This movie is fun to watch.  There's alot of mindless action scenes, a somewhat decent story and lots of desert.  The movie is about Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, soldiers who die in Vietnam only to be regenerated into......Universal Soldiers!!!

The movie opens with a scene showing both men dying during the Vietnam war, with their bodies being zip upped and shipped off.  Its never said or shown how many years have past, but both men have been recycled into enhanced soldiers under a program that the government may or may not know about.

The first action sequence involves a situation on the Hoover Dam.  Terrorists have taken the dam and make hostages out of the tourists.  They demand ransom, so the military sends in the soldiers.  First a plane lands to unload them, then they are helicopter over water(a mile away from the dam), they are dropped into the water then they swim to the dam; these guys have  s***l-oad of energy.

After taking care of the hostage situation the soldiers are packed up into a 18 wheeler and are off to their next crisis.  Inside the 18 wheeler houses chairs where they rest and re-energize for their next assignment.  A secretive team of scientists watches over them, making sure they are healed and delivering any vaccines that are necessary.

Van Damme's character experiences flashbacks and the main story is the search for his past identity with the help of a female reporter who wishes to expose the soldier program.  There's several action sequences in the movie and they are done well enough that an action movie fan will appreciate them.  The end sequence that takes place on a farm could have been improved; its doesn't interest me to see characters die via farm equipment.

The plot is fairly basic, but the action scenes are great.  There's a constant back and forth between Van Damme and Lundgren as Lundgren goes nuts and decides to track down Van Damme and the reporter and kill them both.  The movie has a unique idea with the super-soldiers concept, the sequels never caught my attention though.
This movie is fun to watch. There's alot of mindless action scenes, a somewhat decent story and lots of desert. The movie is about Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, soldiers who die in Vietnam only to be regenerated into.... .. Universal Soldiers!!! The movie opens with a scene showing both men dying during the Vietnam war, with their bodies being zip upped and shipped off. Its never said or shown how many years have past, but both men have been recycled into enhanced soldiers under a program that the government may or may not know about. The first action sequence involves a situation on the Hoover Dam. Terrorists have taken the dam and make hostages out of the tourists. They demand ransom, so the military sends in the soldiers. First a plane lands to unload them, then they are helicopter over water(a mile away from the dam), they are dropped into the water then they swim to the dam; these guys have  s***l-oad of energy. After taking care of the hostage situation the soldiers are packed up into a 18 wheeler and are off to their next crisis. Inside the 18 wheeler houses chairs where they rest and re-energize for their next assignment. A secretive team of scientists watches over them, making sure they are healed and delivering any vaccines that are necessary. Van Damme's character experiences flashbacks and the main story is the search for his past identity with the help of a female reporter who wishes to expose the soldier program. There's several action sequences in the movie and they are done well enough that an action movie fan will appreciate them. The end sequence that takes place on a farm could have been improved; its doesn't interest me to see characters die via farm equipment. The plot is fairly basic, but the action scenes are great. There's a constant back and forth between Van Damme and Lundgren as Lundgren goes nuts and decides to track down Van Damme and the reporter and kill them both. The movie has a unique idea with the super-soldiers concept, the sequels never caught my attention though.