The Running Man

I have an exciting month planned ahead, as I will be looking at a few films that star professional wrestlers in them. The question we all think is whether wrestlers should go on to star in movies? Especially since certain wrestlers who have become actors that I have not been a fan of. However, when you think about it, wrestlers are already acting when they come out and do all the trash talk with one another and know how to perform their stunts when they come to the ring. Since I have reviewed certain movies that had wrestlers in them, I picked out others that I didn’t review and thought of reviewing this month. Let’s get started with the 1987 enjoyably fun movie, “The Running Man.”

Roger Ebert started his review by saying, ““The Running Man” is an arcade game for the big screen, a contest in which the player is Arnold Schwarzenegger and the game keeps throwing big bruisers at him. To cast this movie, they called up the reserves of Hollywood heavies. There are villains named Fireball, Captain Freedom, Dynamo, Buzzsaw and Subzero, all thrown at Arnold like new chapters in a superhero comic book, and with true comic justice, each villain dies by his own weapon.”

The cast is consisted of so many action heroes and pro wrestlers: Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura, Erland Van Lidth, and Professor Toru Tanaka. One after another, they go fighting and are killed. Ebert said, “This formula would quickly get old if it were not for some sort of gimmick to hold it together, and the movie has just that gimmick in the form of a deadly futuristic TV show named “The Running Man,” which is hosted by the veteran TV game show emcee Richard Dawson.” The first and late host of “Family Feud” plays himself, he finally found the role he was meant to play.

This takes place in the 21^st century where the country is a one-party society. Ebert mentioned, “Schwarzenegger is a cop who flies his own helicopter gunship and is ordered to fire on citizens who are rioting for food. Refusing to fire on innocent civilians, he is knocked unconscious, jailed, accused of false charges and assigned to a penal colony. Meanwhile, life goes in in the society, which is numbed by a steady diet of fabricated news.” One day Arnold and some friends escape from the penal colony, and the footage of their escape is seen by Dawson, TV’s top host.

The ratings for his show are supposedly very high (it is shown on screens the size of billboards to the countless that are poor to live indoors). Ebert said, “But Dawson wants them higher still, and as he sees Schwarzenegger doing a broken-field run past some inept guards, he decides that Schwarzenegger is the ideal guest for the program, which consists of criminals who are given a chance of freedom if they can defeat the heavily armed killers who are guest stars on the show.”

This is the set up for the last hour of the movie. However, there is still the girl, which all movies like this needs, who mainly is to be pulled helplessly behind the protagonist as he tries to escape. By casting Maria Conchita Alonso in the role, the filmmakers got more than they asked. Ebert noted, “she remains one of Hollywood’s undaunted high spirits, a nice comic counterfoil for Schwarzenegger.”

The movie’s problem is that every action scene are versions of the same situation. TV host Dawson introduces a killer and his signature weapons (electrical shock, fire, chain saws, etc.) and Schwarzenegger fights them all. Ebert said, “The one element in the movie that is not standard and that does have some energy is the TV show itself, with Dawson’s performance as the egotistical, sleaze-bag host.”

Ebert continued, “Playing a character who always seems three-quarters drunk, Dawson chain-smokes his way through backstage planning sessions and then pops up in front of the cameras as a cauldron of false jollity.” Working the audience, soaking in the laughs and the tears, he is not so much different than most real game show hosts – and that’s the movie’s secret joke.

If you haven’t seen this movie, and you’re a Schwarzenegger fan, this is a must for you. You will love the one-liners, comedy, and action scenes that all Schwarzenegger movies are known for. See it currently on Paramount+ or Pluto TV because I think everyone will enjoy this one a lot. This is like watching an actual game show that was made into a movie and that’s what is so enjoyable about it.

Next week, I will be looking at a movie that is mostly stupid but does have some laughs here and there in “Wrestlers in Movies Month.”

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Today on Peacock, I saw “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which came out theatrically in April but on Peacock two days ago. This was one of my most anticipated movies this year, as if anyone remembers, I really enjoyed the first Mario movie three years ago. Now with this sequel that is getting slammed by critics but loved by fans, what was my opinion on it?

