Critic Reviews
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Richard Brody, New Yorker
Several sequences of this gorefest, which is posed between hyperkinetic martial-arts mayhem and near-static moments of confusion and terror, have a gleeful virtuosity that nearly redeems its lumbering longueurs and generic splatter.
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Ian Buckwalter, The Atlantic
Day of Reckoning is somehow not just the best film in the series, but a damn fine piece of action filmmaking by any measure.
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Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
"There... is... no... end" Van Damme announces in between blows. As a comment on the current film, I'll agree. As a prediction - all I can do is shudder.
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Kyle Smith, New York Post
An intensity of purpose and a patient, suspenseful directing style make the B-movie "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" superior to most of the big-budget action films I've seen lately.
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Andy Webster, New York Times
This bloody wallow in sweat, guns and fisticuffs - for those who swing that way - delivers.
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Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
The movie creates something of the sensation of huffing industrial solvents - in a good way! - a waking-sleep zombification that can't exactly be described as pleasurable but definitely has an odd, distinct power.
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Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
It's a far cry from what Van Damme and Lundgren were doing twenty years ago, but in the end this film comes off like a band that claims all of the 'right' influences in interviews but can't synthesize good taste into work of merit.
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Simon Foster, Screen-Space
Hyams' film is steeped in the myopic lust for vengeance that fuels many B-actioners, but he brings a great deal more to the proceedings.
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Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
When it sticks to the fights, the thugs, and the attitude, it's a pretty good time.
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Calum Marsh, Slant Magazine
Essentially Lost Highway for a post-UFC world, Universal Soldier: Days of Reckoning is an intriguing but ultimately rather empty experience.
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Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
Aside from perhaps Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren's accountants, it's difficult to say for sure who exactly has been calling for another entry in this francise.
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John Wirt, Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
Earns its stripes as one of those bad movies that's so bad it's good, in its bad way.
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Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters
Day of Reckoning is an action movie that's as much about each frame as it is about each punch and thwack and gunshot, not to mention that devastating black and white makeup job on Jean-Claude Van Damme's bald head.
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Ethan Alter, Television Without Pity
If Day of Reckoning shows off some of the freedom that comes with working in the DTV market, it also highlights its limitations.
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Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
I found the level of violence in the film repugnant and most of the characters irredeemable, disposable and forgettable. They aren't particularly bright, either. It has the artistic sensibilities of a slaughterhouse.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
An actual great piece of brainy action cinema.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's a bad trip LSD-like movie you either love or hate, no in-between.
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Drew McWeeny, HitFix
If you want a few well-done fights and you like Adkins, I can't completely recommend against it.
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Chris Tilly, IGN Movies
An entertaining Universal Soldier movie that dares to try something different.
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William Bibbiani, CraveOnline
Day of Reckoning, for lack of a better expression, 'goes there.' But like the flight plan of a hijacked plane, it's not necessarily my destination of choice.
Read all 23 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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A man watches as his family is killed, then dedicates his life to tracking down the killer despite having lost all memory of his past life. Surprising sequel plays more like an ultraviolent horror/suspense movie than the expected action flick. Longtime fans of the franchise may not… More
A man watches as his family is killed, then dedicates his life to tracking down the killer despite having lost all memory of his past life. Surprising sequel plays more like an ultraviolent horror/suspense movie than the expected action flick. Longtime fans of the franchise may not like the change in tone but it's fairly entertaining as a standalone film.
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Where does the latest entry in the Universal Soldier franchise stand? Usually by the fourth film in any series, ideas start to be less than original and filmmakers start to recycle ideas and make mediocre and awful outings that will surely displease fans. However with this fourth… More
Where does the latest entry in the Universal Soldier franchise stand? Usually by the fourth film in any series, ideas start to be less than original and filmmakers start to recycle ideas and make mediocre and awful outings that will surely displease fans. However with this fourth entry, the filmmakers have made the most violent film in the franchise, and this is a savage work of action that is among the best in the series. Forget what you saw with the other three films in the series; Day of Reckoning is a totally new, refreshing and very entertaining film in the series that is worth seeing if you're a fan of the Universal Soldier films. This is one of the more elaborate films in the series in terms of plot, and it seems that the screenwriters went all out to create some much more engaging for action fans. The mindless action is there, but there is also a much better plot as well. Acting wise, the performances are adequate, but could have been better. Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning feels like a revenge action flick, and is one of the better films in the genre. I really didn't expect much out of this film, and quite honestly it surprised, considering that this series was never excellent in the first place and that it is a straight to DVD film. Fans should definitely check this one out and it far better than other entries. I'm very surprised that they were able to pull the film since the first and considering that, it's saying something about the quality of the film, and in some areas, it exceeds in delivering in some areas where the original failed. A pretty good and impressive straight to DVD picture that provides a highly entertaining two hours.
