Universal Soldier is a 1992 American military science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich, produced by Allen Shapiro, Craig Baumgarten and Joel B. Michaels, and written by Richard Rothstein, Christopher Leitch and Dean Devlin. The film tells the story of Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a former U.S. Army soldier who was killed in the Vietnam War in 1969, and returned to life following a secret military project called the "Universal Soldier" program. However, he finds out about his past even though his memory was erased, and escapes alongside a young TV journalist (Ally Walker). Along the way, they have to deal with the return of his archenemy, Sgt. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), who had lost his sanity in the Vietnam War, and became a psychotic megalomaniac, intent on killing him and leading the Universal Soldiers.
Universal Soldier was released by TriStar Pictures on July 10, 1992. The film has a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $80 million worldwide against its budget of $23 million and spawned a series of films, including several rather poorly received direct-to-TV films: Universal Soldier: The Return, which has since been removed from the series canon, followed by Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.
