Movies - Soldier

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	Movies - Soldier

Soldier is a 1998 science fiction film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film, classified as a thriller, starred Kurt Russell as Sgt. Todd, a soldier trained from birth. The film also featured Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee and Michael Chiklis.

It was written by David Peoples, who co-wrote the script for Blade Runner
. By his own admission, Soldier is considered the "sidequel" to Blade Runner. It also obliquely references various elements of stories written by Philip K. Dick (who wrote the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, on which Blade Runner is based), or film adaptations thereof.

Plot summary

The film begins in the year 1996 (year zero). A group of infants are chosen by a commander to be raised as soldiers. One of the infants chosen is Todd.

As he grows, he undergoes extreme mental and physical training to prepare for his career as a soldier. This includes phrase repition conditioning, running, weapons training, wrestling, among other things. As time goes on, and he endures his training, Todd appears to be one of the best in his group.

The film then jumps to 2036 (year forty). Todd is now forty years old, and is shown to be a veteran of many battles. Eventually, a commander announces that he intends to replace Todd and the others with a new group of soldiers. This new group of soldiers (who are most likely replicants) have been genetically engineered from DNA profiles. This commander demands that Todd and the other; those trained from birth, are obsolete compared to those gentically engineered. These new soldiers are superior in strength and ability.

Refusing this idea, Todd's own commander suggests that his group are not obsolete, yet are the best. He and the other commander begin several tests designed to determine the better soldiers. In the process of these tests, the two groups of soldiers compete, and end up fighting each other. However, Todd's group are no match for the new group. Severall of Todd's group are killed as a result of this. Todd himself is knocked unconcious, and is believed dead. The genetically engineered soldiers are shown to be superior to Todd's group. This leads to an order that all soldiers of Todd's class be dumped on a waste disposal planet known as Arcadia.

The bodies of Todd and the other dead soldiers are taken abord a waste ship, and transported to Arcadia. However, when the ship approaches Arcadia, Todd wakes up, lying amongst the trash and his dead comrades. He realizes where he is at just as the bottom doors of the ship are opened a few feet above the surface. Todd, along with his dead comrade's bodies, are dumped onto the planet among various waste.

Todd begins walking along the surface when he finds himself in the midst of a large duststorm. After riding it out, he explores his surroundings. Eventually, he runs across a group of fellow humans, who have come from Earth. They live as a closely-knit community among the trash heaps of the planet.

After initial apprehension from some of the settlers, Todd is accepted into their community. He begins a new life with them; difficult because of his mental conditioning. Thinking a man is an enemy, he nearly kills him. It is decided that Todd be exiled from the group.

Cast

Reception

Like its sister film Blade Runner, Soldier was a box office flop. Shot with a rather high budget of $75 milion, the film only took in $15 million worldwide.

Critical reaction was harsh as well; the film's director, Paul Anderson, was heavily criticized for his work, and some considered writer David Peoples to not be up to his usual standards with the screenplay.

References to Blade Runner

Soldier is set within the same fictional universe as the 1982 cult science fiction film Blade Runner
. Writer David Webb Peoples specifically wrote these references in his script for Soldier.

Tannhauser Gate, a location mentioned by Roy Batty in Blade Runner, is referenced three times in Soldier; Near the beginning of the film, Todd's accomplishments can be seen on a computer screen. The screen reads that he was involved in the Battle of Tannhauser Gate. After Todd arrives at the settlement on Arcadia, a woman looks at Todd's arm, which reads, among other things, "Tannhauser Gate." When the woman reveals this to her husband, he replies "Tannhauser Gate was a battle."
Reportedly, the original plan was to actually show the Battle of Tannhauser Gate in the film, but this idea was scrapped during production.
The Shoulder of Orion, another location mentioned by Roy Batty in Blade Runner, is also listed on the computer screen at the beginng of the film as a battle Todd had participated in.
A vehicle from Blade Runner
(known as a "spinner") can be viewed in one scene in the village on Arcadia, while the villagers are celebrating what is apparently Christmas.
David Peoples has also claimed that the soldiers of this film are examples of the engineered life forms (known as "replicants") seen in Blade Runner
The film also obliquely references various elements of works by Phillip K. Dick, who had written the novel on which Blade Runner is based. However, Dick was not involved in Soldier's creation.

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Movies - Soldier

Plot summary

Cast

Reception

References to Blade Runner

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