John’s PKD flashback review of “Soldier,” Sept. 14, 2020
“Soldier” – “Rambo” meets “The Terminator” meets “Blade Runner” with a twist: The soldiers of the future are not robots, they are human beings who have had their humanity stripped away. Todd (Kurt Russell) doesn’t say much, but that lifeless expression on his face is worth 1,000 words. Paul Anderson’s film features powerful moments as Todd discovers emotions. It throws in a wealth of themes – the dangers of technology, the horrors of war, the value of human rights (even the bad guys are victims of this society) – along with clever action scenes and wonderfully bleak landscapes. At one hour and 40 minutes, it’s too short.
– John Hansen, NDSU Spectrum, January 1999