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For all you action fans, the wait is finally over. At long last, nearly twenty years later, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren reteam for 2009's Universal Soldier: Regeneration, yet another sequel to the 1992 Roland Emmerich-directed hit. With countless Universal Soldier flicks floating around, it is confusing to comprehend where the various entries fit into the overall series. To clarify, Regeneration is a direct sequel to the original movie that disregards the two direct-to-video follow-ups and the 1999 theatrical sequel, Universal Soldier: The Return. The product is downright awesome: a startlingly competent and highly entertaining action film that makes the most of its limited budget. It may not be a masterpiece, but as superfluous direct-to-video sequels go, Regeneration is above average.
The story is a simple one. Terrorists occupying the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant abduct the Ukrainian Prime Minister's son and daughter, rigging the reactor with explosives and threatening to detonate unless the authorities release their imprisoned comrades within 72 hours. Among their ranks, the terrorists also have a Next-Generation UniSol, or NGU (Andrei Arlovski), under their control, overseen by rogue scientist Dr. Robert Colin (Kerry Shale). With U.S. soldiers and the Ukrainian Army failing to rescue the hostages, Dr. Colin's former colleague, Dr. Richard Porter (Garry Cooper), resurrects the Universal Soldier program, reviving four UniSols to battle the seemingly unstoppable NGU. When things get desperate, the government recruits Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), one of the original UniSols, to participate in the mission. However, Dr. Colin also has a second UniSol: a cloned and upgraded Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren).
At the helm of Universal Soldier: Regeneration is relative newcomer John Hyams, the son of Hollywood mainstay Peter Hyams, whose list of credits includes 2010: The Year We Make Contact, Outland, and the Van Damme movies Timecop and Sudden Death. Peter serves as cinematographer here, allowing his son to handle the directorial duties. From a critical standpoint, Regeneration is mediocre at best and will not win awards for the screenplay by first-timer Victor Ostrovsky, but John Hyams nails the execution, staging several exhilarating action sequences. The flick opens with a humdinger of a car chase - an effective, gritty, technically sound set piece that is all the more laudable considering the meagre $9 million budget. Aware that every penny counts and keen to show off his skills behind the camera, John displays impressive stylistic flair throughout the action sequences, some resembling a Call of Duty videogame. The fight choreography is also sensational, with the various punch-ups guaranteed to get pulses pounding. Thanks to Peter's slick cinematography and John's competent direction, Regeneration looks more impressive than any number of theatrical action movies.
Of course, the picture's crown jewel is the battle between Van Damme and Lundgren. At its core, the first Universal Soldier was nothing more than an excuse to repeatedly pit two of the era's biggest action stars against each other. Arriving seventeen years after the original film, Regeneration reuses this rudimentary formula, which still results in a highly entertaining action film. Granted, Van Damme only appears in half the film, and Lundgren only receives roughly 15 minutes of screen time, but this is nevertheless sufficient to ensure the movie is worth checking out. The boys bring it during their showdown, and then some - they beat the tar out of each other, and their size difference works as well here as it did in 1992. Both men are trained martial artists, and it appears they did not use stunt doubles very often since Van Damme and Lundgren are frequently visible either receiving a beating or dishing one out.
Fortunately, the script adequately serves Van Damme and Lundgren, as the material suits the acting range of both stars: they play emotionless thugs whose single objective is to kick serious ass. Witnessing these two masters of mayhem at work reminds us, and will hopefully remind Hollywood, just how deserving Van Damme and Lundgren are of appearing in more theatrical movies. These two are not the only muscle-bound performers in Regeneration, mind you, as monstrous UFC wrestler Andrei 'The Pitbull' Arlovski receives ample opportunities to slaughter people and show off his fighting chops. The rest of the cast mostly amounts to generic names with faces, with the budget not facilitating any more familiar or well-known thespians.
Taken at face value, Universal Soldier: Regeneration is a success. It achieves everything it sets out to do, and it is sure to satisfy action enthusiasts. It is easy to acknowledge the film's flaws - the predictable screenplay, the unremarkable dialogue, the not-so-compelling plot - but it all comes with the territory. The climactic 30 minutes deliver the type of slam-bang, balls-to-the-wall action moviemaking that is easy to appreciate, especially if you enjoy this genre. Regeneration is atmospheric and brisk, and it knows when to quit. It's a great beer and pizza flick, fellas.
7.2/10