The sequel doesn’t exactly push boundaries, but it accomplishes what it was made for: Make a whole lot of money and leave audiences entertained enough to show up for the next, expected film.

Everyone is back, in front of the camera and behind it. Directors Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, and Pierre Leduc maintain the smooth, colorful visual created in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which made over 1.3 billion at the global box office. The returning voice cast, including Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Charlie Day, and Keegan-Michael Key, fall comfortably back in character, while new cast Brie Larson, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, and Glen Powell expand the franchise without ruining it.

The story starts with Princess Rosalina (Larson) being captured by Bowser Jr. (Safdie), starting the film off for a galaxy-traveling rescue. Tom Santilli said in his review, “Bowser (Black), now miniaturized and imprisoned by Mario (Pratt) and Luigi (Day), looms as an inevitable wildcard.” Along the way, the brothers find Yoshi (Glover), adding another part of nostalgia for longtime fans, while Peach (Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Key) remain steady supportive characters.

As expected, the film is filled with so many fast Easter eggs and references that come from decades of Mario history. Fans will enjoy it. At the same time, the story remains simple enough to keep younger audiences and non-gamers hooked without confusion.

Santilli said, “Where the film comes up short is in its lack of ambition. Nintendo continues to treat these characters as untouchable icons rather than evolving protagonists. No one really struggles. No one meaningfully changes. Bowser gets the closest thing to development, but even that feels surface-level. The result is a film that’s polished and entertaining, yet dramatically flat.”

That said, there’s something strangely fitting with that task. Like the games themselves, this is made just to escape into it. Santilli noted, “It’s colorful, fast-moving, and easy to consume. And while it may feel outdated compared to something like “The LEGO Movie” or the “Sonic the Hedgehog” films, it still delivers exactly what its audience expects.”

If anything, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” slightly makes it better than the first film by expanding the Nintendo universe in ways that feel living. With decades of source material still untouched, don’t expect them to change anytime soon. Santilli is right when he said, “Nintendo isn’t chasing innovation here.” They’re giving fans exactly what they want, and right now, that’s enough.

Glen Powell voices Fox McCloud from the Star Fox games, who I thought was either George Clooney or Kurt Russell. Luis Guzmán voices Wart, Kevin Michael Richardson returns as Kamek (sounding like Peter Lorre), and R.O.B., the SNES Super Scope, and Mr. Game and Watch make an appearance here. Overall, I think this is a fine sequel. The first one is better, but I’m glad I saw this sequel. If you haven’t seen it yet, and you have Peacock, I would recommend this. If anyone were to ask me if I wanted to see this sequel again, I would probably say yes. There’s nothing in here that is terrible or bad, but I would call this one of those middle of the road sequels that I think everyone will enjoy just fine. Stay for a funny mid credits and post credits scene that is sure to set up a third film.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned this Friday to see what I will be reviewing this month.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

To recap on this franchise, the first “Universal Soldier” was basically the height of Dolph Lundgren, the middle of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career, and the beginning of director Roland Emmerich’s rise to Hollywood fame. Nick Langdon said in his review, “That an openly gay German man would come to define the most American and heteronormative of genres, the blockbuster action movie, isn't something anyone saw coming, but he kept churning out the hits, and in Tinseltown that's all that matters.” What the first film was never meant to do though was launch the franchise, and none of the subsequent tries to try and make this happen, the 1999 theatrical sequel, two TV movies or the 2009 direct-to-video sequel, made any impact. Langdon mentioned, “So twenty years after the fact Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is a quasi-sequel/reboot to the 2009 film, but it's honestly not worth getting into the lore of this, there's better uses for your grey matter than asking why these super soldiers are super slaughtering one another. Yeah yeah, conspiracy, plot twists, all the usual stuff. I really couldn't get involved in any of this. I just kept wishing I was watching Stargate (1994) instead. Ah now Kurt Russell, there's a real super soldier, as anyone who has seen the 1998 movie Soldier can attest.”

