Two action titans throwing down both on screen and seemingly off in front of thousands of reporters; a director now known for tentpole disaster flicks working with a big budget for the first time; Replacing another director who couldn’t make it work; a script that dips its toes into at least four different genres; multiple required shots of Jean Claude Van Damme’s naked body; bullets, bombs, and a whole lotta killin’. This is what happened to Universal Soldier.

If you were a fan of action movies with a darker, sci-fi edge to their storylines in the 80s and 90s, Carolco Pictures was likely behind some of your favorites. By the time Universal Soldier darkened their desks around February of 1990, the company had already been involved with films like First Blood and They Live. This even before Terminator 2 and Total Recall. If you had a dark action flick,...