Best movie of this year hands down!

Film Perfection

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"The Soldier" is a politically loaded, extravagant action-thriller that is very much a product of the Cold War era. Ken Wahl of 'Wiseguy' fame (whatever happened to him?) stars as the title character, a coldly efficient anti-terrorism expert with a squad of four (played by Joaquim de Almeida ("Clear and Present Danger"), Peter Hooten ("The Inglorious Bastards"), cooler than cool Steve James (the "American Ninja" series), and Alexander Spencer). They're an "outside the grid" team that report straight to the director of the C.I.A., and they're called into action when KGB agents, posing as terrorists, steal a nuclear bomb and plant it in a Saudi Arabian oil field, threatening to detonate it. They want Israel to withdraw from the West Bank of Jordan, but didn't count on the Wiseguy factor.You have to turn your brain off a bit watching this gleefully over the top escapism, while it goes and pushes your buttons with zeal. The plot (by director James Glickenhaus, who was following his memorable revenge saga "The Exterminator" at the time) is muddled, but it allows for some extremely impressive set pieces, which of course is what we're really watching this for. You may find some of this material totally implausible, but it's undeniably exciting. One highlight is Wahl escaping down a mountain on skis and turning around in the air to mow down his pursuer.Glickenhaus wastes absolutely no time in amusing the viewer, with Wahl and his comrades baiting a terrorist group into the open so the cretins can get annihilated. The globe trotting aspect is also highly appreciated. Pacing is excellent and those electronic score geniuses Tangerine Dream do wonders with the music.Wahl doesn't have to really DO much with his hero; all we need to know and see is that the guy defines the word "badass". James is as charismatic as ever. The late Canadian beauty Alberta Watson ("The Sweet Hereafter") is a sexy Mossad agent and romantic interest for Wahl. William Prince ("The Gauntlet") is the U.S. President, Jeremiah Sullivan ('The Adams Chronicles') the Russian villain. Buffs will enjoy spotting familiar faces in small roles: Zeljko Ivanek ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"), Jeffrey Jones ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off"), Ned Eisenberg ("The Burning"), Rebecca Schull ('Wings'), and Tom Wright ("Marked for Death"). However, the legendary Klaus Kinski ("Aguirre, the Wrath of God") is utterly wasted in a VERY brief cameo.Provided you don't think about it too much, "The Soldier" shows undemanding action fans a pretty good time.Seven out of 10.

First of all..I co-owned a video store. There was this young teen who would only rent this movie. Over and over and over.. -----This is surely in my top 5 GREAT movies to watch! This material deserves a real Film-DVD or Film-Blue Ray release. IMHO!I saw it when it first came out. It was every bit as shocking as Glickenhaus's other genre movies.. if not more so. I'm also sure its release has been hurt by how accurate it must have been.------The folks that give this movie a bad or low rating.. Well they need to put this movie into context. Unless you were at least 20 years old in 1980.. NONE of this movie will make much sense. Many of the "In" jokes or cold war antics will not be fully understood.Yes we were actually AT WAR with the Russians. Yes a whole lot of goofy stuff happened back then. On both sides of the wall.At the time this movie came out.. This movie made it a point that America was not a super power anymore. We had lost the ability to field troops. Post Vietnam era really took its toll on the Military.We couldn't even launch helicopters to rescue our hostages in Iran. Poorly trained.. Poorly armed.. We were a toothless lion (with nukes) in 1982.Also you need to understand that SCENARIOS such as presented in this picture were actually "Thought about" back then. What if THEY do this? Is there anything WE can do? People forget that under Regan.. America nearly launched WWIII nukes more than 6 times! The scene where the American President orders a first strike against Israel. Then the next scene is the Israeli (guy in charge) being told the strike is coming. Yes it would surely have gone like that. So much for secrets right? To that end.. I'm sure there were rouge "Elite" units active back then. Folks that had the "Keys" and kept up the "Code books" to gain access.There is probably more truth in this movie than any TOM CLANCY book.Yea.. really.PS: From what I understand Glickenhaus is "Not a nice man". His production company has hurt young film makers. (Watch out)

Although this is a cold war thriller,its topical today because the plot was to make it look like terrorists were behind this theft of nuclear material used to plant a bomb in Saudi oil fields and thus make the wests oil supply worthless.The acting was poor save for the fine turn by Alberta Watson as a Mossad agent.Also notable was a very brief bar room scene showing a young George Strait playing in the background.Believe me,that scene was better then the whole retched"Pure Country"movie.Klaus Kinski is also very cold in his brief apperance. Some parts are silly,but this is a movie after all.Don't expect the world,and you'll get a treat.

I saw THE SOLDIER in the theater, on HBO or Movie Channel (I can't remember which), and in college. Now, I was a freshman at a military college, and they showed this one weekend. Everybody cheered during the title sequence, when words like "DEMOCRACY" and pictures of B-52s were shown, and booed for "COMMUNIST" and pictures of Soviet leaders. Yes, it was the height of the Cold War, and we were training to fight the Soviet Menace, the Evil Empire, the Reds. And we all loved the opening scene in Philadelphia, when the limo, targeted by the terrorists, turns out to be bait to draw the bad guys into the open, so Ken Wahl and his team can hose them with their weapons. But, let's face it, the dialogue was bad, and Ken Wahl has two acting modes--steely resolve and steely anger. But it was a fun little movie in which the good guys will, the bad guys lose, and a Porche gets destroyed jumping the Berlin Wall! It's James Bond with naked breasts and more firepower. And, of course, the "Politically Correct" crowd hates it. But THE SOLDIER, like RED DAWN and THE FINAL OPTION, are definitely products of the Cold War. We, the US and NATO, are good. We stand for freedom, democracy, and peace. They, the Soviets and their minions, stood for oppression, conquest, and war. Of course, we are going to win in these films. Did they ever make a movie about WW2 in which the Nazis won? It seems that most people will try to quickly forget the past, even if that past is less that 20 years earlier. Just enjoy films like these for what they are, movies from an earlier era. Just remember, "SKY BLUE ICE DAWN!"