Plot
After being defeated and left for dead by his genetically engineered replacements, Sergeant Todd must save a peaceful community from destruction by the same soldiers.

Release Year: 1998

Rating: 5.7/10 (23,682 voted)

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Stars: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs

Storyline
In a futuristic society, some people are selected at birth to become soldiers, and trained in such a manner that they become inhuman killing machines. One of the most succesfull and older of these soldiers (Russell) is pitted against a new breed of soldiers, and after the confrontation is believed to be dead. His body is left behind in a semi-abandoned colonial planet, where everything is peaceful, and he is taught about the other aspects of life. But eventually he has to fight the new breed of soldiers again, this time to defend his new home...

Cast:
Kurt Russell - Todd 3465
Jason Scott Lee - Caine 607
Jason Isaacs - Colonel Mekum
Connie Nielsen - Sandra
Sean Pertwee - Mace
Jared Thorne - Nathan
Taylor Thorne - Nathan
Mark Bringelson - Rubrick
Gary Busey - Church
K.K. Dodds - Sloan
James Black - Riley
Mark De Alessandro - Goines
Vladimir Orlov - Romero
Carsten Norgaard - Green
Duffy Gaver - Chelsey

Taglines: Left for dead on a remote planet for obsolete machines and people, a fallen hero has one last battle to fight

Official Website: Warner Bros. |

Release Date: 23 October 1998

Filming Locations: Laramie Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $6,447,237 (USA) (25 October 1998) (2507 Screens)

Gross: $14,567,883 (USA) (6 December 1998)

Runtime: 99 min

Trivia:
A false press statement was released, saying that Kurt Russell broke his ankle during a stunt, when in fact he tripped over an ornamental cabbage during a break.

Goofs:
Continuity: When young Nathan plays on the rug, he has a puzzle that he doesn't receive until the Christmas party in a following scene.

Quotes:
Colonel Mekum: A growl? He heard a growl?
Rubrick: Well, he didn't say the word "growl." He said "a throat noise." But I asked him to imitate it and it sounded like... a growl to me.

What did you expect?

Rating: 10/10

Soldier isn't a great movie, and everyone that hated it has plenty of good reasons. But I liked Soldier alot, partly because my expectations were so low that what I saw surprised me.

First, the art direction is tight and well executed. As far as science fiction backdrops go, Soldier was doing things with more design then 90% the genre. The sets, costumes and props were all consistent and competently executed; I didn't love all of their future military style, but I was impressed with the effort. For me, this made the movie worth the time it took to watch.

Second, I'm a Kurt Russell fan. I grew up watching this guy in some of the most memorable movies of my youth ... The Barefoot Executive and his John Carpenter films. Soldier is essentially an action movie, and the role of Sergeant Todd is an essential action hero. It's not an award winning role, but Kurt musters up convincing emotion with VERY little dialog.

Third, the fight scenes and battles are well choreographed. This isn't iron monkey, or even the matrix, but once again, it far exceeds the average level of quality in the genre.

If you haven't seen it, and you like sci-fi action films, pick it up if you pass at your rental depot of choice. Just don't expect the next Bladerunner.

Comments: