Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms
Official VHS cover
Genre
  • Action
  • Sci-Fi
Written byPeter M. Lenkov
Directed byJeff Woolnough
StarringMatt Battaglia
Chandra West
Jeff Wincott
Andrew Jackson
Gary Busey
Music byIvan Doroschuk
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersKevin Gillis
John Laing
ProducerRobert Wertheimer
CinematographyRuss Goozee
EditorMike Lee
Running time92 minutes
Production companyCatalyst Entertainment Production
Original release
NetworkShowtime
Release
  • September 27, 1998 (1998-09-27)
Related
Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business

Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms is a 1998 American made-for-television science fiction film directed by Jeff Woolnough and starring Matt Battaglia, Chandra West, Jeff Wincott, Andrew Jackson, and Gary Busey. It is the second installment in the Universal Soldier franchise and is a sequel to the 1992 film Universal Soldier. Despite featuring the same characters as the original, the film features none of the original cast or crew. It was followed in the same year by Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. In 1999, a theatrical sequel, once again starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Universal Soldier: The Return was produced, which essentially ignored the plotline of the direct-to-video sequels entirely.

Plot

Following the events of the original Universal Soldier, the budget of the program has been cut by the government. However, under the orders of a CIA director, a gang of mercenaries take control of the new line of Universal Soldiers to use them in the diamond smuggling business.

Luc Deveraux, survivor of the first incident with the Universal Soldiers, continues to cause problems, while the enemy takes his newly found brother and news reporter Veronica Roberts prisoners.[1]

Cast

  • Matt Battaglia as Private Luc Deveraux
  • Jeff Wincott as Eric Devereaux
  • Andrew Jackson as Andrew Scott
  • Eric Bryson as Peterson
  • Kevin Rushton as Martinez
  • Desmond Campbell as Cooper
  • Michael Copeman as Lt. Col. Jack Cameron
  • Gary Busey as Dr. Otto Mazur
  • Burt Reynolds as CIA Deputy Director
  • Richard McMillan as Dr. Walker
  • Chandra West as Veronica Roberts
  • Aron Tager as John Devereaux
  • Barbara Gordon as Danielle Devereaux
  • Carla Collins as Anchorwoman
  • James Kee as Jasper
  • Frank McAnulty as Purser
  • Jared Wall as Luc at 9
  • Neville Edwards as Porter
  • Sophie Bennett as Annie
  • Layton Morrison as Bodyguard
  • Loren Peterson as Bodyguard
  • Doug Murray as Young Dr. Gregor
  • James Binkley as Sentry
  • Randy Butcher as Sentry
  • Michael Dyson as Sentry
  • Jeffrey R. Smith as Control Operator
  • Roy T. Anderson as Head Sentry
  • Reg Dreger as Farmer
  • Julian Richings as Bix
  • James Kim as Sung Bodyguard
  • Simon Kim as Sung Bodyguard

Production

In 1995, the embattled Carolco Pictures sold the television rights to its Universal Soldier franchise to Toronto-based Skyvision Entertainment. The Canadian company had a business strategy of turning successful theatrical films into television properties, and had already done so with RoboCop.[2] A series of four television films was considered, but a change of ownership at Skyvision's parent company Labatt led to a scaling back of its entertainment endeavours. Former Skyvision executive Kevin Gillis revived the project at his new employer Catalyst Entertainment, in association with American outfit Durrant Fox Productions.[3] The project was reformatted as a pair of television films, with eyes on a possible syndicated series.[3]

The film recasts former professional gridiron football player Matt Battaglia as Luc Deveraux, and introduces a long-lost brother named Eric Deveraux, played by Canadian actor and martial artist Jeff Wincott.[1]

Brothers in Arms picks up right at the end of the original Universal Soldier, with the final fight from that film re-enacted by Battaglia and Andrew Jackson (in a brief appearance as Andrew Scott/GR13). It then introduces a new primary villain, security expert Otto Mazur, played by Gary Busey. Burt Reynolds appears in a limited capacity as overarching antagonist "Mentor", who takes greater importance in the sequel, Unfinished Business.[4]

