'Soldier' dumps out poor action

"Soldier" centers around one soldier, Todd (his name is tattooed on his face in case one should forget), who was taken from the hospital at birth to be trained to fight for an unknown agency. As shown through several montages, Todd and all of the other lucky choices are trained to feel nothing and become experts at the art of killing. Who exactly the soldiers work for and what they are fighting for is never really provided, which is a disappointment because it would have made it much easier fo

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Kurt Russell stars in "Soldier."

r the audience to relate to the characters.

The story gets going when an officer brings in a new group of supposedly superior soldiers that are meant to replace the adult Todd (Kurt Russell) and the rest of his crew. These new soldiers are better because they weren't picked at birth, they were bred. A sort of "American Gladiators" type contest ensues and by the end Todd is beaten, bloodied and left for dead. He is then tossed into a space ship which dumps him off at the waste disposal center.

One of the more unusual things about Todd is that he doesn't really talk. And while this may be an inspired idea from screenwriter Peoples, it doesn't translate on the screen. Russell doesn't speak a word until a good 30 minutes into the movie, and when he does it's usually in the form of a one or two word grunt. His silence works for a while, but by the middle of the film it begins to hurt the story more than it helps it.

After his near-death experience, Todd awakens to find himself discovered by the inhabitants of the waste world. He can't really express his emotions, and this makes him a near perfect match for the boy who can't talk who he befriends on the planet. Although the people there try to love him, Todd does his best to keep freaking them out, mainly because of the nasty flashbacks he keeps having from his fighting days. Also, the fact that they see him honing his boxing skills with a huge hunk of metal (come on, why not a huge hunk of meat?) makes the soldier seem a little hard to relate to.

Eventually, Todd is given the old heave-ho, which leads in the film's soul searching moment. A misty-eyed Todd (he does have feelings) sits alone and lets the tears roll down, discouraged that he is no longer a soldier or a part of the waste community.

For a special effects-laden science-fiction flick, "Soldier" is directed with little style or flair by Paul Anderson. Paul Thomas Anderson, the genius behind "Boogie Nights?" No, Paul Anderson, the genius behind "Event Horizon" and "Mortal Kombat," and the difference is as clear as day on the screen. Rather than concentrate on the story, Anderson seems more than happy to let explosions and a heavy-handed score move the film along. Anderson's favorite shot seems to be of Todd walking away from a fiery background, and he includes it several times accordingly.

The only area where Anderson shows any directorial touch is in some of the fight scenes. Occasionally, the film will cut to the point of view of a character who is about to get hit with a fist or a bullet and this spices up what could have been standard slug-out scenes. Style points also are in order for Todd's flawless execution of the camel clutch in one tussle. Fans of wrestling will fondly remember the move as the trademark of Sergeant Slaughter, and it's pretty funny to see it slapped on a bad guy on the big screen.

As a film though, "Soldier" is a mess. The story is supposed to be about the redemption of a soldier, but since the audience doesn't care about Todd the movie falls flat on its face. "Soldier" is also a big disappointment for fans of Russell, especially after his gritty performance in the smart action/thriller "Breakdown." The fights are mildly entertaining for awhile, but "Soldier" is just another pointless, big-budget action movie. May it be banished to a movie dump equivalent to the wasteland disposal center from the film.

11-04-98