Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Screenplay: David Webb Peoples
Starring: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs, Connie Nielsen
Country: USA, UK
Running Time: 99 minutes
Year: 1998
This month has seen the release of the long-awaited Rogue Trooper trailer from Duncan Jones. Well, long-awaited by some of us sci-fi comic book nerds, thank you for asking. The same kind of people ready to lap up Paul Anderson’s grungy sci-fi epic Soldier, released in an excellent UHD package from Arrow.
Soldier is pretty much exactly what I’d want from a Rogue Trooper movie (not sure it will be, unfortunately). Hard as nails, action-packed, high-concept. Looks cool, with slimy villains and an excellent performance from Kurt Russell, ably supported by Sean Pertwee. And Gary Busey is in it, being very Gary Busey.
The excellent cast working from a script by David Webb Peoples, with a suggestion the events take place in the same universe as Peoples’ Blade Runner, distract from the fact it is basically trash. Soldier is a b-movie through and through, with a strong, beating heart. Paul Anderson has always produced reliably fun stuff and I think Soldier is his best and most rewatchable film. I can’t explain a strange bit in the middle edited like a trailer; maybe an attempt to summarise where we got to, but it is the only part of the film that feels like it runs out of steam.
The constant is Kurt Russell. He’s always reliable and here he goes against his wise-cracking self. Stoic, always centred. Less emotional than a Replicant, but impressively constant.
So this remains I believe a b-move with ambition. Anderson does attract an spirited defence though. I’ve never understood the cult admiration for Event Horizon and being a life-long Alien fan, the AvP films are a constant frustration. And so the extras on this edition of Soldier occasionally represent the most furious gilding of the lily I think I’ve witnessed.
I like Soldier. Honestly I do. But despite the excellent screenplay, it is not the equal of Blade Runner. It is a forgotten gem, thanks to a lacklustre box office run, but lets enjoy it now for what it is, not what it can’t be.
VIDEO
Soldier is a visually strong film. Anderson may be stuck in a b-movie loop, but he does them very well. The action feels bigger than what it is; the lonely planet is well-realised with more than a hint of Verhoeven’s Robocop or Total Recall about the aesthetic. Grainy, bloody and earthy. And a bit orange. It’s a striking image that lingers.
EXTRA FEATURES
This is a stunning package. As I previously alluded, possibly a vein of some of the film’s support is a little too blind, but that doesn’t detract from the range of material.
- Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films approved by director Paul W.S. Anderson
- 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Archival audio commentary by director Paul W.S. Anderson, co-producer Jeremy Bolt and actor Jason Isaacs
- Reporting for Duty, a brand new interview with actor James Black
- Fire in the Hole!, a brand new interview with assistant director Dennis Maguire
- On the Front Lines, a brand new interview with associate producer Fred Fontana
- Designing for the Future, a brand new interview with production designer David L. Snyder
- VFX Before and After, a brand new behind-the-scenes look at how the film’s special effects were created with visual effects supervisor Craig Barron
- Weapons of Mass Creation, interviews with visual effects supervisors Craig Barron and Van Ling and miniature supervisor Michael Joyce
- A Soldier’s Journey, a brand new interview with Danny Stewart, author of Soldier: From Script to Screen
- We Don’t Need Another Hero, a brand new retrospective on the film with film historian Heath Holland
- Archival electronic press kit
- On-set interviews with cast and crew
- Trailers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by film critic Priscilla Page