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decent enough but not really the usual Universal Soldier kind of movie
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One of the best action films of 2012. The best Universal Soldier yet. It hits all the right notes. A tremendously cool, frighting and mind-blowing action ride. An intense, bloody, sizzling and electrifying movie. A fully-loaded, adrenaline-pumping and hard-edged action-packed thriller… More
One of the best action films of 2012. The best Universal Soldier yet. It hits all the right notes. A tremendously cool, frighting and mind-blowing action ride. An intense, bloody, sizzling and electrifying movie. A fully-loaded, adrenaline-pumping and hard-edged action-packed thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat right till the very end. It`s loaded with brutal and explosive action sequences and heart-racing suspense and riveting story that keeps you guessing and enthralled at every corner. A sharp, muscular, atmospheric and intensely scary thrill-machine. Director, John Hyams boldly and fearlessly takes the franchise to new territory and pulls it off awesomely. The most brutal entry to the series, it works as a sequel for long-time fans and a stand-alone film for newcomers. A wickedly entertaining and explosive tour de force. Scott Adkins is excellent, he is the lead of this picture and keeps you glued to your seat and compelled with his strong performance and incredible physicality. Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lungdren are back. Van Damme is a force of nature, he dose so much with so little and still manages to keep your attention. Lungdren is electric, giving a fierce and great performance. It has a horror movie type of feel at the start and explodes with great twist and turns all the way through. This makes Universal Soldier and Universal Soldier: Regeneration, look like puppy chow. It takes you down and a more dark and twisted road, It`s as if David Cronenberg made a martial arts take on Apocalypse Now.
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What the hell goes on here? I'm still rather confused with this plot, on top of that it sucked ass!. This is now overall the sixth UniSol film but the third that is suppose to be cannon...somehow, and frankly it needs to be the last.
The plot is just everywhere, I still… More
What the hell goes on here? I'm still rather confused with this plot, on top of that it sucked ass!. This is now overall the sixth UniSol film but the third that is suppose to be cannon...somehow, and frankly it needs to be the last.
The plot is just everywhere, I still don't think I get it. Adkins family is brutally killed by the now evil 'Luc Deveraux', he goes into a coma but comes out some 9 months later ready to get revenge. Sounds good right? no, for half the film we follow Adkins around as he talks to people and generally doesn't do anything remotely interesting accept for going into a strip joint (obligatory in UniSol films now it seems).
At the same time Arlovski is back again as another character I think, I'm actually not so sure if he's a clone of his last character from the last film or not. Anyway he is back and running around fighting other guys for apparently no reason what so ever. It turns out he is a 'sleeper' UniSol and has been 'switched on' by 'Luc Deveraux' and is now fighting other sleeper UniSols to find the strongest and recruit them...I think.
The whole idea is 'Luc Deveraux' is finding sleeper UniSols to recruit into his 'UniSol church' or new order so they can errr all take over the world I guess, beats me. Since when were there lots of sleeper UniSols running around?? I thought all UniSols were kept under lock and key as top secret fighting machines. Now there are tonnes of them in this film, all living regular lives without knowing, only needing to be 'switched on'.
The whole thing is completely naff frankly and makes no sense, why is 'Deveraux' now a bad guy wanting to kill innocents?. I know he ran off at the end of the last film but he was still aware of being good. Why on earth is Lundgren back in this? who keeps recloning him?? he's obviously a crap UniSol cos he keeps getting killed horribly lol!. While I'm on the subject how the hell are the characters 'Miles' and 'Dr Colin' back in this? they were killed in the last film and they aren't UniSols just regular mortals.
I'm still not even sure if Adkins family were suppose to be real or just a memory implant, such a mess.
Yes there are two good fight sequences, one between Adkins and Arlovski and the other between Adkins and Lundgren. JCVD doesn't really feature much and his final fight isn't that much really, maybe age is finally creeping up on him, it certainly is with Lundgren methinks. He's very slow and his movements are clearly fake these days.
Very disappointed with this and really just another poor excuse for JCVD to team up with Lundgren and Adkins. I think the time has come for this franchise to hang up its military boots before it heads back into bargain basement made for TV territory again. You know at some point it will without the big stars of course.
And why is Van Damme's head painted half black and half white in the finale?? what the hell is that about!?.
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