This 2012 film was directed by John Hyams, son of Peter Hyams, the genius behind genre-hopping, dark cinematography and a great track record with JCVD (he was behind both “Timecop” and “Sudden Death”). Langdon noted, “However John lacks his old man's keen eye for light and shadow, even though he does at least try for a look we could probably dub "Eli Roth attempts Gaspar Noé on a Steven Seagal budget". The action is pretty good, suitably OTT and bloody, but there's still too much cutting, and having just watched an action movie masterclass from some of the all time greats, well the flaws here were even more evident than they otherwise would have been. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning was, somewhat bizarrely released first direct to video, but then later got a theatrical release. Now I'm not a highly paid Hollywood bigshot, but that sounds arse backwards to me. I was recently praising Scott Adkins for his role in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), and saying he needed more work. So yeah, I still mean that, but not like this. He's a funny guy who can go big, but this mopey lead role does not suit his limited range.” Give him a few one linters and have him fight, don’t make him deal with two hours of heavy drama. The movie also needed far more Van Damme and Lundgren, as they’re the only two people with real screen presence, but they’re not in it that much.

Another flaw of this film is that it fills up a lot of time wasting with boring shots of cars driving, people walking around, and staring in long silence at certain locations. They try and do the part from “Robocop” when Murphy goes back to his old house, but it’s not as good. Langdon said, “Can you believe in 2012 that screenwriters still thought the "book of matches from a bar that was found next to a dead body provides the next clue" was in anyway still acceptable, yet here it is. Then later there's a scare in the bathroom mirror as well as a stripper with a heart of gold. I'm honestly surprised at one point someone wasn't startled when a cat leapt out of some bins in an alley with a stock miaowing sound effect added in post. Speaking of Robocop, now that's a violent film, but there's a joy to it as well, in part due to it's wry satire on America the Reagan years. it's as horrifying as it is awesome. The violence in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is just deeply unpleasant, it's not thrilling or inventive, it's just relentless and dour. This feels less like an action movie and more one of those War on Terror-era torture porn horror flicks. If the first Universal Soldier was one of the last post-Vietnam War films, then this is very much stuck in the worst parts of Bush/Obama era.” Time for this franchise to face a reckoning and die without hope of another sequel.

This film did kill the franchise, thankfully. There has been talk about Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal hiring Richard Wenk to write a reboot in October 2018, focusing on one resurrected soldier, but nothing has been officially announced. Just do yourself a favor and never watch any of the sequels. None of them are good, but feels like a giant waste of time. Honestly, I think the lead actors did a much better job in “Expendables 2,” which was also released that year. I’m sorry to have to end this month off by just reviewing horrible sequels after a decent first film, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. That’s exactly what happened with “The Scorpion King” franchise.

Alright everyone, we have thankfully ended of “Universal Soldier Month.” I know it was quite a long run to sit through, seeing how the sequels were all terrible, in my opinion, but I don’t know what others would think. Stay tuned next month for more excitement.

Project Hail Mary

Today on Amazon Prime, I finished watching “Project Hail Mary,” released theatrically in March but on streaming last month. My brother initially made a plan that we all go out and see it, but he ended up watching it by himself, so I decided to wait until this came out on streaming to see how it was. This is another novel adaptation that I didn’t know anything about, but how is it, seeing how this has been getting great reviews.

Waking up on a strange spaceship, school teacher and passionate biologist Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, has to piece together his broken memory on not only how he got to space, but why he is there. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and adapted by Drew Goddard from the Andy Weir novel of the same name, this immediately sucks audiences into its interesting problem, and this ends up being one of the greatest sci-fi films ever.

Andrew Dex said in his review, “Known for his outstanding earlier novels The Martian and Artemis (also soon to be adapted by Lord and Miller), renowned sci-fi author Andy Weir constructed a stunning sci-fi world with Project Hail Mary, which could have only been a dream to translate to the big screen. Just like with Ridley Scott’s take on The Martian, Weir’s grounded use of science within his storytelling shines through wonderfully. It makes for a compelling watch as you attempt to figure out each urgent situation alongside the protagonist.”

