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by Jox on 30 Nov 2022, 20:39
In the first of a two-part Bonus Features mini-series, Brandon celebrates the 10th anniversary of the release of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING by interviewing both the star and director of the bone-crushing, ultra arty fourth installment in the UniSol series. First up: DTV legend Scott Adkins talks about how DAY OF RECKONING is still one of his favorite films he's ever done.
by Jox on 17 Dec 2022, 12:25
There are obvious parallels: in Reckoning as in Twin Peaks and Lost Highway, a haunting and violent death triggers an existential identity crisis, which notably manifests itself through the appearance of various sets of clones. But Hyams also takes a few other, harder to reach pages from the Lynch book, notably in the ways he disturbs his film’s straightforward narrative and plays with the audience’s grasp on what they’re seeing.
For Part II of his set of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING retrospective interview mini-series, Brandon talks to writer/director John Hyams about how he came to helm this subversive, ultra-violent, game-changing action movie cult classic.
by Jox on 21 Jan 2023, 21:26
by Jox on 24 Jan 2023, 20:39
by Jox on 26 Mar 2023, 18:59
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
In addition to enjoying taking a good punch, Adkins also enjoys performing a good death scene. But not every action star is as comfortable when it comes to meeting their maker onscreen. Case in point: Adkins says that a fair amount of advanced discussion was required when Universal Soldier star Jean-Claude Van Damme returned to the franchise for the sixth installment, only to die in the final fight. "Van Damme's not been killed very many times in his career — it was a new thing for him," he remembers. "There was a whole negotiation about how that would go down."
Directed by John Hyams, Day of Reckoning is widely considered the best entry in the Universal Soldier franchise — not to mention one of the finest contemporary action movies around. A big part of its appeal is the way it brings serious Apocalypse Now vibes to the original RoboCop-like 1992 movie that starred Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as reanimated soldiers Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott, respectively. Adkins plays John, an amnesiac who comes to learn he's a synthetically-created warrior. In the film's final act, he faces off against the two O.G. Universal Soldiers, who are now being hunted by the very government that created them.
"Dolph loves a good death scene, as do I," Adkins says of his bout with Lundgren, which ends with the Rocky IV fan favorite shot in the head and stabbed in the jaw. But Van Damme wanted Deveraux's death to be more personal. "We came up with this concept where he almost lets me kill him," Adkins says of the coda to their fight, where Luc — whose face is painted Colonel Kurtz style — all but invites John to stab him through the stomach with a sharp blade.
"That worked great for the film, and to Van Damme's credit, he knew it all along," Adkins muses. "And I like to think that wasn't the real Luc anyway: I think he's a clone of the real one and the real one's still out there somewhere. Universal Soldier 7 anyone?"
by Jox on 02 Jul 2023, 20:56
Universal Soldier 5
Let’s stay with Van Damme for a second. When John (son of three-time Van Damme director, Peter) Hyams took the helm of Universal Soldier: Regeneration there probably wasn’t a huge deal expected. John Hyams had come from a documentary background and the clamour for more Unisol films pretty much died with the disastrous first sequel (not including the two rogue made-for-TV specials). He took the franchise into dark and gritty territory featuring once fresh-faced hero Luc Devreaux as a broken-down, PTSD-suffering machine. He’s left somewhere between man and Frankenstein monster, slowly trying to return to humanity but always a hair trigger away from exploding.
So when a band of terrorists with some freshly stolen clone research and machinery kidnap hostages and rig a nuclear reactor to explode, the military kidnap Devreaux and force him to lead a mission to take out the enemy and their super Unisol guard. The ace up the bad guys sleeve is a clone of Andrew Scott (the returning Dolph Lundgren). Regeneration was great, but due to limited resources and the availability of Van Damme, had an awkward sense of lacking a clear protagonist. However, the action is superb, particularly a thrilling opening car chase, the MMA-infused super soldier brawls and a great Van Damme vs Lundgren showdown.
Then Hyams produced magic again with Day of Reckoning which skewed wildly into a weird blend of Detective noir and horror. It was as if Kubrick, Lynch, Cronenberg and Nic Winding Refn all joined forces to make a Universal Soldier movie. Unfortunately, the film was highly divisive and seemed to particularly annoy Van Damme fans who didn’t like where Luc had been taken to (as a kind of nightmarish Colonol Kurtz figure). Some fans though, considered it a brilliant and completely unexpected film given the origins of the franchise.
It even adorned a number of high profile top 10 of 2012 lists who really tapped into the dark existential auteur vision. Hyams made the film he wanted, a proper director’s film and that’s why those in the love camp of Day of Reckoning would love to see him get another crack at the franchise. Where could they take it now? Scott Adkins should return, perhaps shifting to becoming a villain or anti-hero. One rumour that did the rounds had the idea of a series of Andrew Scott clones. An army of Lundgren’s? That said, should both Van Damme and Lundgren return there needs to be a way to pass the torch on and keep them to a minimum. Both have more recently excelled as character actors and don’t need to keep brawling. Andrei Arlovski has always been an intriguingly stony presence in the films too, should his clone soldier return.
by thegoon4eto on 27 Sep 2023, 10:48
by Jox on 31 Oct 2023, 20:18
But it wasn’t until 2012’s Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (again with Van Damme and his first of several films with Dolph Lundgren) that he claims he felt a “major career shift”. Not only did he have the central role ahead of two legends in a well-known film series (playing a military badass suffering from amnesia), but it was well-received by critics, likened to a psychological arthouse horror with action sequences considered the best in the entire franchise.
by bomaz on 31 Dec 2023, 14:06
by Jox on 03 Jan 2024, 14:02
by Jox on 22 Jun 2024, 00:19
by Jox on 07 Aug 2024, 09:43
by Jox on 16 Aug 2024, 21:32
Points of interest
‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’
On Wednesday, as part of the series “Killer Movies With Josh Miller,” the American Cinematheque will show John Hyams’ 2012 “Universal Solder: Day of Reckoning.” A gritty, brutal action picture with appearances from series regulars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, the story involves a man (Scott Adkins) looking to avenge his slain family, along the way uncovering a government program of genetically modified soldiers.
Via email, Miller said that while the series skews toward horror and action, “the unifying idea is they’re all movies that ‘kill’ with a crowd. The kind of movies that you’d save to watch with a big group of friends because you know it will be more fun. Movies that have that certain je ne sais quoi that almost seems to feed off the audience reaction. And I particularly love reevaluating movies that got a bum rap when they first came out, that I think should be considered a genre classic moving forward.”
Miller noted that “Day of Reckoning” was one of the titles he had in mind when he first thought of the series. The film had a nominal release when it first came out, so most people have only seen it on home video. As Miller put it, “Most people who watched it, probably watched it alone and had no idea what to make of it. It is such a wild film, a blood-soaked thrill ride with art-house aesthetics. A lot of film nerds found it and loved it, yet you rarely see it talked about with other great action films of the past 15 years. And it should be. John Hyams’ skill with directing action is so inventive and effortless. It practically sizzles off the screen. So I am hoping to expose it to some fresh and ready eyeballs.”
I reviewed the movie when it originally opened, lauding an extended fight scene in a sporting goods store that must be seen to be believed, while noting, “Just through general downer mojo and heavy use of some serious strobe effects, the movie creates something of the sensation of huffing industrial solvents — in a good way! — a waking-sleep zombification that can’t exactly be described as pleasurable but definitely has an odd, distinct power.”
by Jox on 07 Jan 2025, 13:46
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