A sequel to 1992’s Universal Soldier, ex-cyborg soldier, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), must stop the next generation of powerful “Unisols” and the renegade computer (Michael Jai White) that leads them.
Stating my bias clearly: there are no good Van Damme movies. But a few of them don’t completely suck. A few are fun. This isn’t one of those. I don’t expect brilliant acting, deep themes, or a complex plot in any kick-boxing movie. I realize I need to approach it with lesser expectations: excitement, acting that is a touch above painfully bad, a plot that doesn’t distract with its incredible stupidity. Maybe a touch of humor. But none of those are evident here.
There is fight after fight, all without purpose or vitality. Van Damme, who could pull off an emotionally empty dead man in the first film cannot handle this one’s limited acting requirements. And that brings up another little problem. I like my sequels to link up with their predecessors. In the earlier film, Luc was dead. Now, he’s alive. I think that kind of change deserves an explanation. As for the plot, SETH needs Luc alive to enter a code that only he knows, or a self destruct will take out the computer. SETH knows this and says it repeatedly. Then he attempts to kill Luc. Then he mentions needing him. Then he has Luc shot at. Is SETH supposed to be an absentminded computer?
There’s also the whole problem of the Unisols, who are made from human bodies, standing up to explosions and fire, and then dying when expedient for the plot. The last fight with Michael Jai White is pretty good, but one decent fight in a martial arts film is a bit low.