Theme: Awakening

Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning (2012) – Scott Adkins

The last Universal Soldier movie had shades of B movie quality, but this one takes it to another level. It’s got really bad POV camerawork for a start – not a million miles from Scott Adkin’s barely-watchable zero-budget movie One More Shot.

While the last movie never caught fire but dwindled in an area that made us think it could be about to catch fire; this movie doesn’t even hit that spot – the whole thing is flat from start to finish, making it a chore to watch, and that’s saying something coming from someone who is such a fan of this genre that I made a website dedicated to it.

Some of the action scenes are so mixed up with CGI they look cartoony.

Some of the concepts are pretty cool, kind of like waking someone up in The Matrix, but when white noise is the favoured sound effect and flashing light is the favoured visual effect, it couldn’t have been executed much worse if they tried.

It gets a bit gruesome too, when explicitly chopping off bodyparts with an axe.

It gets slightly interesting around half way through, as Scott Adkins’ character starts digging into his past, trying to remember who he was, what he did, and who his family’s murderer is. But it’s still very cold and disjointed – I can’t rate it any higher than barely Watchable. It was really a chore to watch this far – I only did it for the benefit of this review.
Scott Adkins’ first serious fight scene, a little over an hour into this movie – after the car chase – started off boring, but it soon got tasty when it became apparent that Adkins’s character is a far superior fighter to the most modern UNISOL – the main antagonist – from the previous movie, played by Andrei Arlovski. Does this mean Adkins is in fact the best of all the UNISOLs? Is he capable of beating the whole crew including Van Damme? Now it’s getting slightly interesting – just a shame we’re already an hour in and have had to endure a barely watchable movie up until this point. The back end of the movie is more comfortably Watchable, pushing on So-So, but still quite cold & gloomy.

Scott Adkins is the main character in this movie. He’s the main protagonist. After him, Jean-Claude Van Damme appears to be the main antagonist, for most of the movie, although he may actually be a good guy. He doesn’t get much screen time, but is still one of the main characters after Adkins. Andrei Arlovski also gets a fair amount of screen time as the main active handyman working for Van Damme. Dolph Lundgren also makes a few appearances – he appears to be second in command of the guys working in Van Damme’s crew of freed UNISOLs. You may have also noticed Roy Jones Jr – possibly the greatest boxer of all time (in the TV era, under Queensberry rules) – having a scrap with Andrei Arlovski in the UNISOL mess hall. After getting beaten up by Arlovski, then pummelled by the whole crew, Van Damme steps in and shoots him dead. Honestly, I thought I saw him, but then I thought that’s not possible – then I saw the rolling credits at the end and yes, it really was him. That’s probably the coolest thing about this movie.

In summary, I’m going to rate this movie Watchable, owing to its So-So second half. I’m being a bit generous with the rating here, because the first half is probably best described as Unwatchable, so it seems a bit unfair to the other movies rated Watchable which are a bit better than this one, and the other movies rated Unwatchable which are really no worse than this one, if focusing on the first hour. The second half is really its saving grace, and is my only excuse for rating this movie Watchable.

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) – Keanu Reeves

This is the fourth instalment of The Matrix, which waited 18 years since the trilogy came out in 2003, so understandably some of the old characters are missing or replaced (Morpheus is no longer played by Laurence Fishburne, and Agent Smith has changed face) and those actors who returned are much older now – Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) are now both in their mid 50s, pushing near 60, which makes their romance a bit less glamorous to say the least. Still, Keanu and Carrie-Anne did alright, and Jessica Henwick (of Marvel’s Iron Fist) makes a very refreshing addition to the cast – she’s probably the best thing about this movie. There’s even a small role for Priyanka Chopra – she did alright too.

Jada Pinkett’s role as the elderly leader of the new city was not so fun – her face was covered in a disgusting looking mask to age her, and her attitude was grossly callous with a false sense of nobility.

The writers seem to have got carried away with psychology this time, and the fight scenes are less succinct here. Replays from previous movies are abundant. Neo can’t fly anymore but is throwing chi balls like there’s no tomorrow. There’s also a strong zombie horde theme, like so many movies released around the same year (representing the rumoured side-effects (or primary intended effects) of something people started adding to their bloodstream since late 2020 / early 2021).

All in all, The Matrix (IV) Resurrections deserves a 7/10 for my taste, since it’s fairly watchable and mildly entertaining. This movie is several levels below the original. Still, there is a fair amount of the good stuff that you’d expect from any Matrix movie. Best viewed soon after seeing the original movie, or after watching the entire trilogy that precedes it.

The Matrix (1999) – Keanu Reeves

The Matrix poster

ACTION BUSYNESS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
MOOD SETTING ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SCRIPT COHESION ⭐⭐⭐⭐
PLOT DENSITY ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This quality of movie simply cannot exist without high budget, great lead actors and a lot of love & dedication by the writers, producers and some supporting cast.

The Matrix is an action-packed, convincing sci-fi thriller with a significant element of martial arts although not performed by martial artists – it’s all about the acting, stunts and special effects here. From instant (computer-assisted) learning of kung fu and other martial arts which are exhibited with great camerawork, to the eccentric use of guns and stunts – this movie is a great example of what can happen when people make a real effort and don’t cut corners in producing a movie that was cutting edge for its time.

A cool plot involving hacking and conspiracies make this sci-fi both believable and doubly entertaining. This is a classic performance by Keanu Reeves, who has made many great action movies, including several John Wick movies more recently, but The Matrix saga stands out as something extra special to Keanu and to his fans who constantly remind him of it. It has transcended the movie industry, especially in recent years where conspiracies abound.

Due to the overall quality of acting and production, I give this movie a 9.5/10 – to get a perfect 10 it would probably need a more genuine representation of great martial arts training exercises, and it would need a deeper, broader or generally more significant base of philosophical teaching behind the movie. These are of course both areas this movie has significantly worked on, I just think it’s still lacking something in these departments.

Still, it’s an excellent movie as it is, from start to finish, and the only real disappointment is how its inevitable sequels don’t manage to maintain the standard set by the original although they are still well worth watching sequentially, but sometimes you might still want to enjoy the original by itself.

It’s not so easy to rewatch every year like Bloodsport is, but what it lacks in sustained comfortable vibe, it makes up for in frequently cutting-edge features. The Matrix has more of an intermittently chilling vibe – it’s not the same genre as Bloodsport and doesn’t try to be – they are both masterpieces in their own niche genres. Like apples & pears, they can’t easily be compared. When asked what’s my favourite movie, I tend to say Bloodsport for simplicity and to avoid pushing something that I have mixed feelings about, but in an objective transparent assessment I can not say it’s definitely any better than The Matrix – I rate them both about equally and can not choose a clear favourite between them.

The Matrix is packed with action in all its forms, with a few drama-ish scenes between. It includes a bit of fighting, a bit of running, a lot of shooting, and there’s a strange kind of war going on. The plot is almost confusing, but it kind of works and has become a massive cult classic. The cast includes several strong performances and a few less strong.