Cool News

John Ary And Ed Travis On UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING!!

Published at: Sept. 25, 2012, 8:58 a.m. CST Share On Facebook Twitter

 

John Ary here with a look at the latest Universal Soldier film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, and Scott Adkins.  

Day of Reckoning is unlike any of the other films in the series, devoid of any camp or humor and completely out of canon.  This is the grown-up version of Universal Soldier that ponders lofty themes like the soul of man, free will and the role of government.  

Director John Hyams looked to influences like David Cronenberg and Apocalypse Now for the film's inspiration.  I'm not kidding.  Terry Malloy and I had the chance to see it at Fantastic Fest this year and here's our spoiler-free review...

 

It will be available On Demand and on iTunes October 25 with a theatrical release November 30.  We shot another review of the film that goes into greater detail about the plot, characters and other spoilery things that we'll post later in October.  

 

For more news and reviews subscribe to the AICN Youtube channel and follow me on Twitter.

 

 

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Follow @john_ary

Readers Talkback

+ Expand All

• Sept. 25, 2012, 9:04 a.m. CST

  Never saw any of these.

  by Smerdyakov

  But didn't Buffy Saint Marie sing the theme song?

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 9:04 a.m. CST

  This actually seems good.

  by DidntPullOutInTimeCop

  Read some reviews, they all seem to be surprised how good it was. I still kinda like the first one too.

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 9:52 a.m. CST

  Can someone give me a review of this review....

  by double_ball_hanger

  ....cuz I don't feel like watching a fucking video right now. What was the consensus?

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 10:12 a.m. CST

  STRAIGHT TO VHS

  by gruemanlives

  Too bad, because you know Van Damme is trying his best.

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 10:12 a.m. CST

  I still dont get how JCVD can be a villain in this one

  by judge dredds fresh undies

  After the events of regeneration, which it must at least share some continuity with surely?

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 10:45 a.m. CST

  It looks like John Hyams is doing miracles with the franchise

  by albert comin

  Who knew something thoughful and good could be made out of something created by Roland Emmerich? Will wonders ever cease?

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 11:01 a.m. CST

  are you kidding? JCVD's mind and psychology was fucked up and unstable

  by Jack Black

  since the original movie. He was a ticking bomb ready to explode and after the events of Regeneration, he finally went boom. I suspect he went crazy and decided to track down all the other rejected and tortured UNISOLs, gather them, give them an ideology and turn them into his private army against the corrupted world that did this to them.

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 12:03 p.m. CST

  Nuts. I was hoping for a bit of humor, since the last one was so bleak.

  by Mr Nicholas

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 3:16 p.m. CST

  Expendables 2.5

  by bottleHeD

  I just saw all three of these guys on screen...

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 6:08 p.m. CST

  johnary.

  by adeceasedfan

  I've always liked what you bring to aicn and really think the guest reviewer works. Terry's a great contributor here and it is cool to see you guys together. Good stuff.

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 6:13 p.m. CST

  @adeceasedfan : Thanks! We really appreciate the feedback.

  by Ed Travis

  Since we both live in Austin we are hoping to collaborate a little more in the not too distant future. At the very least, John is planning to edit together a spoiler heavy discussion of this film for closer to release time!

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 25, 2012, 11:34 p.m. CST

  Someone needs to give these 2 geeks a wedgie and shove them in a locker

  by HoLottaMo

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 26, 2012, 2:57 a.m. CST

  Saw Regeneration by accident one day......

  by Adam

  ...i was off work and it came on, so i gave it a go. Very gritty and bleak, similar tone to the first Robocop i guess, but very watchable. Dont think i'll seek this one out, but if it ever shows up on TV i will give it a go. Is this Adkins chap on the brink of getting a proper showcase movie (like The Transporter for Statham) or is he going to fade into obscurity (Michael Jai White)???

  Reply to Talkback

• Sept. 26, 2012, 2:57 a.m. CST

  Saw Regeneration by accident one day......

  by Adam

  ...i was off work and it came on, so i gave it a go. Very gritty and bleak, similar tone to the first Robocop i guess, but very watchable. Dont think i'll seek this one out, but if it ever shows up on TV i will give it a go. Is this Adkins chap on the brink of getting a proper showcase movie (like The Transporter for Statham) or is he going to fade into obscurity (Michael Jai White)???

  Reply to Talkback

• Nov. 6, 2012, 3:41 p.m. CST

  This movie was great

  by where_are_quints_hobbit_set_reports

  Totally intense and interesting

  Reply to Talkback