During Ryland’s flashbacks, we see that single-celled spaceborne organisms called Astrophage are draining the energy from the Sun, causing Earth to be near destruction, and doing the same to every nearby stars – except for a distant star called Tau Ceti, which has somehow not been affected. The government-appointed agent Eva Stratt, played by Sandra Huller, puts together a good team of astronauts and scientists the organization has, and sends them on a one-way space mission to Tau Ceti to find out how they can fix the sun. Because of his background in molecular biology, Eva recruits Ryland to find out some way of fighting Astrophage. However, Ryland’s not an astronaut, so how did he end up on the Hail Mary?

Dex noted, “Backed by a stunning and commanding soundtrack from Daniel Pemberton (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), alongside beautiful cinematography from Greig Fraser (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Dune, The Batman), the creative energy and passion from everyone involved is on display through every single frame.” Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also used no green and blue screens, which not only makes you like the film even more, grounding the story inside a believable setting.

If anyone saw any trailer for “Project Hail Mary,” then they probably saw an alien character named Rocky. Voiced by puppeteer James Ortiz, the friendship between Grace and Rocky has already become iconic. The two share great moments of humor, joy, and complete fear, as they team up to save both their kinds. Just like they say, “Amaze. Amaze. Amaze.”

Dex credited, “n its later act, we see huge, beautiful, sweeping sci-fi sequences that have you mesmerised, which eventually leads to – just like the book – a satisfying ending. With what comes across as three huge narrative sections that differ rewardingly from each other, and an ending that ties everything neatly together, the storytelling pace of Project Hail Mary is flawless.” This is a perfect balance.

Dex ended his review by noting, “Thanks to movies like Interstellar, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Dune, sci-fi has found success with a more serious tone in recent years, but Project Hail Mary is something for everyone. It’s almost Spielberg-esque in its approach. Capturing the monumental tone of the book in a grand scale that you could not be prepared for, it is sci-fi at its absolute best.”

People might say this film is like how Christopher Nolan treated the superhero movies, where it is told out of order and mixed together, which I noticed, but I wasn’t bothered by it. However, with the length of the film being near three hours, I had to watch it in pieces, which I did while exercising. Currently, this is streaming on MGM+ and Amazon Prime, so if you want to watch it on there, I highly recommend it. Whether you read the book or not, I think everyone will enjoy this film. Check it out and enjoy yourselves, but if you can’t see it in one sitting, I’m right there with you.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned this Friday for the finale of “Universal Soldier Month.”

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

In broad daylight – despite it being snowy and gray, with the sun behind clouds – a man and woman are kidnapped from a museum by a heavily armed group in a heavily armored vehicle. Even though there are so many police officers and their arsenal, one of the villains manages to escape alive to a place where a helicopter awaits, forcing the two victims aboard, heading for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Mike Massie said in his review, “The facility, along with the abandoned, surrounding city, have been taken over by rogue Commander Topov (Zachary Baharov), who is demanding complete and total Pasalan independence and liberation.” Should Ukrainian Prime Minister Musayev, played by Stanislav Pishtalov, not agree to that, along with the release of more than 200 political prisoners, not only will his two kidnapped relatives be killed, but Topov will also set off the Chernobyl reactor within 72 hours.

In Langley, Virginia, U.S. Army consultant Dr. Porter, played by Garry Cooper, brings out the four-leftover first-generation UniSols – from the original Operation Black Tower, known as the Universal Soldier program – to help in the upcoming fight at Chernobyl. We soon see that Operation White Tower – a new line of the Universal Soldiers, with gene editing and other enhancements – possibly contributed to the Pasalan villain organization, as one of the lead soldiers, a stolen Series 7 model NGU, played by Andrei Arlovski, is possibly the attacker responsible for the museum attack. Massie noted, “And, ultimately, it will be up to the fifth original UniSol, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), currently undergoing reintegration therapy by Dr. Sandra Flemming (Emily Joyce) in Switzerland, to return to the fold.”

