UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING (John Hyams, 2012)

[Jox]

John Hyams own poster

If anyone likes this poster let Sony and Magnolia know. Re-post it on their pages, make a case for it. To me, this one most accurately reflects the tone and aesthetic of the movie.

His trailer in two weeks

[Mosquito]

It's not bad, but if they want to be honest and not just looking after the money, they should put Adkins on the poster, not JC (at least not as the main character).

[Jox]

The screening at Austin's Fantastic Fest is on Saturday, September 22nd at 6.30pm
http://schedule.fantasticfest.com/event ... FW_YqQtjbk

[bomaz]

Tv spot (with a shitty voiceover)

[Jox]

"To the best of my knowledge, I believe the cut that you saw is the original director's cut. However, I'm under contract to deliver an R rated cut for the United States theatrical release. The MPAA felt that my original cut was too violent and I was forced to make edits. The original cut will show at Fantastic Fest in the US, and be the main version released on bluray. I've also been told that Magnolia is considering releasing both versions VOD. However, as I said, the domestic theatrical will be the R rated, edited version. Of course, I like my original version better."

- John Hyams

http://www.movie-censorship.com/news_en.php?ID=4153

[Jox]

Malaysian Bootcamp Competition (Rainfilm)

[dolphage]

"may the best soldier wins"... I feel like someone should grammar check these posters.

Also, the prize is to get a free MONTH of boot camp?! Doesn't look like the most fun you could possibly have...

[Thorsten Hanisch]

I am very, VERY eager to see DAY OF RECKONING - unfortunately I missed the chance to see it at the Fantasy Film Fest here in Germany, but I know a couple of guys who where there (and liked it very much)...

But sadly I must tell you that the reaction of most of the audience on Fantasy Film Fest was, as my friends told me, VERY bad, they hated the movie and in Berlin even the hosts of the Fantasy Film Fest dissociated themselfes from the movie and announced that they will never show such a film again....

It's such a shame that so many people nowadays are so narrow-minded..

[Mosquito]

Very sad to read that. And I don't understand it. Yes, it was very violent. Like many other FFF movies. And my husband, who often makes fun of the cheap action movies I watch, said that it's really good. So it's not my biased view. I really don't understand the Berlin hosts and audience. It wasn't the Berlinale for crissakes.

[Jox]

Thanks for the feedback Thorsten, that's sad to hear. John Hyams went in to make this movie knowing he would probably be hated by a lot of people for this film but had to make it the most honestly and true to his vision possible, as if it was his last movie.

[Jox]

Fantastic Fest review
http://geekleagueofamerica.com/movie-re ... reckoning/

[Jox]

http://insidepulse.com/2012/09/23/fanta ... ng-review/

Essentially “Nolan”-fying the series, Hyams had done the impossible – he had made the Universal Soldier series relevant again.

In Day of Reckoning, though, Hyams shakes things up again and turns the action series on its head – creating a noir-inspired mystery with a light sprinklings of action.

Working with Hyams and frequent fight chorography collaborator, Larnell Stovall, Adkins gives his character plenty of incredible crowd-pleasing moments – especially in his fights with Andrei Arlovski (returning to the Universal Soldier series as a new character) and Dolph Lundgren.

Lundgren and Van Damme, previous stars of the Universal Soldier franchise, appear only sporadically throughout the film but each has at least one really great fight scene so it’s not a complete loss. While the film suffers slightly from the duo’s limited participation in front of the camera, what they do offer the movie is certainly a blast. Van Damme, in particular, is allowed to go nuts. His character, since the last movie, has essentially become Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now – slathering on face paint and leading up an underground cult/militia.

Day of Reckoning was shot in 3D and while some of the hand-held camera shots or strobe light effects are not a particularly good fit for the format, Hyams mostly knows how to really use 3D for the film’s benefit. Both Lundgren and Van Damme have faces that were made for 3D – larger than life and full of cracks and fissures. More importantly, though, Hyams and Adkins realize that a film shot in 3D makes it harder to fake the ferocity of a fight scene and compensate – giving the film rougher, more wince-inducing brawls.

Day of Reckoning is a film that draws inspiration from plenty of films. In addition to Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner is an obvious forbearer to the film’s story. None of those films in which Hyams harvests inspiration are previous Universal Soldier films. For Day of Reckoning, Hyams has pushed the series in a new direction and the result is neat but not totally welcome.

[Jox]

http://www.indiewire.com/article/fast-a ... edium=feed

Fast and Furious 'Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning' Is One of the Best Action Movies of the Year

Hyams delivers a remarkably satisfying action-thriller hybrid that constantly pushes ahead. It's one of the best action movies of the year simply because it keeps hitting the right beats

In spite of these tense, brutal moments, "Day of Reckoning" also contains a quietly unsettling atmosphere that frames the conflict in noir terms.

While the medical strangeness of his condition leads to a surgical conundrum that pays homage to the body horror of David Cronenberg movies, "Day of Reckoning" is in league with Bob Clark's "Deathdream" for using the way it uses genre to explore post-traumatic stress in allegorical terms. "We live among them like ghosts," Lundrgren's character says in a speech to Unisols while priming them for battle. Facing that palpable sense of displacement, John's battleground can be easily positioned as the bloody fantasy of a disgruntled veteran exorcising his demons.

Even then, the movie retains an air of desperation not often found in the genre. Closer to "No Country for Old Men" than the supercharged '80s-era testosterone throwdowns preceding it, "Day of Reckoning" cuts deep.

That may sound like high praise for a movie with extreme potential for critique: The story is thin and in retrospect fairly silly; performances are robotic all around. Yet it retains a refreshing edge that overcomes these barriers. Hyams has constructed a refreshing spectacle that rushes by aiming to please, a mission it takes dead seriously.

Criticwire grade: A-

[Nathan]

Great stuff, thanks Jox

[Mosquito]

http://www.indiewire.com/article/fast-and-furious-universal-soldier-day-of-reckoning-is-one-of-the-best-action-movies-of-the-year?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed

Fast and Furious 'Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning' Is One of the Best Action Movies of the Year

That may sound like high praise for a movie with extreme potential for critique: The story is thin and in retrospect fairly silly; performances are robotic all around.

Ah, robotic performances? That's unfair. Yes, Adkins shows some weaknesses when he tries to be a weak, injured or broken character. But he's very good in 90% of the time. And Dolph has an over-the-top role, he does what's needed to bring that maniac to live. Loved it! And the female lead was very good, too, IMHO, also the FBI contact. I was surprised about the quality of all those performances to be honest.

The story might be partly thin but it has interesting twists and makes you think about possible variations and future prospects.