UNIVERSAL SOLDIER

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: Produced under the Carolco banner, a testosterone-heavy independent who owed their existence to Stallone and Schwarzennegar, Universal Soldier should have been the perfect opportunity to stuff both action icons in the same picture. Instead, we get second-tier studs Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren facing off as resurrected super-soldiers who wage their own personal war 20 years after killing each other in Vietnam. This was actually JCVD’s most memorable role to date, stealing a bit of Arnold’s Terminator mojo to play a bioengineered zombie with butt cheeks you could bounce a quarter off of. Director Roland Emmerich (who moved on bigger, better and more ridiculous things like 10,000 B.C.) gives everything a tremendous sense of scale. Of course, when your leading man is a full two-feet shorter than the bad guy, that might not be such a feat. Newcomer Ally Walker, who never quite managed a film career, actually makes all the baloney somewhat believable as the mouthy reporter along for the ride. Lionsgate’s Blu-ray offers a surprisingly dimensional image, plus all the extras from the previous special edition have been ported over (trivia track, commentary, etc.) including the alternate ending that for once drastically differs from the theatrical one.