The Russian President’s children have been kidnapped.
The group responsible have taken over a nuclear power station and plan to detonate a nuclear weapon if their ransom demands are not met.
When the army attacks, the group unveil their secret weapon - a new generation Universal soldier (Andrei Arlovski) who turns the military units into confetti.
WIth time running out, the authorities pressgang former UniSol Luc Deveraux (Jean Claude Van Damme) to infiltrate the station, kill the new UniSol, save the kids and turn off the bomb.
I am not a fan of the original Universal Soldier - it is dour, unimaginative and much worse than its stars’ other, smaller, pictures. When I was catching up on eighties and nineties action flicks, it stood out as one of the least entertaining.
Released in 2009, after three other sequels, Universal Soldier: Regeneration was an unexpected triumph.
Made for US$ 9 million, Regeneration takes the same concept, strips it down and plays it out like a straight action movie. There are lashings of science fiction, but the focus is on brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Universal Soldier: Regeneration may be a sequel and a direct-to-video release, but it is a great example of why those labels should not be equated with poor filmmaking. Regeneration came out amid a wave of great DTV action fare, from Michael Jai White’s Blood and Bone to Isaac Florentine’s Undisputed III.
Nowadays, the DTV market is thriving, thanks to stars like Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins, and filmmakers like Florentine, Jesse V. Johnson and John Hyams.
The son of Peter Hyams, the director of Outland and Time Cop, John Hyams made his name on this picture. Most recently he made the move to theatrical releases with the 2020 thriller Alone. After watching Universal Soldier: Regeneration, you can see why he was able to make that jump.
A clean, straightforward genre flick filled with muddy, blood-soaked action, Regeneration is worth a watch, even if you have not seen the previous Universal Soldiers.
The first thing you notice watching it is that, despite its small budget, Regeneration never feels like it is straining in size.
The filmmakers pull off several impressive extended takes that show off the choreography, and help to immerse the viewer into the scene.
The opening sequence in the museum feels like a dare to potential detractors, with widescreen compositions and extended takes which show off the location and the extras mulling around. Small details but they give the movie a sense of scope, and also set up the chaos which is about to follow.
There is such a sense of control to this sequence that when the tone shifts, as the museum trip turns into an ambush, it is genuinely shocking.
The chase which follows is terrific, tense and dynamic. This movie was released amid the fallout of the Jason Bourne movies, but there is a judicious use of handheld camera that ensures we never lose a basic sense of geography.
All of the action sequences after this take place at the power plant - a result of the tight budget - but they are all great. The filmmakers have chosen a great location, and take the time to make sure to establish a rough sense of the recognisable features for the bloodshed which follows.
There are also a lot of shots with multiple planes of action going on - so many low-budget action films use the edit to get around their lack of scale, but this movie never resorts to that. The action is allowed to play out within the frame, and that sense of depth pays off in more dynamic and suspenseful set pieces.
As the film’s main threat, UFC fighter Andrei Arlovski is not required to do anything acting-wise, and he is perfect. He has great physical presence, and the decision to let the action play out means his talents are foregrounded.
I have not watched UFC so I cannot comment on his style, but Arlovski is absolutely terrifying. He moves with speed and brute force, and the sound design makes sure you hear every bone-crunching moment of it. The character has a retractable spear in his arm, but Arlovski is so intimidating and dominant in his action sequences that it feels unnecessary.
As far as the returning cast are concerned, Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are fine. Regeneration does not waste time on rebuilding the franchise's mythology which works to the film’s benefit, but if you are expecting character development, the movie is not built upon it.
Van Damme’s Luc has been trying to rehabilitate, but action calls, and he reverts to being a killing machine. It is a bit of a dangling thread, but the movie is paced so well I did not really care.
It might be a weird form of the Kuleshov effect but Van Damme is frankly more interesting as a sawed-off killing machine. Even before he faces Arlovski, there is a weariness and haunted quality to Van Damme that makes the character feel more vulnerable - even when he is mowing through bad ‘uns, it feels like the character is barely holding it together.
In contrast to his full throttle performance in the original, Lundgren is all understated menace. His appearance as the resurrected Andrew Scott feels the most like fan service in that it depends on viewers knowing who his character is for the tension to work, but - once again - the film does not waste time on a drawn-out heel turn.
In its favor, Lundgren’s appearance does lead to a neat escalation of stakes for the third act, so it is not a pointless tangent.
There is not much more to Regeneration. It punches (and kicks) far above its weight, and it makes a solid entry point to the direct-to-video action genre.
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