Soldier 4K (1998)

Director Paul W S Anderson’s big budget Kurt Russell-starring SF actioner SOLDIER, a film that went straight to video in the UK back in the day, finally gets a whistles and bells 4K release from Arrow Films.

We’re in the world of BLADE RUNNER. It’s not specifically spelled out but there are clues which are confirmed in the extras. Todd (Russell) has been literally been trained from birth to be a soldier, as we see in the film’s opening sequence. He’s been victorious in battle many times (check out his commendations in the bottom right hand corner of the profile we are shown) but now his kind of operative is on the way out, to be replaced by Jason Isaacs’ elite genetically engineered commandos, the most massive of which is Caine (Jason Scott Lee).

Dumped on a garbage planet, our hero discovers a community that includes Sean Pertwee and Connie Nielsen. He tries to fit in but is eventually banished for not being as successful as the others would like. However, Jason Isaacs is on his way with his new task force to unleash havoc and Todd is going to have to save them all.

SOLDIER looks expensive, boasting massive sets, impressive military vehicles, and Michael Bay levels of explosions. It’s admittedly all a bit one-note and for a film many of its praisers consider to be ‘SHANE in space’ there’s far less concentration on character and a lot more on hardware. That said, it’s an entertaining B movie and would have looked (and sounded) great on the big screen it didn’t even reach in the UK.

Arrow’s 4K restoration is director approved and really allows you to see the amount of detail that’s gone into both the production design and the explosive stunts. Director Anderson and co-producer Jeremy Bolt provide an excellent (archival) commentary track and they’re joined by Jason Isaacs about 43 minutes in. 

Extras new to Arrow’s disc include a bunch of interviews with actor James Black (10 minutes), 1st a.d. Dennis Maguire (13 minutes), associate producer Fred Fontana (10 minutes), production designer David L Snyder (14 minutes), the VFX team (19 minutes), Danny Stewart who wrote the making of book (7 minutes), and film historian Heath Holland who offers a reappraisal of the film (12 minutes). There’s also a five minute piece on the VFX with commentary by FX supervisor Craig Barron.

Other archival extras include the electronic press kit consisting of featurette (7 minutes) and 15 minutes of behind the scenes footage, plus a bunch of tiny interviews (some less than a minute) with the cast. You also get trailers, a still gallery and the limited edition also comes with a booklet with new writing on the film, plus a reversible sleeve.

Paul W S Anderson’s SOLDIER is out on 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 27th April 2026