Simply copied my review from the Van Damme forum, so it might be slightly focused on him or one-sided but I hope not. I pretty much agree with what everyone else has been saying, it seems that there is a "Universal" opinion...but here's my kinda additional thoughts...
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION - My first viewing on dvd and the first thing I appreciated more than watching it online was the DOP work. The actual look of the film is fantastic. Another thing is the score, which is fantastic.
We've discussed this movie a lot so I'll just give a few thoughts -
- Dolph was by far the most interesting character, his introduction to the movie and his demise was awesome, as was his acting. I found myself waiting for his scenes.
- Van Damme was okay, he was in it more than I remembered but still not enough. His acting was pretty good actually for the type of character he was playing but I wish they had touched on his "psycho" side more like they did at the start.
- Andrei is quite a threatening enemy, whilst not such an interesting character as Dolph he did the job pretty good with what he was given.
- The story and the movie flowed better than I remembered the first time too, which was good.
- I loved the kinda zombie/horror element in it and the movie was more suspenseful than the first, almost "thriller" like.
- The blood, gore, deaths etc were great.
- The best fight was Dolph vs JC, not just because of the novelty factor but also because it was the most imaginative, best edited, (although obvious use of doubles in some places), the one with the most satisfying conclusion and variety of styles of MA, it was also the best lit/clearest to see.
Thoughts on the possible sequel:-
Idea One -
They use the Mike Pyle idea that was shown at the end and have him as the main star as he was very charismatic. Wouldn't bring back Arlovski because we've already seen him fight Pyle. Either bring in a new enemy or find a way of bringing back Dolph because he said if John Hyams helmed it he might return. This would mean a movie of Pyle vs Dolph with possibility of another MA actor. Dunno about the story, DTV obviously but could be good because I love Dolph's character and Pyle was surprisingly a highlight.
Idea Two -
Bring back JC. JC is interested in a good script and a good character right? Why not have the franchise go the complete opposite way and make JC the villain? Have someone capture him when he's running around, do a complete overhaul and try to use him for evil purposes and have a team of Pyles go after him.
Somehow I don't think we'll see either Dolph or JC in US-4, if it happens. But as far as US-3 goes, it's quite a blast and definately just a step or two away from the excitement of the original, mostly due to the swift editing, music, acting and general suspense making the movies battles seem quite epic.
7.5/10