Massie continued, “The initial sequences feature plenty of excitement with shootouts and destruction (generic as much of it is), followed by additional shots of warfare as U.S. troops storm the Chernobyl city, thanks to editor and director John Hyams, who clearly intends to cram his picture full of military conflicts. And it looks good, too, with veteran Peter Hyams serving as the cinematographer (he happens to be John’s father, who previously worked with Van Damme on “Timecop” and “Sudden Death”), nicely framing various heavy-hitting stunts. But the premise doesn’t offer up much originality; it may be bloody and violent and severe, refusing to spend any time on comic relief or other elements of lightheartedness, but the nonstop death-dealing provides only limited amusement.”

This is the third theatrically released “Universal Soldier” movie after “Universal Soldier: The Return.” Just like the previous film, it ignores the two television sequels that came after the original 1992 film, though in a strange twists, this reboot also ignores “Universal Soldier: The Return,” making it a direct sequel to the first film in the franchise (Massie said, “with perhaps a couple lines of clarification, it might have been able to have this work alongside the prior’s existence). It makes little difference, however; the basic setup of a sci-fi-embellished super-soldier battling other super-soldiers doesn’t require much backstory.” This is completely obvious that not only will Luc be forced to face a new enemy (as well as an old one), but he’ll also end up being the hero. “I know what’s happening.”

In a welcome surprise (Massie said, “though not a surprise if one were to have perused the cast list or the advertising art”), Dolph Lundgren returns as Andrew Scott, causing so much chaos. Massie ended his review by saying, “It all builds to an explosive, brutal finale, in which countless troops are slain and practically every wall is splattered with crimson in the impressive battlefield of a sooty, crumbling factory. Unfortunately, there’s fleeting humanity here; it’s difficult to be entertained by such relentless carnage, even if some of the butchery is impressively grotesque and outrageous. It’s comparable at times to “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” in its climactic confrontations, which are precisely staged and action-packed, here pitting half-machine against half-machine; but without emotions or clearcut righteousness, it’s mostly just dark and morbid trouncing.”

Just like all the rest of the films in the franchise, “Universal Soldier: Regeneration,” released in 2009, just doesn’t work. Even though this is the second film that tries to be a direct sequel to the first film, it wasn’t needed. This is just added to the pile of sequels after this film that should be avoided at all cost. Just never watch it, especially if you liked the first film. Never see this because, even if people might think this might be the best of the sequels, I don’t see how that is any good.

Sadly, they tried one more attempt at this franchise. We will look at that Friday when we, thankfully, end off “Universal Soldier Month.”

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

Tonight, I saw “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” released yesterday on Paramount+. I don’t know if I ever said it on this blog, but I am a fan of the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” show. But then again, who isn’t? I don’t think I met anyone who didn’t like the show. I wasn’t very fond of “The Legend of Korra” show for the first two seasons, but the last two redeemed itself. The live-action remake on Netflix is fine, but seeing how they made this new film that is set after “Sozin’s Comet,” how did this do?

No other children’s cartoon has had a legacy exactly like Nickelodeon’s famous animated series that ran from 2005-2008. Rendy Jones said in his review, “The 2005-2008 run series immersed viewers in a rich martial-arts-influenced fantasy world rooted in Asian history, rounded out by a complex ensemble and an anime-inspired visual language.” Throughout 12-year-old Aang’s journey to master all four elements as the Avatar and take down the imperialist Fire Nation rule, the show cleverly look at serious subjects (genocide, dictatorship, genderism, etc.) without talking down to its children audience.

More than 20 years after Aang was broken free from his iceberg, the franchise’s introductory animated show under Nickelodeon’s new area, Avatar Studios, “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” takes fans into unfamiliar areas for the now-adult Avatar: factualism. Jones said, “The film’s title alone is wordplay befitting its overall thesis: everyone asks about the Avatar, but not how Aang feels about being the last airbender.”

Set 13 years after the end of the Century War, the four nations finally live in peace. However, Aang, now 26 and voiced by Eric Nam, begins to feel the sadness of being the last Airbender. Even though he has a supportive partner in Waterbender Katara, voiced by Jessica Matten, Aang’s grief for the almost extinct Air Nomads leads him to abandon his Avatar responsibilities in Republic City and visit abandoned air temples, holding on to memories of the monk mentors and friends he grew up with.

