This piece accompanies the “Movies I Like” YouTube series linked below. The character in the video is intended as parody.
Soldier is a good movie. It epitomizes everything good, bombastic, and cheesy with 90’s action flicks. This 1998 dystopian sci-fi romp comes from the purveyor of top-tier cinematic fare, Paul W.S. Anderson, whose name you may recognize from the Resident Evil movie anthology. While applauding Anderson’s achievements is said mostly tongue-in-cheek, I enjoy his films for creating movies that are just easy to watch while shoveling down the popcorn. Complementary to that, however, Soldier is written by David Webb Peoples, who has some serious credits to his name such as Blade Runner and Unforgiven. Then, the cast is fairly stacked for a 90’s “B”, maybe “A-“, movie, starring Kurt Russell, Jason Isaacs, Gary Busey, Michael Chiklis, and Connie Nielsen. This is maybe the later-part of Russell’s prime, and his character, Todd, does not require the chops of a Daniel Day-Lewis, but he is still able to give the hardened, supposedly emotionless, super soldier the necessary layers to make this movie work. Unsurprisingly, Rotten Tomatoes has Soldier at 19% rotten with an audience approval of only 44%. I have to think you can enjoy this movie if you know what to expect, but expect too much, or try to compare Soldier to the best films in the sci-fi pantheon, and you are not going to have a good time. There is plenty of pedigree to make Soldier a legitimate entry in the sci-fi sphere, though it will forever feel like a “you had to be there” movie to truly appreciate it.
HobbyScope 