Soldier - Arrow Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

In all honesty, Paul W.S. Anderson's Soldier is just pure mindless fun, and I have always loved this cult sci-fi actioner for precisely that since first seeing it in theaters. Part of my enjoyment is Anderson's sometimes weirdly creative, sometimes bizarrely inspiring choices. My favorite moment is about half an hour in, when suddenly the movie turns into a music video for Loreena McKennitt's "Night Ride Across the Caucasus." At first, the montage seems to be from the perspective of Kurt Russell's ruthlessly apathetic soldier, Todd 3465, admiring the people of the garbage planet. But this quickly evolves into Todd fawning over Connie Nielsen's Sandra doing mundane house chores. Essentially, the whole thing turns him into a prepubescent middle-aged man discovering tingling feelings in his "no-no zone." And it makes me laugh every time.

My other love for this movie is the amazing cinematography and production design, with big, fantastical sets that bring the gritty, grungy town and planet to life, adding tactile realism to the world-building. The late 90s CGI effects, unfortunately, don't hold up well nearly thirty years later, but thankfully, they don't distract from admiring the brilliant work that went into building these remarkable sets. Additionally, I appreciate the simplicity of David Webb Peoples' script, a straightforward plot about a heavily disciplined soldier being replaced by a genetically engineered warrior and discarded like old-tech junk onto a literal garbage planet. And it all builds at a steady pace to a final hand-to-hand showdown against his replacement, making for a satisfying popcorn flick on a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

For another take on the movie, you can read our review of the Blu-ray HERE. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Courtesy of Arrow Video, Paul W.S. Anderson's Soldier invades home theaters as a single-disc, limited-edition 4K Ultra HD package. Housed in their standard black keepcase with reversible cover art and a slipcover, the Region Free, triple-layered UHD100 disc sits comfortably opposite a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Priscilla Page. At startup, the disc goes straight to a menu screen with full-motion clips, the usual selection along the bottom and music playing in the background.

Sourced from a new restoration of the film elements, which was approved by Paul W.S. Anderson, the cult sci-fi actioner lands on Ultra HD equipped with an impressive and beautiful-looking HEVC H.265 encode, offering fans a massive improvement over the previous Blu-ray release. 

The native 4K transfer is highly detailed and sharp for a majority of the runtime. A few softer and poorly resolved moments creep up here and there, but such instances are related to the visual effects and photography style of the period. Overall, viewers can better appreciate the work that went into the production and stage design while awash in a noticeable thin layer of natural grain. The Dolby Vision HDR grade comes with a fuller, bolder palette, bathing the visuals in deep reds, lively blues and vibrant fiery oranges. Facial complexions are also highly revealing with a lovely, lifelike peachy-rose tone in the entire cast. Contrast and brightness are on point, showering the image with vivid, brilliant whites and resplendent, crisp specular highlights. Black levels are accurate and inky with excellent shadow details, and the scene with the genetically enhanced soldiers arriving at the garbage planet, around the 49:38-minute mark, is a great example of the remarkable blacks, making for an outstanding 2.39:1 video for a fun actioner. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 86/100)

Although we don't have any official word on whether the audio was also remastered, this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack feels and sounds as though it has. Comparatively, this lossless mix offers some notable improvements over the previous Blu-ray. For one, dialogue reproduction is better balanced with the rest of the design, prioritizing the vocals during the louder, action-packed segments. Imaging feels expansive and dynamic with clean distinction in the midrange, maintaining excellent clarity during explosions, gunshots and Joel McNeely's score. A powerful and sometimes authoritative low-end supplies some weight and presence to the visuals. Various atmospherics smoothly pan between the surrounds and fronts, generating a satisfying and mostly immersive soundfield that drops viewers in the middle of the action. (Audio Rating: 88/100)

A couple years short of its 30th anniversary, this UHD edition hosts a slew of new bonus features for fans to enjoy. Outside of the audio commentary, the supplemental material is exclusive to this release. All told, you're getting over two hours of content plus commentary time. 

• Audio Commentary with director Paul W.S. Anderson, co-producer Jeremy Bolt and star Jason Isaacs
• NEW Weapons of Mass Creation (HD, 18 min) sees Barron return but joined by fellow visual effects supervisor Van Ling and miniature supervisor Michael Joyce
• NEW Designing for the Future (HD, 14 min) is an interview with production designer David L. Snyder
• NEW Fire in the Hole! (HD, 13 min) is an interview with assistant director Dennis Maguire
• NEW We Don't Need Another Hero (HD, 12 min) is a new retrospective with film historian Heath Holland
• NEW Reporting for Duty (HD, 10 min) is an interview with star James Black
• NEW On the Front Lines (HD, 10 min) is an interview with associate producer Fred Fontana
• NEW A Soldier's Journey (HD, 7 min) is an interview with author Danny Stewart
• NEW VFX Before and After (HD, 5 min) is a look at the special effects with visual effects supervisor Craig Barron
• Electronic Press Kit (1080i/60) houses two archival EPK packages:
• Featurette (7 min)
• Behind the Scenes (15 min)
• On-Set Interviews (1080i/60, 17 min) is a small collection of cast & crew interviews
• Image Gallery (HD)
• Trailers (1080i/60) comes with six theatrical previews

In spite of its flaws, Paul W.S. Anderson's Soldier is nonetheless a "good 'ol fun time at the movies" with a simple, straightforward premise about a merciless, stoical soldier going through an emotional awakening. Starring Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee, Jason Isaacs, and Gary Busey, the sci-fi actioner bombed at theaters but has since then grown into a beloved cult favorite, and for good reason - it's wildly entertaining. Courtesy of Arrow Films, the movie lands on 4K Ultra HD with a beautiful-looking Dolby Vision HDR presentation and an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, giving fans a notable improvement over the previous Blu-ray release. With a host of brand-new supplements that are exclusive to this package, this UHD is Highly Recommended.

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