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Soldier

Soldier

List Price: $9.97
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Entertaining Action Flick!
Review: Soldier is an action sci-fi film. It is quite entertaining compared to many in the same genre and has more credibility compared to Universal Soldiers. First of all, unlike Van Damme, Russell can act. Secondly, the BS in the other film about dead soldiers walking about and being bullet proof is way too far-fetched. Soldier is also supported by a very good cast notably, Gary Busey, Connie Nielsen and Jason Scott Lee. Okay, the story is old and there's not a lot new but if you view it as just an action flick, you will enjoy it. See it and judge for yourself.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This film doesn`t even know when to stop filming
Review: The producers and directors should of known better that this film was going to be a flop long before the cameras started to roll. Kurt Russell in my mind the most underused & underappreciated actor in Hollywood Plays Todd, a loyal Army solider who after a lifetime of faithful service is replaced by a genatically superior effcient soilder Caine 607 Todd loses a fight to Caine 607 and is soon discarded by his surperiors and dumped on a waste disposal planet called Arcadia. And in time with the help of the locals he regains his strength and gets his rematch and kills Caine. With all the massive spectaular visual effects can`t save this film from repeating the same cliches other films in the genre have done, and baseically this type of subject has otfen been explored enough in UNIVERSAL SOLIDER 1 & 2. Unessecary vilolence and preditabillty make this film unbearble to watch Russell with his own unique acting talent and ability can do so much better. This film is a waste of time.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Cautionary Tale Of The Individual Lost
Review: In a future society, the military component does not have to recruit; rather, their candidates are chosen at birth, culled from nurseries and designated to spend their entire lives in the service of the government. They are given over to the war machine, body and soul, for no reason other than to protect and serve; they have no personal identity other than a name and rank, and no autonomy whatsoever. This is the fate of those whose destiny is predetermined for them in "Soldier," directed by Paul Anderson and starring Kurt Russell. The scenario is hard and bleak as the movie begins by depicting the training of the soldiers during advancing periods of time, from preadolescence to adulthood. Russell is Sergeant Todd, the best of the best, and we glimpse his career as he discharges his duties in an exemplary manner in campaign after campaign; he is what he was born to be, a soldier. But even the best cannot go on forever, and the day arrives when Todd and his peers are no longer the elite. A new generation of soldiers has been created, products of advanced genetics and technology, and Todd's generation is suddenly obsolete. What follows is the story of a man who must fight for his life, while struggling to discover his own sense of humanity and individuality, traits new to a soldier who has known only two things his entire life: Fear and discipline. Russell gives a commanding performance as Todd, the soldier who above all else must obey orders without question while suppressing all emotion and individual thoughts. He has few lines in this movie, but Russell speaks volumes with his eyes. This role demonstrates that he is, in fact, one of the under-appreciated actors of our times; that he can disappear so entirely into the character of Todd is a credit to his ability, and with this part he has created someone quite different from any he's done before. And he's given Todd a depth and credibility that someone of lesser talent could easily have rendered as nothing more than a pretentious and superficial stereotype. Notable performances are also turned in here by Connie Nielsen (Sandra) and Jason Isaacs (Colonel Mekum). Rounding out the supporting cast are Jason Scott Lee, memorable as Caine 607, one of the new generation of soldiers; Sean Pertwee (Mace); Gary Busey (Captain Church); Michael Chiklis (Jimmy Pig); and Mark Bringleson (Rubrick). Anderson has delivered an action film with a message, a cautionary tale that transcends the genre of science-fiction. "Soldier" reminds us of the importance of keeping the humanity of our lives intact. It's an entertaining way of making us consider the alternatives, like a bleak future and a world in which good movies just wouldn't make a whole lot of difference. Much like "1984," and "Mad Max," this movie, which is ultimately uplifting, is going to make you take pause and think about the kind of Universe in which we all must live together and share.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Absolutely AWWWWFUL! Doesn't even deserve the 1 star.
Review: I watched this film with some friends a few weeks ago, and it was memorable due to the fact that it was the first time we all had ever agreed on anything. We all agreed that we had just witnessed a truely terrible film. The laughable plot is cliched from beginning to end - we were able to guess major 'twists' throughout the film without much difficulty. There is no depth to the story - the makers seems to have picked up the book 'How to make an action movie' and made a film (complete with villian with twitchy moustache) that followed it to the letter. The film was just so bad in the end it left us whincing. If you don't believe me, then buy the film and you'll see what I mean. Kurt Russell has no shame.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Speak when you have something to say
Review: I'm sure this was a tough role for Kurt Russell to play, having to get across the lions share of his emotions with body language, and through his eyes since he has so little dialogue. For me, at least, it worked. His character, Todd, speaks only when absolutely necessary, which isn't too often, and lets his actions, eyes, and body speak for him for the rest of the film. As far as I'm concerned, this is done well, and is very realistic considering the upbringing his character has in the military where you only speak when spoken to.

