The Soldier (1982)

So much average

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Not being a big fan of Ken Wahls wooden style of acting (if you want to call it that), there was one reason I went and watched „The Soldier": next to Wahls name on the promo-poster, stood the name Klaus Kinski and a Kinski-performance was always something special, no matter how mediocre the film itself.Well, Kinski does appear as the informant 'Dracha' – for an estimated minute and a half. If ever there was a shorter cameo in any movie, the only thing that comes to mind is Harrison Ford's performance in "Bruno". Kinski, notoriously short on cash, looks like he just walked in on the set, while being on vacation in Switzerland, wearing his own ski-suit – let me correct me there: he actually was on vacation and it was his own suit. Though Harrison Fords mentioned guest-appearance in "Bruno" was shorter, the acting was infinitely better, leaving this one of Kinski's weakest performance ever.So, what else do we get in "The Soldier"? We get a suitably no-brainer action flick, produced fast and cheap. No-brainer, because if you'd use that organ between your ears, you'd notice plot-holes that are big enough to swallow an entire galaxy. You'd also notice that director James Glickenhaus has stolen more stunts and action-sequences from more films then I care to remember – or you might not notice it at all, if you're the type of action-fan who'd reply to the question, whether you like James Bond films, with a puzzled, "James… who?" At times it's good and wholesome to turn the thinking-apparatus off for a little while and wallow in cheap acting, cheaper special effects and lots of gunfire and explosions. "The Soldier" is perfect for moments like those – just don't expect a good movie. In other words, you'll get what you wanted, when you rent "The Soldier" – unless you expected "On the Waterfront", and that kid in the video-store gave you the wrong film.7 out of 10 points.

This is the best movie I ever saw in my life. I first saw it when I was 14 year old, and I've watched it over 100 times since then. In fact, I practically watch it every single morning, when I'm nearing my downtime, before going to bed.I always feel a weeping sensation in my heart for those poor KGB agents who get unmercifully executed in the first part of the movie, just because of the stupid mistake of the rookie agent, of forgetting to not keep the baby carriage far enough out in front of her.You all keep forgetting that when the CIA agent jumped the wall into East Berlin, he was surrounded by the EAST German MILITARY, and the HEAD of the KGB training camp said to him "well, it's too bad you weren't able to convince the Americans that you were right!!!" I personally believe that that part about him and his Jewess just walking our of EAST BERLIN was total BULLSHIT!!!!!!!! I think that movie was shown out of sequence, in the wrong order. I don't think those Nuclear Bombs at Silo 8 were being used for an attack against MOSCOW, I think they were being used against ISRAEL, in order to drive the ISRAELIS off the WEST BANK of the JORDAN RIVER!!!!!!!! What I will do is, I will re-edit the movie, and see if I can discover the correct time sequence that points to that conclusion, and then when it get's there, I will merge it will the phone call scene in Miracle Mile, where Dr. Greene gets his little phone call, and Tasha Yar starts planning her failed trip to Antarctica.Do you have your plane tickets from ChristChurch, NZ to Lake Vostok, Russian Federation, handy. You may need them soon.Very truly yours, NVA

Not a great movie, but better than other films. The Soldier is about the cold war between the Soviets and Ameriacans. This movie is similar to James Bond but is more violent than the Bond films. Ken Wahl is the C I A's version of James Bond. However, I find the movie is inferiorly made compared to the Bond series. I hate seeing a few good scenes wasted in a film which has choppy directing, an unbelievable script, and bad acting. I like these kind of films but this movie is like a HBO style, low budget film. I wish the makers had more time and money to make this movie the way it should have been made. The Soldier is an 3 or 5 out of 10. Watch it on late night TV.

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!"