Soldier (1998)

A soldier trained from birth is deemed obsolete and dumped on a waste planet where he is reluctantly taken in by a community of defenseless, stranded wayfarers.

Director:

Paul W.S. Anderson (as Paul Anderson)

Writer:

David Webb Peoples

Stars:

Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kurt Russell	...	Todd 3465
Jason Scott Lee	...	Caine 607
Jason Isaacs	...	Colonel Mekum
Connie Nielsen	...	Sandra
Sean Pertwee	...	Mace
Jared Thorne	...	Nathan
Taylor Thorne	...	Nathan
Mark Bringelson	...	Rubrick
Gary Busey	...	Church
K.K. Dodds	...	Sloan
James Black	...	Riley
Mark De Alessandro	...	Goines
Vladimir Orlov	...	Romero
Carsten Norgaard	...	Green
Duffy Gaver	...	Chelsey

Storyline

In a futuristic society, some people are selected at birth to become soldiers, and trained in such a manner that they become inhuman killing machines. One of the most succesfull and older of these soldiers (Russell) is pitted against a new breed of soldiers, and after the confrontation is believed to be dead. His body is left behind in a semi-abandoned colonial planet, where everything is peaceful, and he is taught about the other aspects of life. But eventually he has to fight the new breed of soldiers again, this time to defend his new home...

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Plot Keywords:

time bomb | minigun | soldier | planet | crash survivor | 

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Taglines:

Left for dead on a remote planet for obsolete machines and people, a fallen hero has one last battle to fight

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Soldier

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,447,237, 25 October 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,567,883, 6 December 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Morgan Creek Entertainment, Jerry Weintraub Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 91 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the sound bites when Caine is pounding the residence is music from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song".

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Goofs

Positioning of Todd and Caine when Caine throws Todd through the air during the final fight.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Female Voice: [to audience of very young boys] A soldier does not speak until spoken to by a superior officer. A soldier shows no mercy. Mercy is weakness. Weakness is death. A soldier...
[squealing pig led in for slaughter]

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Alternate Versions

Although rated "Not under 18" by the FSK in Germany, this version still contains numerous cuts to reduce violence. The "Not under 16" version removes or shortens nearly every violent part.

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Connections

References Aliens (1986)

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Soundtracks

Immigrant Song
(Uncredited)
Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Performed by Led Zeppelin

User Reviews

An action Sci-Fi movie with something more than one liners to say

I don't remember this film getting a cinema release over here. I only saw it when it came onto cable. The film deals with the dehumanisation of children into killing machines. Specifically one person, the way he gets replaced and dumped (literally) into an off-world community where he finds himself unable to cope with coming to terms with who he really is and what he feels.

Seems to me that a lot of people expected this to be Rambo in space, and would have been happy if it was.

I'm certainly happy it was'nt - Kurt does a fine job of portraying an emotional cripple. The scene where he's sitting outside the compound shows this, albeit the decision for two slow-mo replays detracts from the moment.

This is not a classic SF movie in the way that Bladerunner, Alien, Silent running, Logan's run or THX1138 were, however it is unfortunately the nearest I've seen to it in a long time.

He changes in the movie to a believable degree, he does'nt crack Arnie one liners, he does'nt become Snake Plissken and there is no definative happy ending.

That's why this film did'nt do well. It did'nt follow formula, and among a 18-25 year old target American audience, that's unforgivable as it was was'nt what they expected to see.

Fear and discipline.

Always.