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As Good As It Gets

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The Universal Soldier franchise as terrible as they've been must have been profitable otherwise they wouldn't have lasted. So with that in mind it begs the question, why would they overhaul the entire formula?The Universal Soldier films have been brainless action flicks about the genetically modified undead soldiers but here it goes in a totally different direction and is no better for it.It tells the story of a man who witnesses his wife and daughter murdered by home invaders. He wakes up from a coma and begins to investigate what happened to him, why he was targetted and the man who was responsible Luc Deveraux!Yes thats right, Van Dammes character and the main protagonist throughout the franchise. So with Van Damme reprising and Lungren along for the ride yet again we see a brand new type of Universal Soldier movie. Sadly it just doesn't work, though it starts strong it quickly becomes apparent that the writers had no idea where they were going with this new approach and it all falls apart. The plot is a jumbled mess and the only redeeming factor is the action which is more on point than usual.Sadly its impossible to get past just how much of a baffling mess Day of Reckonings story is, what they've done to the two recurring characters and makes me very much hope this is the last addition to the franchise.The Good:Interesting opening sceneSFX are actually on pointThe Bad:Makes absolutely no senseMajor shift will not have please fans of the franchiseThings I Learnt From This Movie:Upon seeing a gun mens penis's shrivel upThis movie is NOT for epilepticsLosing half of your foot won't affect your ability to walk

In the opening scene John (Scott Adkins) sets the screen scene record for a non-cyborg to get hit by a crowbar and survive. As he wanders off into a coma as he watches Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who is wearing gloves, murder his family. The FBI knows it is Luc, because he "left his prints all over the place." Now is this a clue, or just a screw up?John awakes from his coma and doesn't remember much of his life as he looks for Luc and tries to put things together. He discovers he was not a nice person and that entering a strip joint causes instant healing as he no longer has to use his cane to get around. He teams up with a dancer (Mariah Bonner) who knows the bad him and they go on an adventure having to fight off a "Manchurian" plumber who drives a truck with a self repairing hood.In order to keep things level, people who could act better than Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren were not considered for roles. All around a fairly sorry film for the franchise. Oh, not "Halloween 3" bad, but close.Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, full frontal nudity (male and female), plenty of blood and exploding heads.

Even the original Universal Soldier film was not that great but the series have managed to survive.Despite the presence of Van Damme and Lundgren who only make a cameo appearance, Scott Adkins is the star.Adkins is a family man called John who finds intruders in his house who kill his wife and daughter while he his left in a coma. When he awake with the recurring memories of his family being killed, with the help of a shadowy agency me who kill his wife and daughter. John goes after Luc Devreux (Van Damme) who killed them and left him injured. It is no surprise to find out that John is a cyborg. The story was in some ways inspired by elements of Terminator: Salvation, relating to false memories. The action only improves in the later stages of the film when Adkins gets to do his fight scenes.However this is just a low budget, low wattage action movie.

In terms of a pure action film, this is as good as it gets. Jean Claude Van-Damme gives a superb throw-back performance as Luc Devereaux, now a part man part machine cybernetic villain. Scott Adkins gives a memorable performance as a human experiment, and mind-control victim gone rogue. Dolph Lundgren, Andrei Arlovsky, and Roy Jones Jr add to the royal-rumble style atmosphere in this film as well. This film explores the concepts of human experimentation, cloning, artificial intelligence, and revenge all with exceptional cinematography, and thrilling action sequences.