The "Mentor" role was cast only a few days before the shoot, and Reynolds agreed to join the production on short notice as a favor to Battaglia. The veteran actor was a friend of Battaglia's father Carmello, with whom he played college football,[5][6] and recommended his son try acting.[3] Battaglia, to whom Reynolds was a real-life mentor, had previously supported the star on several shows he headlined.[5] Battaglia described the filming of Universal Soldier as an overall smooth experience, with the notable exception of his relationship with Busey, whom he found difficult to work with.[5]

Brothers in Arms and Unfinished Business were primarily shot in Southern Ontario over 42 days[3][5] spread between 27 October[3] and 23 December 1997.[5] Downsview Military Base was used as the UniSols' operations center.[5] Both pictures were shot concurrently, with the schedule alternating between scenes from each film.[5] The two sequels had an aggregate budget of $10.7 million.[3]

Release

Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms premiered on cable television via The Movie Channel, a sister channel of Showtime, on 27 September 1998. It was released on VHS by Paramount Home Video on 22 June 1999.[7] According to Battaglia, Universal Soldier II and III—or a combination of both—were at some point considered to become Showtime's first theatrical releases, before they reverted to TV premieres.[6]

Brothers in Arms received a 2002 DVD release by TVA Films in Canada, as part of a double feature that also includes the next installment Unfinished Business.[8]

Some German home video versions of the film are sold as Neu Bearbeitete Fassung (Newly Edited Version), but this merely indicates that they are cut for violence.[9][10]

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 0% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 4.02/10.[11] Ballantine Books' Video Movie Guide called the film a "boring by-the-numbers" effort, rating it a two on a scale of one to five.[12] VideoHound rated it a two on a scale of zero to four.[13]

The film received additional reviews from specialized genre outlets, although they were equally lackluster. The Action Elite called the film "boring" and "lifeless", while Bulletproof Action lambasted its "sluggish" pacing.[14][15] Dubbious artistic choices were also singled out: Moria Reviews branded the flashy editing as "pretentious",[4] and deemed the soundtrack "inappropriate". The Action Elite similarly found the music "appalling".[15] Outlaw Vern was more positive, and argued that such stylistic flourishes at least showed an attempt at making the film stand out.[16]

Battaglia's turn as Devereaux was found to lack charisma, with Vern saying that his performance made fellow football player turned actor Howie Long "look like Jeremy Irons".[16]

The film did receive some moderate praise for being a direct continuation of the events of the first film, rather than a bare-bones reimagining like most television adaptations.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 Auger, Emily E. (2011). Tech-noir film: a theory of the development of popular genres. Bristol: Intellect. pp. 451–452. ISBN 9781841504247.
  2. ↑ Benson, Jim (5 February 1995). "Carolco Sells Soldier Rights To Skyvision". Variety. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hoffman, Andy (15 December 1997). "On set: Universal Soldier". Playback. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 Scheib, Richard (17 August 2010). "Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998)". moriareviews.com. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wardle, Paul (September 1998). "Showtime Sequels: Universal Soldiers". Cinefantastique. Vol. 30, no. 5–6. Forrest Park: Frederick S. Clarke. pp. 12–15.
  6. 1 2 Byrne, Wayne (20 December 2019). Burt Reynolds on Screen. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. pp. 210–215. ISBN 9781476638119.
  7. ↑ Bell, Carrie (25 June 1999). "Universal Soldier Returns, Again". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Universal Soldier 2; Universal Soldier 3 (Double Feature). DVD (Media notes). TVA Films. 2002. UPC 824255050364.
  9. ↑ Universal Soldier 2. VHS (box cover) (in German). VCL. UPC 4012050053598. Freigegeben as 18 Jahren [...] 89 minuten
  10. ↑ Universal Soldier 2. VHS (box cover) (in German). VCL. UPC 4012050022839. Neu Bearbeitete Fassung [...] Freigegeben ab 16 Jahren [...] 88 minuten
  11. ↑ "Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ Martin, Mick; Porter, Marsha (2001). Video Movie Guide 2002. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 1176. ISBN 9780345420961.
  13. ↑ Craddock, Jim, ed. (2002). VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 2003. Farmington Hills: Gale. p. 795.
  14. ↑ Chris The Brain (17 July 2020). "Bullet Points: Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms". bulletproofaction.com. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 Friel, Eoin (17 November 2015). "Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998) Review". theactionelite.com. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  16. 1 2 Vern (20 December 2009). "Universal Soldier II: Brothers In Arms". outlawvern.com. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
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