Soldier

Rating:
Summary: total junk!!!
Review: This movie was so bad, I regret even watching it on TV.Don't your money on a movie that is SO bad! It's one of Kurts trashy films (like escape from N.Y.).

Rating:
Summary: Starring Kurt Russell-- and the Commish!!!
Review: Every once in a while (actually, pretty much every time Kurt Russell makes a movie), a movie comes around that sucks so bad that you really have to love it. Soldier is such a movie. From the asinine plot to the cheesey special effects, this movie blows-- but I loved it so much that the first time I watched it, I literally had to watch it twice in a row! I really don't see how anyone could not love this movie, especially since it also stars Garey Busey AND the Commish (who knows his real name?). So despite sucking, this movie comes with very high recommendations. You WILL be entertained!

Rating:
Summary: Blade Runner 2
Review: One aspect of "Soldier" that a lot of people miss is the fact that the story is set in the same universe as "Blade Runner". For instance, Tanhauser Gate gate is mentioned. This was the same battle in which the replicant Roy Batty fought in. In addition, when Kurt Russell arrives on the waste planet, you can see a discarded spinner vehicle in the background. Very cool. As the colonel says something about DNA recombination, I would assume that the replacement soldiers are replicants as well.

Rating:
Summary: To enter the future you have to leave the past.
Review: Soldier is a rare experience that is far more than the plot, which has been outlined by the editorial comments. This is a journey taken by a strong warrior into his own humanity. I cannot even count the number of times that I have watched this movie, but I know it is more than twenty. I see more each time.

Kurt Russell's extraordinary and powerful acting skills make Sergeant Todd real. Successfully creating a character without dialogue is an art -- and he mastered it. This movie provides insight into today's violent world as well.

Todd has known nothing but war or training since he was born. He was conscripted in the hospital; he never knew love, or laughter, or how to play. He obeyed orders and did not speak unless spoken to. The perfect soldier could not have emotions. If the only way to kill an enemy was to kill innocent victims, then he did what was required.

Todd is the best soldier of the "old timers," and he has been bested a new, genetically engineered soldier. One of the most poignant scenes is on the world where he was dumped for dead. The survivors that created a life on Arcadia are nervous to have a soldier in their midst, and ask Todd why he is there alone. He stands, no expression on his faces, and says, "I was replaced by a better soldier, Sir."

Although he acknowledges that he is no longer good enough to be a soldier, as his body heals he works to grow stronger and returns to the training rituals that have ruled his entire life. As he sees the interaction in the group that saved him, he is conflicted by emotions that he never experienced. When asked what he thought about, he says, "Fear. Fear and training."

It is extremely painful for him to be exiled from these people because he is too strong, and his violent training is too dangerous. He does not understand what he feels. This is my favorite scene. He is alone in his exile, sitting in a concrete drainpipe with tears running down his face. He wipes the tears away, and with the skill of a great actor, Russell shows that he does not even know what they are.

The arrogant commander of the new soldiers considers Arcadia the perfect first "war." Anyone on the planet was considered hostile. Three soldiers attacked the small group, killing without provocation. They have no hope until Todd returns and saves the group. When he is asked what he would do, he says, "Kill them all, Sir." He will not let the group help him because "A soldier deserves a soldier."

Good writing means that the hero must have an enemy equal to his abilities, and this has great writing. In facing the final soldier, Todd's intelligence wins the battle.

I am passionate about this movie. The acting, plot, special effects, and depth earn five stars.

Victoria Tarrani

Rating:
Summary: Got slammed in the box office but not THAT bad.
Review: I remember this movie. I don't think it topped the 30 million mark for domestic gross. I though that was unfair. Marketing had to do with it more than anything. The movie is not great but it isn't bad either. Sure it has some cheesy moments and some ridiculous dialogue. Very stupid at times too.

Well let's get on with the review. Special FX: This is where it shines and also has problems. The quality of the FX fluctuate. Some scenes are so well done. The sets are on the whole beautiful, the wind scenes are done as good as they can be. It's the several moments that just cut right into the big picture. (any space scene with a spaceship, or any scene with a moving projectile) The matte painting, sets are very well done but some scenes just look too fake.

Plot: Okay so what do you expect from an action flick. Plot will rarely score points. It is the predictability and cliches that actually take this movie down. You can guess every twist and turn. At least you won't be surprised.

Acting: Again in an action flick this takes a back seat. There isn't any acting that stands out to be "BAD". And you are not going to expect any "GREAT" acting either. Kurt russell doesn't speak much. It isn't his fault. It's the character.

ETC aspects: I really don't have anything else to pick on except the unnecessary gore at times.

Okay final verdict. This is a viewable movie. I guess I wouldn't buy it because you would be able to watch it 3 times max. Bet renting it won't be too bad. 3.5 stars. Again I think it should have earned at least 40million domestic. Too bad it just collapsed. It wasn't THAT bad. Just one of those watchable films on some evening you have nothing else to do.

Rating:
Summary: great,but a little pale
Review: this movie is pretty cool,it has good action,violence wich keeps you watching it.one thing i didn't like was the lame story about todd getting trashed,the movie in a way was pale,but still cool.

