Comeuppance Reviews Evil Russians steal some nukes, plant them in an oil field, and threaten to detonate them, thereby contaminating a large part of the world's oil supply. For some unexplained reason, they are anti-Israel bigots who want to move the Israelis off the West Bank. Sadly, The President (that's actually his credited character name) (Prince) is all too willing to comply. But there's one more ace up the USA's sleeve: The Soldier (Wahl). He's a highly-trained agent who controls a super-secretive and elite unit, and he's working with the Israelis to save the world.This movie has a killer opening sequence that really pulls you in. Its themes of terrorism and anti-Semitism (even from the highest levels of government) are, disturbingly, quite relevant and even prescient for today. The Soldier, for all it's 80's-style anti-commie plot threads (not that those are a bad thing in any way), was ahead of its time. Plus it has an unbeatable combination of Ken Wahl and Steve James fighting the baddies. So for that alone The Soldier is worth seeking out.Of course, there is some top-notch stuntwork as well. The ski chase sequence is a movie highlight, and director Glickenhaus must have loved it so much, he also included it in his movie Shakedown. Sam Elliott is watching it in the movie theater. It's truly Glickenhaus on Glickenhaus. And it's top-notch Glickenhaus. He's only directed eight movies, and out of those, The Soldier stands out. He's adept at action sequences, as amply proved here.Wahl is cool, and he's as cool here as we've ever seen him. He should have done more projects like this. His sweaters are very stylish and we liked his attitude. As for Klaus Kinski, one of the most underrated actors of all time, he does about a five minute cameo and has no spoken dialogue. Hmmmm...talk about a paycheck role. The Soldier could have been improved if Kinski was the main bad guy and Wahl had to face off against him. That would have been awesome. Chalk that up to a missed opportunity.Loaded with three of the best things you can ask for in a movie like this: top-quality stunts, over-the-top action violence and 80's atmosphere, these elements overcome some plot weaknesses. Additionally, the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream rules.You should definitely enlist The Soldier into your collection.For more action insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

kilted911 I saw it when it first came out, and I think I was a sophomore in high school. Carter and his "maliase" (pardon the spelling) were out, Reagan and his pro-America anti-evil empire were in. The Soviets were considered a real threat. Perhaps like today's Bin Laden with a few thousand nukes pointed at us.Yes, the acting tended to be stiff, and there were some things that happened in the movie that didn't make too much sense. You know what? It was not a documentary. Tangerine Dream did an excellent job with the score, the opening scene was great, good action sequences that were of course pro-American, and it had a patriotic ending. It was a good movie for it's time. Back in 1982, it was considered very cool to be very patriotic, and this movie fit the time.

thunders-1 I saw this movie late one night on HBO about 20 years ago. At that time, I found it riveting, because that was when the Cold War was still going on, and the premise seemed reasonable enough.Nowadays, it comes off as a really silly piece of right-wing propaganda, along the lines of "Rambo" and "Red Dawn." Oh well, it was a reflection of the times, i.e. Reagan's defense build-up, "Evil Empire" speech, etc.However, I still have fond memories of this movie, because it's still highly enjoyable, in its own silly way. That ski chase scene was way cool, especially when the Soldier spun around in mid air and sprayed the bad guys. Even James Bond never pulled that one off.

JohnFontaine Although the actors did a professional, best-that-they-could job with "The Soldier", we are asked to believe that, given the circumstances, the United States would launch a nuclear attack against Israel. Added to this insult to both intelligence and patriotism is the concept that US Armed Forces would transport nuclear material with only two, count 'em, two LTD's as escorts. Ofcourse, if you're ready to believe that, then you'll have no trouble with the ( only ) three men it takes to highjack the plutonium. Then again, it only takes the same amount of guys to - get this - sneak into an Air Force missile base and commandeer a missile silo. Not to worry, though, they're on our side and they are aiming the mega - death at Moscow. Given the anti - American sentiment of the film, it's amazing that they're not pointing the ICBM at the Rose Garden.In fact, the producers again and again seem to see the US as either brain - dead or totally amoral, though the former attempt a visual disclaimer by having the hero and heroine wind up at the Statue of Liberty. The real heroes, the Twin Towers, stand painfully in the background.A positive note, though: the producers did have the good taste to include a Porsche Turbo. However, in another hole big enough to drive a semi through, the Porsche isn't able to outrun a Jeep!Perhaps, the producers were aiming for some kind avant - garde satire, foradd to all this a Jewish interrogator - dominatrix. Gotta be an avant - garde satire. If only they could have afforded Woody Allen.