Soldier (1998)

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee, Gary Busey

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Left for dead on a remote planet for obsolete machines and people, a fallen hero has one last battle to fight.

Plot: Sergeant Todd (Russell) is a veteran soldier for the an elite group of the armed forces of Earth. After being defeated by a new breed of genetically engineered soldiers, he is dumped on a waste planet and left for dead. He soon interacts with a group of crash survivors who lead out a peaceful existence on the planet. The peace is soon broken as the new breed of soldiers lands to eliminate the colony, which Sergeant Todd must defend.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Sure, why not?

Wow! Good flick! I was surprised. I didn't think Anderson could make one. Kurt Russell is always solid and fun. The IMDb trivia says that his character speaks only 104 words. That seems high. The opening 20 minutes or so is fantastic and Anderson does a great job (I can't believe I'm saying this) of keeping the fat trimmed and giving us just the information we need to know the kind of life Russell has led since birth. It's a great extended montage. Busey is likable but I really missed him saying "Butthorn" a lot. He's fun, though. It was really neat seeing Jason Isaacs playing the nasty villain again. His turn in THE PATRIOT (2000) was just mean, man.


There are lots of familiar faces including Connie Nielsen (who starred in GLADIATOR the very next year), Sean Pertwee and even a small role for the great Michael Chiklis. The special effects were great, especially the establishing space shots but forget about that space battle scene you see in the trailer because it doesn't exist in the movie. Pricks. Russell does a great job, too. He doesn't have many lines or facial expressions but he has a presence that works. As a side note, I really appreciate the lack of a love interest. It looks like there's going to be one but it never approaches the subject. What a relief. I was surprised to see this was written by David Webb Peoples, the guy behind such amazing scripts & movies as BLADE RUNNER (1982), LADYHAWKE (1985), UNFORGIVEN (1992) and TWELVE MONKEYS (1995). These are some of my favorite flicks (well, some are in my t0p 100). Fun flick.