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Incinerator doesn't quite burn SOLDIER - review
SPOILER ALERT !!
Incinerator here files a report on SOLDIER which doesn't nuke the film like Hallenbeck, and basically calls it 'better than most recent attempts, but wait for video' I have to tell you I loved the script, and it sounds like Paul Anderson may have dropped the ball on this one, which wouldn't be a first. His films feel too artificial to me. Even Horizon could have been wonderful, but it just didn't go far enough, it didn't have atmosphere. Here's Incinerator...
I know I haven't been in touch in a while. Life has been busy. I saw
the test screening of Soldier last night.
The movie is set in the near
future and shows a new military program where males are raised from
birth to be soldiers for the North American Armed Forces. They are
raised in groups together and are taught / brainwashed to believe that
mercy is for the weak, enemies are to be annihilated, orders must be
followed, etc.
Anyway, we soon see the main character Todd (Kurt
Russell) as a 38 year old man who has been through many combat
actions. A general from their base introduces a new group of Soldiers
(Soldiers are known as not just military personnel, they are known as
remorseless killers who cannot fit into society due to their mentality &
behavior) who were genetically altered and raised to be even more
efficient killers than the original Soldiers. They run faster, are more
technically proficient and are better fighters. The general
demonstrates this by pitting a new Soldier - Caine (Jason Scott Lee - he
is massive and looks pretty scary) against 3 of the old ones, including
Russell. Caine kills the other two and knocks Russell unconscious.
The
military believes Russell to be dead and dumps his body on Arcadia 234 -
a garbage planet. Russell finds a colony of people living on the
planet. Anyway, the villagers soon realize that Russell is not capable
of living in a normal society and they ask him to leave.
After only a
night, they ask him to come back, they were wrong, etc. The next day a
ship lands to take a census of the garbage planet. The census involves
killing the inhabitants of the planet so they won't have to do paperwork
that would document their existence. It sounded lame to me too.
Anyway,
the new soldiers are on the ship and they intend to make short work of
the garbage dwellers. Kurt must face them and defend the trashfolk.
Much creative mayhem ensues and we learn the only advantage Kurt has is
experience. Some hardcore Rambo moments come from Kurt and he actually
looks very scary.
This movie was interesting but does not live up to
what I wanted from it. Kurt speaks at most 40 words in the movie - I am
not kidding folks. They show him taking in his surroundings and as a
result there are about 50 shots of Kurt looking serious, but not doing
much else.
I wish he would have had some dialogue with the family he
was staying with in Trashville. I wanted to know what it was like for a
man to live as a Soldier and nothing else, what it was like to kill
women & children indiscriminately (many flashbacks show such
occurrences).
Soldier is a very visual movie and I suspect most people
would nickname it Trashworld due to its similarity to Waterworld in its
look and scope. This movie is OK but not good enough to warrant seeing
in a theater. Wait for video and see the spectacle of Kurt Russell
fighting Jason Scott Lee. I don't know who directed it, but David
Peoples (12 Monkeys, Unforgiven) wrote it.
This film had potential, but
was marred by poor directing and an underdeveloped character for Kurt.
It was not very pretentious and not as bad as some sci-fi movies that
have come out in recent years.
Talk to you later,
Incinerator
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Event Horizon was all atmosphere. That was part of the problem. Anderson had a great visual approach and nothing to support it. The only thing worth while in that movie was the atmosphere. It was the script that sucked (and I have no idea how much it was butchered in the editing process).
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I just want to say that I am still looking forward to seeing this flick on the big screen. I haven't heard any reasons why it's a bad film, only things along the lines of it sucks...about par for the course from Hallenbeck. As for Russell speaking only 40 or 50 words in the whole film, just check out Mel in Mad Max 2 (The Road warrior) or Arnie in The Terminator, or even Clint in A Fistful Of Dollars...these types of characters don't need to be over talky to be cool. David Webb Peoples is a great writer, Paul Anderson has a lot of potential as a director, and a keen visual style, and Kurt Russell is always way cool so I shall reserve judgement until I see the film myself (as I always do anyway)...Oh, and just remember folks, critics are just that, critical...and in most cases they couldn't spot a potential classic film if they fell over one. I mean just look at the reviews that films like Blade Runner, Star Wars, 2001, The Planet Of The Apes, The Thing, Escape From New York, Alien, Strange Days, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Forbidden Planet, The Day The Earth Stood Still and The Abyss recieved when they first came out, in most cases they were torn to shreds, yet all (in my opinion anyway) have become all time classic films. My advice to all is to keep this is mind kiddies, and not to be led by anyone, but to go see and judge each film yourself before jumping on the bandwagon, you never know...everyone else may indeed hate it but you just might love it...just a thought.
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I agree. I thought Strange Days was one of the more underated films in recent years.
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Pick up a "heavy metal; war machine" if you want to see the real Soldier. It was called rouge Trooper. ( i'm coming in highside.)
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