A Tragic misfire

Rating: 2/10 (23 October 2004)

Paul WS Anderson is possibly the most hated director alive. But he really shouldn't be. Its all about opinion and talent level at the end of the filmic day. "Soldier" was not that bad. I can think of dozens of higher rated films that fit comfortably (in my opinion) next to it, Spider Man 2 springs to mind, however i do think its always a little harsh to be that unkind to the guy. However here you are all justified really. It seems amazing how a genuine fan of these two franchises could mess it up so spectacularly. The fights are not very well filmed, the characters are thinner than toe nail clippings and the fact that there's little to no gore means this will never be treated with the same prestigious opinions as Scott's or McTiernan's work.
This really is a bad film in anyone's eyes (whether some parts were mildly enjoyable or not). And a terrific misfire with a capital m. An almost instantly forgettable film experience. Really all you needed was thrilling one on one bitch fights, buckets of gore and slime, stylish direction and a few winking in jokes to the previous films and it would have been serviceable enough. Oh well.