Good films entertain, but great films inspire. In the case ofRidley Scott’sBlade Runner, the cyberpunk crime thriller would grow from a cult classic to a cornerstone of science fiction,with its take on AIinspiring films likeEx MachinaandThe Creator.Harrison Fordadded another iconic role to the roster with his portrayal of the titular “blade runner” Rick Deckard.Blade Runneralso kickstarted a wave of films based on the work ofPhilip K. Dick, effectively reinforcing Dick’s reputation as one of the more iconic science fiction writers who ever lived.
While it took decades for aBlade Runnerfilm to make it to the silver screen, its influence would end up gracing many films. The biggest example is perhapsSoldier,a 1998 film starringKurt Russell.Blade RunnerscreenwriterDavid Peeplesconcocted a storythat had more than a few ties to the firstBlade Runnerfilmdespite the two being completely separate projects.
A highly trained soldier, engineered for combat and discarded in favor of a new breed of fighters, struggles to adapt to a peaceful society on a distant planet. His resolve is tested when the planet becomes a battleground, forcing him to tap into his old skills to protect the colony’s vulnerable inhabitants.
What Is Kurt Russell’s ‘Soldier’ About?
The plot ofSoldiertakes a science fiction approach to the “nature versus nurture” question by asking: “What happens when you raise children to follow strict military discipline?” In the case of Todd 3645 (Russell), war is all he knows. He was trained from birth to be a fighting machinebut is discarded and replaced by a genetically engineered class of superhuman soldiers. Todd is abandoned on the planet Arcadia 234, where he slowly starts to grow closer to the inhabitants. Two things complicate his new life: unlike him, the colonists are pacifists. His former CO, Colonel Mekum (Jason Issacs) decides to use Arcadia 234 as a training ground for the new supersoldiers, putting Todd’s new friends at risk and forcing him to use his skills to defend his home.
‘Soldier’s Scenery Contains Subtle References to ‘Blade Runner’
The connections betweenBlade RunnerandSoldierwould only be visible to the most eagle-eyed viewers, but they’re fairly surprising. When he’s dropped off at Arcadia 234,Todd passes the wreckage of a Spinner. The Spinner was the flying vehicle that Deckard used to transport himself through the towering skyscrapers of Los Angeles in 2019 and its presence inSoldierhints that this film may be set in the same world asBlade Runner. Another sequence lists Todd’s military records, which notes that he participated in battles at the Tannenhauser Gate and the Shoulder of Orion. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) referenced both of those battlesduring hisiconic monologue at the end ofBlade Runner. Fans of Russell’s films should also keep an eye out forTodd’s other awards, which pay homage to his previous roles inThe Thing,Escape From New York, andStargate.
Another element that connectsBlade RunnerandSoldieris the theme of identity.Blade Runnerhas Deckard re-thinking his stance on replicants after he falls in love with Rachel (Sean Young), and Batty and his fellow replicants are also trying to survive in a world that sees them as little more than expendable. Todd also goes through an identity crisis inSoldier,which leads him to form a connection with a family of colonists: Mace (Sean Pertwee), Sandra (Connie Nielsen), and their son Nathan (Jared & Taylor Thorne). This connection leads him to defend Arcadia from the incoming super soldiers.
‘Soldier’s Biggest Draw Is Kurt Russell’s Performance
Soldierhas a few elements that make it worth a watch. Chief among them isKurt Russell’s performanceas Todd,and how he evolves throughout the film. Todd starts off as a stoic warrior, who doesn’t have much to say — in fact, Russell only speaks 104 words throughout the film. This changes when he’s dumped off at Arcadia; Todd slowly opens up to the colonists, and takes a shine to Nathan, even saving the boy from a poisonous snake. Russell lets his facial expressions do most of the work, slowly moving from icy stoicism to warm acceptance.
This is just another example of howRussell continued to break out of boxesthroughout his career.BeforeSoldier, he was known for playing cynical, wise-cracking tough guys. Prior to that, he had a solid run as a child actor, particularly in Disney films. Playing a near-emotionless supersoldier looked like it would be outside Russell’s wheelhouse, but he rose to the challenge. His performance also helpsSoldierstand out from the glut of hyperviolent action films that peppered the ’80s, as it added a layer of unexpected depth to the story.
‘Soldier’s Screenwriter Insists the ‘Blade Runner’ Connection Was a Coincidence
ThoughSoldierfeatures a few connections toBlade Runner,Peeples insisted those connections were purely coincidental. In fact, he claims that another sci-fi film was a far bigger influence on him:The Terminator.Peeples elaborated on his inspirationsin the bookSoldier: From Script To Screen:
“No, I never had any thoughts about that… I wroteSoldierin 1984. Very quickly on my own. I wrote it because I saw the firstTerminatorin the theater, stunned. And it was such a wonderful movie. I’d always wanted to write a movie in which there was a tough guy who would be seemingly unsympathetic in the lead, and I felt thatThe Terminatorwas almost there. Later in the sequel, it was determined he was the hero, but at the time, he was sort of a villain. But the fact is, he was so great. I went off, and I decided to write about this soldier.”
Soldiershares far more similarities with a pair of Western films:ShaneandPale Rider. Both films deal with a mysterious stranger that rides into a small town with a checkered past, and what happens when that past comes back to haunt them. Todd shares quite a bit in common withShane’s titular gunfighter (Alan Ladd) andPale Rider’s Preacher (Clint Eastwood); all three men are attempting to outrun the shadow of violence that haunts them, but in the end they use violence to defend the people they’ve grown close to. Russell’s performance is also a 180 from his previous roles; in contrast to the more cynical, pragmatic Snake Plissken or the wisecracking Jack Burton fromBig Trouble in Little ChinaTodd’s more stoic, rarely speaking. It means that Russell had to convey a wide array of emotions with his body presence, especially his thousand-yard stare. Over time, actual emotions, including relief, flood his face,hinting at Todd regaining some semblance of humanity.
Kurt Russell Isn’t What Makes ‘Tombstone’ a Great Western
Kurt Russell is awesome, so this is really saying a lot.
In fact, directorPaul W.S. Anderson intended forSoldierto be a Western, citingShaneas a specific reference. But the storm known as El Niño, along with Russell’s desire to bulk up, led to the project beng pushed backand severely underperforming at the box office. When reflecting onSoldier, Anderson said he wishes the final product would havekept more of its Western nature. “I think when Kurt first lands on the planet … he goes through the bones of an old abandoned spaceship, and it looks like the ribs, the carcass of a whale, and it has all these grave markers there. That to me was the kind of imagery I wanted to put onscreen and get more of. Even if its connections toBlade Runnerare fairly faint,Soldieris still worth a watchfor its themes of “nature vs nurture” and how they blend perfectly well with the sci-fi setting.
