Official DVD cover

[VanaV]

Great looking cover, although Van Damme's face looks better on the previous one...
In this one his hair looks horrible, it looks almost like a hairpiece .

[lpstkd]

I searched the article related to the sentence on the cover :

''The best of the Universal Soldier series '' Neil Miller; FilmSchoolRejects

This is the review article related to the cover :
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/rev...ning-bjsal.php

Universal Soldier: Regeneration opens with the kidnapping of the two children of the Russian president by a rogue military commander seeking independence for his breakaway republic. The commander is aided in his revolution by a genetically altered super soldier played by MMA superstar Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski who cannot be stopped. It also doesn’t hurt that he has taken over a nuclear facility in Chernobyl and therefore threatens the lives of millions of innocents in addition to the two children. What is the free world to do? Luckily, we still know where to find Jean-Claude Van Damme; the original Universal Soldier. What follows is a 90 minute exploration of the finer points of punching culminating in the long-awaited rematch of Lundgren/Van Damme.

Taken at face value, Universal Soldier: Regeneration is completely successful. It achieves everything it needs to and doesn’t short the actionphiles one bit. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and while I acknowledge that the film is flawed, it is far better than any of the direct-to-video swill either of these two titans of 80’s fight sequences have produced of late. Sure, the story is as contrived as anything else we’ve seen in a film like this, but it was the perfect vehicle to bring these guys back together. I won’t spoil much beyond that, but it was a forgivable screenwriting device. The addition of Arlovski gives the film a contemporary flavor to balance out the classic, grounded appeal of its veterans.

I cannot in good conscience review this film without talking about the action sequences. The film opens with a very effective, surprisingly expensive car chase that is quite impressive. It’s no surprise that Arlovski delivers the blunt force when needed and he cuts quite an imposing presence even next to Lundgren. But the crown jewel fight, of course, is that of Van Damme & Lundgren. These two beat the tar out of each other as if their very legacies were on the line; not too far off really. The size differential works just as well here as it did in the 1992 original and the use of various walls as crumbling, bone-shattering props was a thrill. The finale of this single exchange is better than anything else in the film, and I honestly believe that is not a back-handed compliment.

Fantastic Fest was the perfect venue for this film. After the initial outrage of ravenous festival attendees who were dead certain this was going to be Where the Wild Thing Are wore off, I think everyone in the room had a great time. Last year, one of the biggest hits of Fest was JCVD in which an action icon, who is as much maligned as he is beloved, shed all pretenses and limitations and delivered one of the most honest performances on screen. It was heart-breaking, self-effacing, and brutally revealing all while paying homage to the cheesy fare that earned him his fame. And I saw a little bit of that self-awareness and pathos in his performance here. Lundgren is the same stiff, stoic painbot we all know and love except that the inclusion of Blade Runner references lends a certain credibility to his role. Sure, it has eye-rolling moments and inexplicable plot points (the special ops guy who gets sent in when all indications are that no one needs him) but the film is everything it needs to be and I enjoyed every second of it.

The Upside: Stupendously entertaining reunion of Lundgren and Van Damme that packs the proverbial punch.

The Downside: It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and some of the moments are down-right silly.

On the Side: Director John Hyams is the son of Peter Hyams who also directed Jean-Claude Van Damme in Timecop.

Great review
(For sure it would not be a perfect film, what is perfect anyway ? )

[Sheldon Lettich]

Originally Posted by MacGyver

Much better, but why the hell is andrei arlovski given top billing? I know he has more screen time, but if you're not a fan of UFC you have no idea who he is. JC should be first, then dolph, then andrei. fucking morons!

It's obvious; they're trying to make a new action star out of Arlovski, hoping they can do for him what WWE did for John Cena. I'll bet Sony (or perhaps Moshe) has an option to use him for more movies.

[moviecollector]

Well, leave it to Sony to make a terrible cover art again. Photoshop much? VD's head is plastered on someone else's body & its so obvious it makes previous Seagal photoshop heads look good.

Well, at least there are some extra features involved this time. Of course no trailer for the movie.

[Paulo]

JC's face looks that as a lot of make-up...

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Sheldon Lettich

It's obvious; they're trying to make a new action star out of Arlovski, hoping they can do for him what WWE did for John Cena. I'll bet Sony (or perhaps Moshe) has an option to use him for more movies.

I seriously doubt that will actually happen. While not the greatest, John Cena is already in the "entertainment" business and consistently works within a "character". Arlovski is fighter, simple as that. He will not succeed as an action star, I'm certain of that.

[lpstkd]

Originally Posted by Raz

I seriously doubt that will actually happen. While not the greatest, John Cena is already in the "entertainment" business and consistently works within a "character". Arlovski is fighter, simple as that. He will not succeed as an action star, I'm certain of that.

Your perception. You dont know how he is in US3. Maybe he's very good. More then expected. Let see.....but dont judge before seeing mate

[enterthemadness]

I like this cover over the other one. And that review is awesome. A B rating?

[jcvdammage]

Do you think its possible that it could have a digital copy of the movie? Cause JCVD has a digital copy and a lot of movies are doing that lately.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by lpstkd

Your perception. You dont know how he is in US3. Maybe he's very good. More then expected. Let see.....but dont judge before seeing mate

If I followed your logic I would have to make all my mistakes to learn they are mistakes, I would never avoid them through reason and experience. Yes it is my perception, I'm obviously going to watch the movie because of Van Damme and Lungren, but I don't need to watch it to tell you that IMO Arlovski does not have the potential be become an action "star" which by my definition is someone in the ranks of Arnold, Sly, JC, Willis, etc...