Universal Soldier: The Return

"Prepare to become obsolete."

1999 1h 22m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 1,380

ActionScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Luc Deveraux, the heroic former Universal Soldier, is about to be thrown into action once again. When SETH, the supercomputer-controlled ultra-warrior, decides to take revenge and destroy its creators, only Luc can stop it. All hell breaks loose as Luc battles SETH and a deadly team of perfect soldiers in a struggle that pits man against machine and good against evil.

“Prepare to become obsolete.”

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Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Luc Deveraux
Kiana Tom
Maggie
Bill Goldberg
Romeo
Michael Jai White
SETH
Heidi Schanz
Erin Young, KTXD
Xander Berkeley
Dr. Dylan Cotner
Justin Lazard
Captain Blackburn
Daniel von Bargen
General Radford

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mic Rodgers
Writers: John Fasano, William Malone
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 32% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "Universal Soldier Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mic Rodgers, shot by Mike Benson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Don Davis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peck Prior shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kiana Tom and Bill Goldberg carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mic Rodgers directs. Mike Benson behind the camera. Don Davis scores. Peck Prior cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 32% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
327 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Universal Soldier Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Mic Rodgers, shot by Mike Benson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Don Davis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Peck Prior shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kiana Tom and Bill Goldberg carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Prepare to become obsolete.".
10IMDB entry: tt0176269 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Mike Benson
Original score: Don Davis
Editing: Peck Prior
Production design: David Chapman
Costume design: Jennifer Bryan
Makeup / hair: Melissa Forney
Stunt coordinator: Michael Runyard
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $33,500,000
Box office: $10,667,893
Return: 32% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)

Part of

Universal Soldier Collection

The Universal Soldier film series concerns soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead soldiers. This premise furnishes the plot framework for all the sequels.

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Sierbahnn2026-05-10
★ 5/10
This might be the last of these that is a "movie" A TV-movie, sure, but still an actual movie. The ones after this are just shlock coasting on the name and the fact that Jean-Claude and Dolph can make money by visiting the set for a few days. This movie, is in fact a movie. Not a very good one, mind you, but still a movie. It has a plot, nonsense, characters, progression and a ticking clock. It isn't altogether bad, for what it is. Shame that the franchise just sort of went down the tubes after this one. Happy to see Bill here though - great addition.

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