Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)

Director:

Mic Rodgers

Writers (WGA):

Richard Rothstein (characters) &
Christopher Leitch (characters) ...

Release Date:

20 August 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Prepare to become obsolete

Plot:

The "universal soldiers" must fight the whole army. When the military's supercomputer S.E.T.H gets out of control

Plot Keywords:

Cellar | Hospital | Invulnerability | Martial Arts | Computer

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Aug. 2

1:45 AM

HBO

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Luc Deveraux
Michael Jai White	...	S.E.T.H.
Heidi Schanz	...	Erin Young, KTXD
Xander Berkeley	...	Dr. Dylan Cotner
Justin Lazard	...	Captain Blackburn
Kiana Tom	...	Maggie
Daniel von Bargen	...	General Radford
James Black	...	Sergeant Morrow
Karis Paige Bryant	...	Hillary Deveraux
Bill Goldberg	...	Romeo / UniSol 2500
Brent Anderson	...	Technician #2
Brent Hinkley	...	Squid
Woody Watson	...	RL Gate Guard
Jacqueline Klein	...	Betty Wilson
Maria Arita	...	Kitty Anderson, KTXO

Also Known As:

Universal Soldier IV (USA) (informal alternative title)

MPAA:

Rated R for nonstop strong violence, and for language and nudity.

Runtime:

82 min | Argentina:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:16 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:18 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Caddo Lake, Texas, USA

Company:

Baumgarten-Prophet Entertainment

Trivia:

The role of Romeo was originally intended for WWF wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the "control room" battle, the regeneration chamber computer flashes "HEALING COMPLETE" during the shot showing the code has been broken - but later, the healing is not yet complete.

Quotes:

Maggie: [about Romeo] I don't care if he's dead. If he grabs me again, I'll kill him.

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek" (1966)

Soundtrack:

Magic #3

To quote Bart Simpson: "I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows."

Lame, cheap special effects. Awful acting. A plot that's stitched together obviously just in order to make a sequel to the original featuring Van Damme. Everything about this movie screams "made-for-TV" and "80's B-movie". Had it actually been a TV movie, or had it just been a regular B-movie, in no way related to the original Universal Soldier, I probably wouldn't have hated it so much. But it was, and I did. The plot is laughable, and ridiculous at best. It's just patched together to avoid explaining everything that the original didn't explain, and just stuff Van Damme in the movie, and throw a lot of UniSol's his way. The first one was no masterpiece, but at least it wasn't so predictable and lame. The acting is a joke. Each of the actors pulls off a mock-worthy performance. The film is built up by randomly taking different cliches from 80's action movies, and putting them all together in one horrible movie. They take what was good about the first and spit on it. All in all, a movie to avoid unless you really love Van Damme or movies that feature martial arts. I recommend this only to the biggest of Van Damme fans, and to fans of 80's action B-movies who don't care about the first and who have extremely low expectations and/or standards. 1/10