Retro Film Review: Soldier (1998)

Great films of the past should be left alone. Contemporary remakes, sequels or even the films merely set in the same universe are unlikely to enhance reputations of the classics. On the contrary, fans of the originals are most likely to be sorely disappointed with the quality of new films. This explains what happened to Soldier, a 1998 science fiction film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.

The plot of the film begins with a soldier known only as Sergeant Todd (played by Kurt Russell). In his earliest childhood, he was selected for a brutal training programme and later conditioned to become a cold and efficient killing machine. In the year 2036 A.D., despite showing his murderous ability in numerous wars and campaigns, Todd is considered obsolete by Colonel Mekum (played by Jason Isaacs). He is to be replaced with the new breed of genetically engineered soldiers like Caine 607 (played by Jason Scott Lee). After losing a test fight with Caine, Todd is left for dead and tossed into Arcadia, a desolate planet where he is rescued by a group of shipwrecks who had created their little utopia. Todd, housed by the colony's elder Mace (played by Sean Pertwee) and his wife Sandra (played by Connie Nielsen), slowly begins to develop human emotions and befriends the couple's autistic son. But when Mekum decides to use Arcadia as a test ground for his new soldiers, Todd would have to use his abilities again, this time in order to save the colonists.

According to the scriptwriter David Webb Peoples, Soldier was supposed to be set in the same universe as the legendary Blade Runner. But the fans of the 1982 classic were disappointed to hear about the script being changed and director Paul W.S. Anderson insisting on Soldier as nothing more than a futuristic remake of Shane. After that, Soldier was savaged by critics, but it is actually much better film than its reputation would indicate. The beginning, which features the brutal conditioning of young children, is wonderfully staged, and many science fiction fans would be reminded of Orson Scott Card's classic novel Ender's Game. Throughout the film, Anderson pays great attention to production design, costumes and special effects. Kurt Russell is also very convincing in the role of a quiet warrior who slowly discovers his humanity. Those qualities, however, aren't enough to compensate for the serious script flaws. For example, the film doesn't explain why anyone would bother to travel through light years of space only to dump tons of trash on remote planets. Soldier is also burdened with clichés - the fate of Mace is easy to predict when his wife starts becoming close with the protagonist, the villain is over-the-top, and the ending features an all-too-familiar one-on-one combat. Joel McNeely's music is also quite disappointing. Soldier didn't deserve to be treated so harshly by critics, but it didn't deserve recommendations either.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on June 24th 2004)

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