Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms

Following the events of the original Universal Soldier, the budget of the program has been cut by the government. However, under the orders of a CIA director, a gang of mercenaries take control of the new line of Universal Soldiers to use them in the diamond smuggling business.

Luc Deveraux, survivor of the first incident with the Universal Soldiers, continues to cause problems, while the enemy takes his newly found brother and news reporter Veronica Roberts prisoners.[1]

In 1995, the embattled Carolco Pictures sold the television rights to its Universal Soldier franchise to Toronto-based Skyvision Entertainment. The Canadian company had a business strategy of turning successful theatrical films into television properties, and had already done so with RoboCop.[2] A series of four television films was considered, but a change of ownership at Skyvision's parent company Labatt led to a scaling back of its entertainment endeavours. Former Skyvision executive Kevin Gillis revived the project at his new employer Catalyst Entertainment, in association with American outfit Durrant Fox Productions.[3] The project was reformatted as a pair of television films, with eyes on a possible syndicated series.[3]

The film recasts former professional gridiron football player Matt Battaglia as Luc Deveraux, and introduces a long-lost brother named Eric Deveraux, played by Canadian actor and martial artist Jeff Wincott.[1]

Brothers in Arms picks up right at the end of the original Universal Soldier, with the final fight from that film re-enacted by Battaglia and Andrew Jackson (in a brief appearance as Andrew Scott/GR13). It then introduces a new primary villain, security expert Otto Mazur, played by Gary Busey. Burt Reynolds appears in a limited capacity as overarching antagonist "Mentor", who takes greater importance in the sequel, Unfinished Business.[4]

The "Mentor" role was cast only a few days before the shoot, and Reynolds agreed to join the production on short notice as a favor to Battaglia. The veteran actor was a friend of Battaglia's father Carmello, with whom he played college football,[5][6] and recommended his son try acting.[3] Battaglia, to whom Reynolds was a real-life mentor, had previously supported the star on several shows he headlined.[5] Battaglia described the filming of Universal Soldier as an overall smooth experience, with the notable exception of his relationship with Busey, whom he found difficult to work with.[5]

Brothers in Arms and Unfinished Business were primarily shot in Southern Ontario over 42 days[3][5] spread between 27 October[3] and 23 December 1997.[5] Downsview Military Base was used as the UniSols' operations center.[5] Both pictures were shot concurrently, with the schedule alternating between scenes from each film.[5] The two sequels had an aggregate budget of $10.7 million.[3]

Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms premiered on cable television via The Movie Channel, a sister channel of Showtime, on 27 September 1998. It was released on VHS by Paramount Home Video on 22 June 1999.[7] According to Battaglia, Universal Soldier II and III—or a combination of both—were at some point considered to become Showtime's first theatrical releases, before they reverted to TV premieres.[6]

Brothers in Arms received a 2002 DVD release by TVA Films in Canada, as part of a double feature that also includes the next installment Unfinished Business.[8]

Some German home video versions of the film are sold as Neu Bearbeitete Fassung (Newly Edited Version), but this merely indicates that they are cut for violence.[9][10]

• Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms at IMDb
• Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms at Rotten Tomatoes