for well written, action packed, full of stunt work and SFX movie, which would be going back to 1992 original(the only good U/Soldier movie out of six so far). Not so, JVC was ridiculous in white/black bald head make-up, the plot was confusing at the best,add bad sequencing and some below average acting - this was 102 minutes wasted. And this bloody strobe -effects, it was driving me nuts (same goes for antiquated psychedelic sound effects which remind me of early sci-fi flix like "Barbarella". For JVC's fans - this is a rather bad effort, see "Expendables 2" or even "6 Bullets" to get your JVC fix.

We recommend it highly!

[tarbosh22000 · 8/10 · 25 October 2013]

John (Adkins) has suffered a horrendous family tragedy, and former UniSol Luc Devereaux (Van Damme) is now the target of his quest for revenge. Not helping the already volatile and complex situation is an out-of-control maniac on the rampage named Magnus (Orlovski, who was so unforgettable as "The Freak" in the previous installment of this series) who is tracking John's every move. Meanwhile, our old buddy Andrew Scott (Lundgren) has assembled an army of disaffected former UniSols and is acting as their leader. Their aim is to form a militia-style separatist group in an attempt to be free from their former masters, the government. (this was a genius plot development as a potential direction to take the series, in our opinion). But that's just the beginning: as John travels through the treacherous world in his quest for answers, he won't just have to fight for his life, he'll have to question the very nature of reality itself. Now that's a concept for an action movie. Will Luc or Andrew finally face their DAY OF RECKONING? Or will it be John? Find out today! There are many praiseworthy things about Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. Probably the most obvious is that it is an action movie with a difference. Its weird and somewhat nonlinear structure sets it miles apart from the more pedestrian beat-em-ups all too prevalent in the market today. The unorthodox style is highly effective - truly ANYTHING can happen and the viewer is excited and thrilled to see what's coming next. This "dare to be different" approach scored big with us, which brings us to another reason why we praise this movie: it appears to be "by fans for fans", or BFFF as our new clothing line will be called. In other words, it would seem the film is tailor made for hardcore action movie fans, who have seen thousands of them in their lifetime, and crave something different that will throw them for a loop. It seems unlikely that a non-action movie fan would like or even understand this movie.

Truly John Hyams is keeping the current state of action afloat, single-handedly. US: DOR is beautifully shot and directed, and he's clearly not afraid to take chances. Just about all of his gambits worked, as the movie fires on all cylinders and is, frankly, riveting. And while a lot can be made about the film's violence, or ultraviolence, which is a more appropriate term, violence for its own sake means nothing and is very boring without solid ideas behind them. Thankfully, US: DOR has the brains and the brawn to make a satisfying spectacle. While Hyams' Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) is a truly excellent piece of work and to date Hyams' masterpiece, Day of Reckoning, we felt, was superior to his Dragon Eyes (2012). But at least he's keeping Van Damme employed...seemingly also single-handedly.

Van Damme appears to be on a winning streak of late, and his career, we say tentatively, is back on form. JCVD has a small, but pivotal role here, not unlike his turn in the aforementioned Dragon Eyes. Personal hero Dolph Lundgren is typically great, but the movie is all about Scott Adkins, in one of his best roles to date. Add to that some awesome fights and a standout car chase, all done, daringly, without music, and you have another potent piece of work from Mr. Hyams. If you happen to be reading this, we just want to say to you: more please! Make sure you get the movie on iTunes, as this is the unrated director's cut not found elsewhere. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is like manna from heaven for true action fans, and we recommend it highly.

"That's the spirit, soldier!" - A Long Review

[The_Phantom_Projectionist · 7/10 · 6 May 2015]

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 3) 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. And as for Dolph Lundgren...well, he was cloned once before, wasn't he? 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. 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 screen time than Van Damme, but does okay with another crazy monologue. Andrei Arlovski doesn't have much to act, and love interest Mariah Bonner isn't very memorable.

Production-wise, the movie is strong. 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. My personal favorite brawl 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.

Whether or not you appreciate the movie, 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 higher score.

how much B.sht can you put up with just to see a bit of fight and pre-loved actors

[grhgulhan · 3/10 · 31 October 2012]

this movie really tested my nerves, and stamina to sit and patiently wait till the end. the first 2/3rds of the movie is hard to bear with.. its slow, boring, cheap, foggy and dull and the producer confuses an action movie with paranormal activity VIII.. later on, a tiny bit of action comes in, some relatively good fight scenes kinda give you the hope that they might actually stitch everything up a bit.. but no, not really.

they really saved all the penny they can on film musics, as mostly it sounds like whhoooonns and whheeens.. like a 4 year old mocking around with a keyboard.

every now and then, there is a tiny piece of scene where you kinda like, but overall, the acting, plot and scene quality is so poor, that you cannot get over the impression that you get from a cheap-midnight movie on TV.

there are some unique and interesting aspects about it.. but what good is a piece of good thread if the sawing machine is crap and you cant get a straight line out of it...

some of the fighting scenes were above average, but overall its far from impressive, as most of action movie fans, can come up with similar scenes merely copying from past movies.. nothing to praise the director here. (honestly mate.. don't shoot another movie, not that i think you can unless you pay for the movie and for your salary)

if you rent or buy it cheap.. fine.. worth fast forwarding around to see the once loved actors. but don't expect the good old days..