Universal Soldiers (2007)

Pretty Good

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

the whole movie is a complete rip off of universal soldier/predator/terminator. its so bad its like watching a home video of a couple 10 year old playing soldier after watching those good movies. the budget even if it would be 10 dollars would be to much for this film i could have done better with a camcorder a toy gun with the orange tip painted black and a windows 1995 video editor. this is just terrible i don't understand why anyone would watch this or rent it why name a rip off of a old movie that i don't think many would rent let alone the rip off of that B film. to all of those mad that asylum tricked you i just have one thing to say to you. shame on you for being tricked into a rip off of a B 90's film staring jean Claude van-dam like i mean wow you got tricked into watching a rip off of a b movie i have to give asylum credit for pulling a fast one. bravo asylum bravo

I'm not considered a professional critic but I have to say that this movie wasn't as bad as some people think, OK, may be some people couldn't hear some parts of the conversations, the sound was very bad, the acting and the effects were pathetic, but, I think the plot saved the moment, it was good, if we had a machine where we could put the bad things and the good things at the same time and it got us a score to say if a movie is good or bad, it'd be fantastic, but, we just have our point of view. Some people think that the special effects are the most important think, others think that the acting is, any way, there are many different point of views about what we expect to see in the film, I think that one movie isn't bad if I can have a good time, doesn't matter if it was made whit 5 bucks or 10000000 bucks, about the sound, acting, direction...let the ACADEMY AWARD(S) critics do their job. I don't know if my girlfriend and I were too attentive to the video but throughout the film we were so anxious for knowing what would happen next shot, we had a good time. This is my opinion

For those that think that the Asylum only puts out crappy Z-rated excruciatingly bad horror films, like such stinkers as "Halloween Night", "Massacre at Cutter's Cove", and "Snakes on a Train", you'd be dead wrong as they also put out crappy Z-rated excruciatingly bad sci-fi films like this one. Despite the title, this has absolutely NO relation to the Universal Soldier films, and owes much much to Predator and terminator (not to tarnish either of those two classics by comparison trust me). Anyways in this putrid little number, a group of the most highly ineffectual members of the military since "Hills have Eyes 2" are stalked by the lamest looking Borg-wanna be cyborgs that I've ever seen. Most of the film the enemy is off-screen, substituted by lame-ass predator-vision so it relies on the characters whom are all cliché boring cardboard cutouts that you truly don't care if they live or die. The ending in particular is so laughably atrocious that one can't help but feel their brain liquefying just by viewing it.My Grade: F

You know, I wonder what this movie would have been like had I been able to hear what was going on half the time. Really, it sounded awful, absolutely awful. I couldn't hear half the dialog and even if I could it was overpowered by heavy nature sounds (including one particularly annoying seagull) and bad/inappropriate music.That said, I thought the film looked pretty good. I was impressed by some genuinely cinematic moments. Take away about 80% of the jv "predator vision" and don't artificially speed up shots (especially during fight sequences) and this film could have looked great. I like the "Saving Private Ryan" bland colors and choppy images but dial the latter back especially during the exposition sequences; it's too much at the wrong times.There was also some promising talent in front of the camera. Rick Malabri was quite photogenic though his character felt a bit one-sided and Kristen Quintrall was quite entertaining to watch though perhaps an errant boob falling free from her loose-fitting uniform whilst hanging from the rope snare would have enhanced the viewing experience. I would watch her work again...All in all I think of this film more in terms of what it could have been rather than what it was. It was butchered by bad sound and what I'm sure must have been too much rush and poor creative decisions by some producer. I could feel the art trying to break through but being stifled by time and business constraints. If nothing else, I hope all involved learned from the experience. If the talent of a select few is ever fully realized, than we might come to expect better, even great, things from an otherwise dismal and confusing film-making model.