However, one of his visits is interrupted by a non-bending terrorist group known as “The Denied,” who are searching for Avatar Sonam’s staff that gives airbending abilities to non-benders. Realizing he can bring back airbending, Aang gathers his old team – Katara’s comic relief warrior brother Sokka (Román Zaragoza), spirited Earthbender Toph (Dionne Quan), and honorable Fire Lord Zuka (Steven Yeun) – the find the staff before The Denied. Their journey takes them to Tagah, voiced by Dave Bautista, a mysterious but powerful Airbender frozen in an iceberg, just like Aang was. Jones notes, “With his arrival, Aang is confronted with a new internal paradox, forcing him to contemplate the future of his fallen culture.”

Jones continues,

It’s this kind of character predicament that illustrates why “Avatar” is as beloved as it is. The narrative, developed by series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino (sharing a story credit alongside Kenneth Lin and co-writer Tim Hedrick), expands on the titular Avatar’s psyche as he ages alongside the Gen-Z and millennial demographic that grew up with it. It poignantly challenges Aang’s existentialist struggle, as he and Tagah shape the film’s depth. Both are foils, products of war, struggling with variations of the same trauma—bound by the weight of being the last airbender. Eric Nam’s voice performance further deepens the film’s emotionality, sincerely conveying Aang’s conflicting struggles, particularly in contrast to Bautista’s signature gruff-yet-effective work.

After enduring a frustrating pipeline—surviving a shift from a theatrical release under ViacomCBS to a Paramount+ debut in the Skydance era, and suffering a terrible leak—“Aang” is the finest the series has ever looked. The 2D hand‑drawn quality under its new cinematic lens is nothing short of remarkable. The bending-oriented fight sequences and action choreography are blisteringly kinetic and beautifully fluid, while the energetic cartoonish comedic beats are expressive.

As if everyone who worked on it entered their own Avatar State, director Lauren Montgomery and the animators at contributing houses Flying Bark and Studio Mir performed a staggering feat of 2D feature animation that is rare in today’s studio landscape. Not since the early 2000s—when Disney dropped the underrated “Atlantis” and “Treasure Planet”—has a Western studio‑produced, 2D‑animated fantasy action‑adventure film operated on a widened scope with epic grandeur. Undeniably, it’s one of the finest traditionally animated pieces of art put to film this decade thus far. Each frame is further proof that “Avatar” should only exist in animation. The show itself already proved that the lesser, abridged forms via the mediocre ongoing Netflix series and (shudders) M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” adaptation pale in comparison.

There’s no way not to walk away from this furious with the dunderheads at Paramount responsible for dumping it on streaming. Moviegoers and fans deserve to experience this passionately crafted work, theatrically where it belongs. At the time of this writing, it has a short week-long engagement in NYC and LA for Oscar consideration and needs to be expanded nationwide.

To be fair, apart from contributing to the action, some Team Avatar members aren’t utilized to their best abilities in some departments. The updated voice cast—now consciously reflecting the ensemble’s AAPI ethnicities—all provide fine voice work capturing the Gaang’s adult ages. But while it seems a necessary sacrifice for a more Aang‑centric story, the film often opts out of potential character work with its supporting cast and the rather underdeveloped “Denied” in favor of visual spectacle. And while insanely striking, that spectacle can be too bloated for its own good, especially within a very destructive‑oriented climax.

On top of that, Konietzko and DiMartino’s writing is very missed in the dialogue. The screenplay by Tim Hedrick and Christopher Yost seems paled compared to the cleverness of both Avatar shows. A lot of the dialogue is frequently illustrative, furthering tradition but feeling a little too juvenile, even by “Avatar” standards.

Seeing that “Aang” is the first in the franchise of “Avatar” productions, the debut film for Avatar Studios makes a great film that you can hope gets better in future sequels. Nevertheless, it gives a satisfying watching experience to the fans, as visually beautiful as it is a worthy storytelling entry to a great fantasy series.

