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Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning:
What's it about?
Fourth film in the official Universal Soldier franchise. A man wakes from a coma to avenge the death of his family, leading him towards an underground group of former government soldiers: clones who may or may not be brainwashed.
Who would I recognise in it?
Scott Adkins, Jean-Claude Van-Damme, Dolph Lundgren.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The link to past movies is fairly loose at best, and Van-Damme and Lundgren are both barely in the movie. I was pleasantly surprised by the third film (also directed by John Hyams), which reignited the franchise with gusto. With Luke Deveraux reborn as a dangerous - perhaps even murderous - Colonel Kurtz-a-like, it takes a little getting into, but with a focus on the revenge-driven motives of Adkins' grieving widower/father, Day of Reckoning hooks you in. The direction and photography are impressive, the budget can't have been particularly big, but they get a lot of bang for their buck. The blood-soaked explosions of detailed choreography are all-the-more impressive in wide shots that are, for action movies, held for quite a long time. Adkins' and the army of stunt performers are afforded ample screen time to show off their bone-crushing credentials in battles that are oftentimes as wince-inducing as they are effectively brutal. Climaxing with a gory, bullet-riddled, punch/kick/stab/shoot 'em up that clearly takes thematic and stylistic inspiration from Apocalypse Now, we're again reminded of just how tenuous the links are to origins of Universal Soldier. The story and plotting could have used some work, but the stunning action and razor sharp directing successfully paper over any narrative cracks. It's time for the franchise to now cut ties with Van-Damme and Lundgren, reaffirm the UniSol back story, and move forward with Adkins as the new carrier of the franchise - that certainly seems to be the intention. Good.

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