Forum

Hi. I'd just like to ask, was I the only person that liked the movie "Soldier" starring Kurt Russel? It's on lists of the worst movies ever and I just don't think it deserves it.

Feel free to disagree, but I'm think I'm safe that most of the people here would have seen this one, I'd like to see what you think.

I liked Soldier well enough. I think it's biggest problem is that is was marketed as a whiz-bang sci-fi action movie with no-stop explosions when it's really more of a character study. Plenty of explosions and action, but there's a lot more to it, and it's a lot more sedate.

Also, the little Easter Eggs they squeezed in when going over Russel's commendations was fantastic. Too brief to notice, but the film nerds went frame by frame to catch them all and put them on Wikipedia:

Among Todd's service records (both on computer screen display and on his arm), one can see:

Combat history:
Battles of Tannhauser Gate and Shoulder of Orion (references to Blade Runner (1982), co-written by the same screenwriter)
Battle of Nibian Moon, Antares Maelstrom War (a reference to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)).
Commendations:
"Plissken Patch" (a reference to Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996))
"O'Neill Ring Award" (a reference to Stargate (1994))
"MacReady Cross" (a reference to The Thing (1982))
"Cash Medal of Bravery" (a reference to Tango & Cash (1989))
Ordnance levels:
DOOM MKIV BFG (a reference to Doom)
USCM Smartgun (a reference to Aliens)

Thanks! I liked it, but it's got a 10% on rt, and I couldn't understand why. I think "worst" might have been convulted with loss in profit rather than quality as I see it only grossed $14 mil on a $60 mil budget. The only B master that reviewed it was on Cold Fusion by Nathan Shumate, and I like his reviews but this review is rather lacking, giving me the impression he didn't like it but didn't really bother anyone else, like good ol' Ken. I think the subtlety in preformance by Russel is the main strength of it, like Flangepart is saying, but for him it seemed to be a problem.

Quote from Marsden on March 13, 2012, 10:00
Thanks! I liked it, but it's got a 10% on rt, and I couldn't understand why.

Sheep.

The problem with sites like that is you tend to get a lot of extreme votes (which is why on sites like Amazon, I ignore all 5 star and 1 star reviews), and you get a lot of people who, for whatever reason, like to pile on.

I think a lot of it might be that people expected a sci-fi actioner and were ticked that that's not what they got. Also, some people just like assuming a movie sucks even when they haven't seen it. I wonder how many people down-rating a movie on IMDB or RT have actually seen the thing, as opposed to just voting based on what "everyone knows".

Because of the discussion regarding this film, I moved it forward in my Netflix queue. I've always been curious about it, but not really curious enough to regard it more than peripherally.

Well, like everything Paul Wide-Screen Anderson directs, it's certainly watchable. It has the usual Paul Wide-Screen Anderson gimmicks, of course. Anderson seems very capable as a director of "moments." Not films, or characters or scenes, but moments. Moments where you say, "Whoa, that was cool!" Actually, the stuff with the family on the planet was quite good, well played, but of course he's got to throw in Michael Chiklis being sucked toward a giant fan and poisonous fake snakes.

So, yeah, Solider is eminently watchable. I assume the makers were thinking, "Hey, it's Seven Samurai, but with just one!" I was thinking, How come this wasn't an Ahnold film?

I mean, it fits the Ahnold template perfectly. Kurt Russell was almost doing an Ahnold impression, and the haircut certainly fit.

Also, it makes me think that Jason Isaac was going, "YES!!!" when he was cast as a good guy in "Armageddon." His character here was so utterly, pointlessly evil that he was simply not credible as a character. I mean, I like him as an actor, but here, if his mustache had been longer, I'm sure there would have been a scene where he twirled it between his fingers while torturing orphans.

So, Soldier, ultimately, is fun.