For those who are fans of the original cartoon, you have to see this on Paramount+. You will absolutely love this film; I promise you that. When you see it, you will be able to tell this isn’t the first time the Avatar gang have faced such a huge challenge like the one they face in here. Especially with a great voice cast that does a great job at capturing what made the original cast did so perfectly. Others include Taika Waititi, Ronny Chieng, Ken Jeong, Dee Bradley Baker, Freida Pinto, and Ke Huy Quan. See this if you have a Paramount+ because it is one that everyone must see.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned this week when I wrap up “Universal Soldier Month.”

Universal Soldier: The Return

Movies like “Universal Soldier: The Return,” released in 1999, were made for one reason only: to make everyone happy they don’t make more of these movies.

How this sequel was theatrically released is a thought that no one can figure out.

One doesn’t need to be intelligent to figure out the story, but since everyone starts out doing so…

Luc Deveraux, reprised by Jean-Claude Van Damme, is one of the original members of the Universal Soldier program. Greg Jerrett said in his review, “This program takes battlefield dead and turns them into automatrons controlled by S.E.T.H., a super-intelligent computer that commands every move.”

When the Army decides to cut the Unisol 2500 program due to the current geo-political movements, S.E.T.H., played by Michael Jai White, cracks its own programming trying to survive.

He begins creating more Unisols to take over the secret compound.

That’s pretty much the plot.

Next thing you know, Van Damme is trying to fight his way out of the compound with an attractive reporter with him, played by Heidi Schanz.

Then he has to fight his way back into the compound trying to destroy the generator.

By this time, S.E.T.H. downloads his program into a super Unisol body that has five times the normal strength of other dead soldiers.

S.E.T.H. kidnaps Deveraux’s daughter, played by Karis Paige Bryant, in order to get a secret code from him that will prevent S.E.T.H. from self-destructing.

Jerrett said, “One could spend a great deal of time and effort picking apart the little inconsistencies that would have made the movie end inside of 15 minutes, had the characters as much insight as the average viewer.”

For example, if there is nothing protecting the Unisol implants in the dead soldiers’ heads besides the skulls, why not just shoot the dead guys in the head? No one does that – ever.

Jerrett asked, “You’ve got the army unloading with 50-caliber guns on four of these guys who are just standing there taking the shots, and not one hits them in the head? It’s ludicrous.”

Jerrett continued, “But this movie isn’t about high art or great acting, and it would be unfair to judge it by normal criteria.”

Instead, let’s look at in within the context of a cheap, martial arts, sci-fi B-movie briefly just to be absolutely fair and neutral.

Jerrett started off, “Even for a B-movie, this thing is sub-par. First off, the action was pretty pathetic. Maybe Van Damme is getting old or wants to do more straight acting.”

However, for anyone looking to see some great martial arts, look somewhere else. The fights scenes are nothing amazing.

In one scene, Van Damme does some great kicks great running up on a wall to get the right height. That was cool, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy fans of action.

Jerrett described, “Michael Jai White plays S.E.T.H. incarnate.” Everyone remembers White from “Spawn.” White gets in a couple of good hits, but he is supposed to be so huge and powerful that he actually played his fight scenes a little down.

These movies typically have some type of comic relief. In this case, it came from Unisol Romeo, played by Bill Goldberg. His job is to get beat up continually by Deveraux and say things like, “I hate that guy,” to everyone’s enjoyment. Weak.

Jerrett said, “The other source of amusement came from B-movie standard Brent Hinkley, who plays Squid, a disgruntled, blue-haired punk who had been fired from the program for being a stone freak.”

He is the only enjoyment in the film, and next to Clint Howard, may be one of the more entertaining B-movie actors in Hollywood.

This film offers so little compared to the first one, and that is looking at in the form of B-movies. There are no redeeming qualities.

Another entry in the franchise that needs to be avoided. This franchise just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. This film is no exception. I know I keep saying that, but it is true. I can’t even say one good thing about this terrible sequel. Just never see it.

Unfortunately, we’re not done yet. Next week, I will be looking at the last two sequels. Sorry for the late response. I had forgotten about the blog post, especially since I was really tired after work that I fell asleep.