Showing posts with label Jean-Claude Van Damme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jean-Claude Van Damme. Show all posts

Sunday, November 4, 2012

DVD Review - 4 Movie Collection: Universal Solider: The Return/ Knock Off/ The Hard Corps/ Second Command

4 Movie Collection: Universal Solider: The Return/ Knock Off/ The Hard Corps/ Second Command
Directors: Mic Rodgers,
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
ASIN: B008XAT1HM
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Running Time: 367 minutes
Rated: R

I grew up watching countless action flicks during my childhood, some off of basic cable and others my parents rented. Since the first Expendables came out, I have been buying a few of the action movies that I watched as a kid, such as Cyborg, Cobra, Commando, Raw Deal, Kickboxer, etc. So naturally I was excited to review this four movie Jean-Claude Van Damme collection, courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment and Tower PR in exchange for an honest review.

Universal Soldier: The Return is set several years after the events that occurred in the first film. Luc Devereaux (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme) is no longer a Universal Soldier, but he does run the new advanced program for the government. The new soldiers are stronger and faster. They are controlled by an advanced computer program called S.E.T.H. When the government wants to shutdown the program, S.E.T.H. takes control of building and the soldiers. Luc Devereaux is the only one that can shut down the program, but S.E.T.H. is one step ahead of Luc, as the UniSol Romeo (played by Bill Goldberg) kidnaps Luc's 13-year-old daughter Hillary.

The Universal Solider franchise is hard to follow as The Return ignores the two previous made-for-TV sequels and The Return is ignored by the two newest sequels, Regeneration and Day of Reckoning. The Return's plot is really thin. I'm not for sure why the producers wanted to change the tone and ignore a few facts from the first movie. The acting and dialogue is B-movie quality, but the movie does have some great action scenes, starting with the boat chase in the opening and ending with Van Dame fighting Goldberg. In the end, the movie isn't great, but the action is fun to watch.