As for the rest of the movie, I found myself enjoying it immmensely. The slow transfomation of Todd's character, beginning to learn how to live with other people, how to interact with them, and his own inner struggle with the first stirrings of lust, not knowing what it is, or how to actually deal with it. And by the time the last act of the movie was playing, where he had to defend the people he had been getting to know, I was well into the movie and ready to go with the flow, and let the action stand for itself.

So, all in all, a good movie that I would recommend to anyone who wanted to see something just a little different, or anyone who is a Kurt Russell fan. Enjoy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Forever War taken one step further
Review: Sargent Todd (Kurt Russel) never had a life of his own, till he was tossed out with the space garbage because they thought he was dead...being alone is not a handicap for a one man army like Todd as long as fighting is involved, its all that other stuff that can be painful. Good action, the opening training and battle sequences are wonderful, and when it suddenly switches to lasers and spacesuits instead of fatigues, you get that Forever War feeling. All's well that ends with a nuke, must have for Kurt Russel fans and Those Who Can Never Go Home Again. I'm rooting for a sequel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic
Review: This is an excellent film. Those who are critical of it for Kurt Russell's lack of dialogue are probably too dense to see what the film is really trying to tell them . They should stick to something like "Sesame Street" where everything is labouriously explained in explicit detail so they do not have to make an effort to delve deeper than just a superficial level. Soldier is more than just an action film . It studies a character who has been subject to heinous brutality and inhumanity as a child and how being brainwashed and further subject to the horrors of war as an adult have created a perfect soldier , but a terrifying human being.How could Sergeant Todd be anything other than a robotic killing machine after suffering through all of that .Then the realisation that he is obsolete is another crushing blow as that is an awful thing for anyone to discover . He is beaten , left for dead and then disposed of on a garbage world like he was nothing . Luckily he is taken in by the planets inhabitants but life with them is trying though Todd slowly starts to regain his humanity and gain a new sense of values which differ to what the army has taught him . But he is soon rejected by the people as he does not fit in and banished from the colony . The scene where Todd is alone in that big pipe and sheds a tear is one of the saddest moments as he has once again been discarded , it almost got me misty-eyed , almost. Todd's interaction with the family he stays with is great as we get to see how a person who has never known any affection or adoration copes with the kindness and affections of the wife and son especially . Through the first part of the film we feel both scared and in awe of what Todd is , then as he is forced to cope in a new environment we feel a sense of pity for Todd and what he was forced to become . This is an epic film filmed with great acting , characterisation , special effects and top notch action . I love the ending with the 1-vs-17 battle with plenty of chance to cheer for the hero . The line "soldiers deserve soldiers" shows that Todd as a soldier follows a code which may be brutal but at least he knows that is opponents are only doing as their told as they too have been bred to act without free will . A great film all round.Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: it's about something else
Review: Here's another movie that was marketed to the wrong audience and therefore died at the box office.I found Soldier to be a profound meditation on violence and beauty. Kurt Russell delivers yet another exemplary-but-unacclaimed performance. His Sgt. Todd is an Everyman who does his duty, no questions, and is tossed out with the rest of the garbage when the next new thing comes along.From that point, Russell's facial expressions combine with the sensuous camerawork of the cinematographer to provoke the questions: Do I deserve love, beauty, and community? and: When, if ever, is violence necessary?This is a flick I'd recommend to the content guardians who are knee-jerk haters of violence. Soldier uses violence appropriately, intelligently. It is a film for grown-ups. Then again, censors rarely get that point.Bottom line: When you watch this film, you have to watch everything that is going on. It's not just another action flick.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Well, lots of guns and gore do not a movie make...
Review: Well, the previous reviewer,I categorically disagree with you: if actions speak louder than words, let's make a mute movie! True, there are moments in the movie (in its first half), when Soldier's terse behaviour arises pity in the viewer, for this is the man robbed of normal human behaviour, who can't even name the feelings that rack him. And curse the ones that created him such. However, when they pictured a flashback into the past when Soldier kills a child, my sympathy evaporated for good, and no other cheezy scenes of him saving and holding children could not save him.

To make things even worse, when the "bad gyus" landed on the planet, I went to "fast forward": guess who smashed and routed two dozens of "death machines", regained support of his demoted comrades and blasted the whole planet with a nuclear bomb without uttering five words in a row? If it comes to that, I'd better watch an old copy of Rambo...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The last half-hour boosted it up 2 Stars.
Review: A very promising idea is not fully realized in Soldier. It opens exceptionaly and is looking extremely promising, but then Kurt Russel lands on the trash planet and he starts becoming more human, which takes far too long. Russels charactor Todd speaks less than his Snake Plissken charactor and he is pretty uninteresting. But then in the Last Half-hour Action takes over and there is a full-on violent on-slaught which makes you forget all the films flaws. Acting is credible and the set designs are great. Paul Anderson has proved with Soldier and Event Horizen that he knows what he is doing when it comes to Sci-Fi. All around.. It's no classic, but the last half hour is reason enough to buy it. Plus.. It has Kurt Russel.


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