Rating:
Summary: Great Action
Review: Kurt Russel is a genetically enhanced soldier who has no emotion and knows how to do only one thing: kill. If this doesn't make you curious or excited, then this movie is definitely not for you. If it does however, look a little further. The opening 15 minutes of Soldier are great; true action at its best. The story follows Sgt. Todd's (Kurt Russel) introduction to the program from birth and takes us all the way up to present day. However, what would a movie be without a conflict?? Enter Michael Chicklis who plays the evil commander of a new, more advanced breed of soldier. You guessed it, Sgt. Todd is obsolete, and has been replaced. But Todd will not go down without a fight and of course seeks his revenge. Here's where Soldier falls short. Todd is taken to a waste disposal planet and left for dead. He is taken in by a tribe of nomads who make their home on the desolate planet. The middle hour of this movie, where Todd lives with the nomads is just plain boring. You might as well fast forward to the end, where Todd confronts his evil commander once and for all. This is a great movie for a night when you aren't in the mood for anything to heavy. Pure action, blood, guts and lots of shooting make it an above average adventure flick. Pick up this movie, also, simply for Jason Scott Lee's performance as an extreme badass, one of the new more advanced soldiers. Overall, a good movie.

Rating:
Summary: Coulda been a contenda
Review: There were moments in this movie when I thought that I was watching a movie that would be one of my favorites of all time, a classic sci-fi flick for the ages. But then there would be scenes that seemed to be totally miscast, poorly directed, or filmed as if it had the budget of a made-for-cable movie. Here are just some examples of the dichotomy to be found in this movie:

Best actors in this movie: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen. Kurt Russell's solid acting with very few lines of dialogue has been commented upon already. Jason Scott Lee exudes power and a robot-like menace. If you are a fan of Connie Nielsen, she has never been more achingly beautiful than in this movie (not even in "Gladiator")

Worst actors: the little boy who played the son of Connie Nielsen, and the child who played the young Kurt Russell in that brief flashback.

How important is the role of a child actor to keep our imaginations locked in for a sci-fi movie? VERY IMPORTANT! Just contrast the movies "Aliens" with "Phantom Menace". "Aliens" succeeded as a sci-fi classic because EVERY actor in the movie came through with convincing performances. James Cameron squeezed a fabulous performance out of the little girl, Carrie Henn, in "Aliens" (so much so that she never acted again). On the other hand, despite some superb actors and performances, and a whopping amount of special effects, "Phantom Menace" could never quite shake the feeling left by Jake Lloyd, whenever he was on screen, that we were really watching a home movie of a little boy trying to act.

Best music and scene combo: "Night Ride Across the Caucasus" by Lorena McKennit, played during the scene where the settlers first bring Russell back to their settlement. Hauntingly beautiful music played across mesmerizing scenes of desolation. Pay attention to this piece, it will make you into a big fan of Lorena McKennit.

All the scenes with Kurt Russell and Connie Nielsen together were great. You could just feel the unspoken and growing attraction between them, the longing desire, the bonds holding them back (marriage for Nielsen, a soldier's duty for Russell). It was too obvious and too bad that Nielsen's husband had to die so conveniently for them. He was a nice guy, after all, and the part was well-acted. I would have preferred that their stupid little boy was ofted, and that Nielsen, her husband, AND Kurt Russell sailed off into space together at the end.

Worst and cheesiest scene: The entire fight scene where the monster truck ("Crawlers") came in with the Soldiers to attack the settlement. This alleged fighting vehicle looked more like a converted garbage truck (apologies to sanitation workers everywhere) especially with the Soldiers hanging on from the sides and back of this vehicle (a la sanitation workers), where they got picked off easily. The whole scene, down to the soldiers' costumes, looked like it was designed by one of those Japanese kid show studios - Digimon, Pokemon, Power Rangers, or whatever

Sci-fi movies often borrow shamelessly from each other, but sometimes the borrowing is so obvious as to be a near duplicate. The most obvious copycat scene here in this movie was the final fight scene in the pouring rain between Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee - "Cyborg" with Jean Claude Van Damme did it better first.

All in all, "Soldier" is a movie with many memorable moments, both outstandingly great, and outstandingly bad.

Rating:
Summary: NOT BAD AT ALL !
Review: BUY THIS MOVIE IT'S FUTURERISTIC AND EVERYTHING.IT'S A PRETTY GOOD MOVIE.

Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction at it's finest.
Review: How many actors do you know who can star in movies ranging from Escape From New York, to Tequila Sunrise to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and remain highly respected in every genre of the movie industry? I can only think of one, and he's in this sci-fi shoot-em-up, playing a man of very few words. Yes, Kurt Russell has very few lines, but that's what makes his performance all the better. Not often do roles come along where an entire character is expressed through facial expression and body language, but our boy Russell does us proud. Not only is it quirky in that sense, but it just has that great sci-fi feel, like Dune, and Alien. It's something that's very hard to describe, but you could imagine this story a part of an off-beat sci-fi anthology book you bought at a dime-store that exceeded your meager expectations. Hardcore sci-fi, maybe? At any rate, it's a very good movie, minus two stars for being somewhat forgettable, of course that's not to say you WANT to forget it.