It can get confusing when trying to figure out the Universal Soldier series. After the 1992 original there were two lower-budget Canadian-lensed follow-ups shot back-to-back in the late 90s (that reminded me of the RoboCop television series spin-off shot in Toronto due to its made-for-TV production values) and then an "official" sequel in 1999 subtitled The Return that refused to acknowledge the existence of the prior two. Now along comes Universal Soldier: Regeneration which is technically the fifth entry - or is it the third? After I tell you the following, you probably won't care, as the most important thing you need to know is that Jean-Claude Van Damme AND Dolph Lundgren agreed to return to the series and even if they're used sparingly and the producers use their presence as a bait and switch drawing card, it's a pretty good thing for fans of the two aging action stars.

Things kick off on a nice and violent note filled with machine guns blazing, high speed car chases, and two high schoolers getting kidnapped by a group of seemingly invincible soldiers. This all turns out to be the work of a terrorist group who've taken up residence in the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant with our hostages being the kids of the Prime Minister and being used a leverage to try and get some of their supporters released from prison. And if the whole ransom angle doesn't work out they've also rigged up the generators with heavy-duty explosives and given 72 hours for their demands to be met.

That's where the UniSols (or Universal Soldiers, if you'd prefer) come in. Deciding to fight fire with fire, the American government sends in their own breed of futuristic soldiers who are quickly dispatched by fellow UniSol NGU (Andrei "Pitbull" Arlovski). At the same time, Luc Devereaux (Van Damme) is being trained by a doctor to integrate himself back into society but ends up being brought out of retirement to go in, save the teens, and diffuse the bomb taking out as many terrorists as necessary - leading to the showdown that you've spent over an hour waiting for.

Despite a jumbled plot, Universal Soldier: Regeneration turned out to be more entertaining than I was expecting. It doesn't even come near to hitting the lows of The Return and I was surprised at how the filmmaker's attempts to explain the back story of the UniSol program using scientist's footage turned out to be quite decent. But decent is the word best used to describe the entire flick. In the hands of director John Hyams this is an efficient actioner and I really dug how he's brought a flow to the sequence where Van Damme's Luc storms the baddies' compound (and resorts to multiple head punches!) but that could also be partially the doing of his cinematographer, and father, John who previously helmed the Van Damme efforts Timecop and Sudden Death as well as directing one of my favourite 80s action-comedies with the Billy Crystal-Gregory Hines buddy flick Running Scared.

Aside from the two name actors, who give the performances you'd expect from them with Jean-Claude being stilted and Lundgren steady as always, the producers have decided to shine the spotlight on UFC fighter Arlovski as he makes the move into action films. He's not really required to do much more than be a one man wrecking crew while delivering the minimal amount of dialogue possible but he certainly fares better than his fellow fighters who've attempted to crossover - with the worst being Hector Echavarria (Death Warrior). The rest of the cast does their jobs fine but it's worth noting Kerry Shale who brings a touch of morbid humour to NGU's handler, Dr. Colin.

I still consider the original Universal Soldier to not only be one of Van Damme's best but also one of the more tolerable efforts from overblown Hollywood Blockbuster creator Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, 2012, The Day After Tomorrow). This is why it was a nice surprise to see the series get the follow-up it deserves rather than the bland mock sequels and quite terrible The Return. If you're a fan of the first then, by all means, give this one a look. It's a well-made, watchable time that gives you exactly what you're anticipating and it must have made enough profit since there's another entry, subtitled A New Dimension, heading into production this year. (Chris Hartley, 3/7/11)

Directed By: John Hyams.
Written By: Victor Ostrovsky.

Starring: Andrei Arlovski, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mike Pyle.