UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN
By: Craig D. ReidDate: Tuesday, February 01, 2000
Depending on who you are and what interests you, every film has it's moments. Perhaps you like a certain camera shot, a special effect, a particular facial expression, something that makes you say, 'Wow, that film was really at the low end of the spectrum, but there was that neat scene when....' UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN seems to be one of those movies which leaves critics and audiences feeling that burying the reels in the famed 'film burial hole' in front of Shepperton Studios in England would be a good idea-except for one scene, a two minute part of the final fight between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michael Jai White. Why that part? The hidden truth is about to be revealed.
In this 'official' sequel to UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, Van Damme reprises his role as Luc Deveraux, who now--with his taut and tanned partner Maggie (Kiana Tom)--works as a technical expert on a government project hoping to revive the Universal Soldier training program. For those who came in late, Carolco studios went bankrupt two years after the original film was made, and it took producers Craig Baumgarten and Alan Shapiro time to buy the rights from the bankrupt trustee. The two 'unofficial' direct-to-video sequels were a result of a TV series deal gone awry. So now it's ten years later; Van Damme has been returned to normal human being status, and the new generation of Uni-Sols are under the control of the Hal-like supercomputer S.E.T.H. (Self Evolving Thought Helix). When S.E.T.H. learns he is to be terminated (Dr. Daystom's M-5 unit in STAR TREK), well, he just wont let that happen. He locks down the government facility, orders his Uni-Sols to wreak havoc, and places himself inside the body of Michael Jai White (SPAWN) in order to track down Deveraux and extort him into revealing the secret code that he needs to become immortal.
It's one of your basic run-of-the-mill films that looks like it was helmed by a director who used to be a stunt coordinator. There's pyrotechnics, muscle-bound goons (e.g., WCW wrestler Bill Goldberg), strip bar shots, insincere emotions, forced acting on a shoe-string, explosions, gun-fire, and plenty of illogic. The most glaring is that, according to the storyline, when S.E.T.H. is destroyed all the other Uni-Sols will cease to function. As expected S.E.T.H. is put on ice, literally, but that doesn't freeze the rest of the gung-ho gang.
But to top it off, Van Damme's supposed bread-and-butter, his fight choreography, still uses the same open-hand strikes, head butts (not a good idea when you consider that the lump on his forehead is becoming more obvious), and editing. He's become like Norris, Seagal, and all the other American martial art stars. Each film is filled with the exact same fights, shot in the exact same way; it's just as the actor gets a little bit older, the fights look a little bit more wrong. Van Damme's money technique is the jumping-spinning kick in slow motion, filmed from a low angle to reveal height and flexibility. However, in THE RETURN, the split just doesn't get there like it used to.
After the final fight begins between Van Damme and White, it suddenly and obviously takes on an almost magical quality. I mean you can see it right down to the film's frame, when the fight takes on a different feel and look, even in the way it is shot. And for a few minutes you go 'Waaa.' So what happened?
Test screening revealed that all the other fights were so painfully bad that they needed to beef up the finale. To do this they brought in Hong Kong action director Yuen Tak (a.k.a. Yuen De or Richard Hung). He's the guy who did the action direction for such classic Fant-Asia films such as SAVIOR OF SOUL, DRAGON FROM RUSSIA, Jet Li's FONG SAI YUK, and he was the action director for the first season of Sammo Hung's MARTIAL LAW. The travesty is that he doesn't get credit for the fight, being merely listed as one of the stuntmen. But that's Hollywood. Let's just hope that Hollywood isn't barmy enough to do an 'official' part III to a franchise that really didn't need a part II.
A Columbia TriStar, 1999 (Home Video, 1/2000). Directed by Mic Rodgers. Screenplay by William Malone and John M. Fasano. Rated R. Running time: 83 mins. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White, Heidi Schanz, Kiana Tom, Daniel Von Bargen, Bill Goldberg.
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