Author seancarslake

Tomb Raider II – Venice remastered.

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True fans of the original Tomb Raider games on PS1 would have already played through the remastered versions that came out last year, so I admit that this report is considerably behind the times.

However, I like to take things slowly when playing and often pause the action to capture screenshots of the new and improved game, and then create a side-by-side comparison with the original title from twenty-five years ago.

All excuses aside, here are my best captures from Venice; arguably the most iconic location featured across the entire Tomb Raider series. I have chosen shots where the differences between the new and old versions are at their most obvious.

Within each screenshot, the 2024 remastered version is featured above, while the original 1997 game is shown below.

Outside the entrance to Bartoli’s Hideout.

Exploring a mansion. (Note the difference in lighting.)

An outside courtyard, complete with lemon trees.

The tricky chandelier puzzle room.

Climbable bookshelf and escape window. See how the lighting issues in the newer version of the game persist?

The domed roof of the opera house.

Interior shot of the opera house. Note the addition of a chandelier in the updated game.

I love the wooden paneling, and the ornamental light is a nice touch.

And finally, the seaplane in which Lara escapes on. The artwork on the side of the aircraft (possibly inspired by Jane Fonda as Barbarella) is improved out-of-sight in the remastered version.

Following on from the comparison shots, below is a collection of single snaps from the Venice chapters of Tomb Raider II; pictures that I feel capture the essence of the game and highlight the excellent work that went into upgrading the graphics.

This is a great shot, and the late afternoon sky looks amazing.

Jumping from chandelier to chandelier in Marco Bartoli’s hideout.

The opera house – with maze-like balconies and villains aplenty.

Taking a speedboat ride through the canals.

And last but not least, a snapshot of some swinging crates. How or why they are able to sway perpetually and with such force is never explained. It may defy science, but it looks good!

Overall, the Venice levels in Tomb Raider II were enjoyable to play, and featured a mixture of breathtaking yet bizarre locations. The bad guys were tough – as were their attack dogs – and for a while there I had to survive on half a health bar and no medipacks. But as the levels progressed there were plenty of pickups available and I managed to pass the test without too many difficulties.

I’m still working my way through the game, but am struggling a bit with the catacombs level in Tibet. I have taken a ton of screenshots though, so I might share my thoughts on the underwater chapters or the initial Tibetan stages at a later date.

Artwork and screenshots courtesy of Core Design and Aspyr.

Coles self-serve checkouts – A coin collector’s dream.

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There are all sorts of coins – both circulated and non-circulated – being spat out of the self-serve cash registers at Coles these days.

I’ve collected quite a number over the past six months, and there has been a sharp increase over the last week or two – which has prompted me to write this report. I keep finding one-dollar coins belonging to collections, forty-year-old coins shining in near-mint condition, and foreign coins being passed off as Australian currency.

Whenever I find a collectible coin from the auto-checkouts, I place it inside a plastic zip bag before sorting it into an album. The above photo shows around four to five months worth.

I photographed some of the more interesting coins that have come into my possession through these self-serve registers, and they are presented below.

These two are from the ‘Aussie Big Things’ collection from 2023 – and feature The Big Banana at Coffs Harbour and The Giant Murray Cod at Swan Hill ($1 coins).

Two AFL coins from 2024 featuring both men’s and women’s competitions; specifically the medals awarded for Player of the Season ($1 coins).

‘A-Z of Australian Things’ collection. These coins are from different series – with the ‘W for Weet-Bix’ from 2019 and ‘O for Opal’ being released in 2022 ($1 coins).

I come across a lot of these dinosaur coins, but I am yet to find the missing one to complete the set. The series of four was released in 2022 ($1 coins).

This one-dollar coin is also part of a set – I think of four – that was released in 2023.

It also pays to check your silver lower-denominations as well, as this is a 2018 uncirculated twenty-cent coin commemorating the ANZAC one-hundred year anniversary.

All of the above coins were not put into circulation, and could only be purchased from either the Royal Australian Mint, the post office or a coin dealer. However, they are legal tender and can be used for shopping; and evidently this is what’s happening.

For those observant enough to see no monetary value on some of these designs, I can inform you that the amount of ‘one dollar’ appears on their reverse sides. Therefore these are coins, and not ’rounds’.

Now onto some more common – but still collectible – items that I have found.

This is a one dollar coin that was released into circulation back in 2019. It was part of a set of three with different mint marks – ‘A’, ‘U’, and ‘S’ – and was created as a competition or challenge to collect each coin and win prizes from the mint.

This is from the 2001 Centenary of Federation collection. I am finding a lot of these in really good condition, and they are worth keeping an eye out for, as there are different coins – nine altogether – for every state and territory.

This is a New Zealand fifty-cent coin, and is the same size as our ten cent piece. I suppose if anyone wants to trick the self-serve machine into thinking this is an Aussie coin, then fair enough – however its true value would be around forty-five cents.

Here is another foreign coin being used as ten Australian cents, with this one originating from the UAE, as you can clearly see from the markings. I suppose it makes sense that people are using overseas coins, as more often than not they would be worth less than the local currency (unless you’re a Kiwi handing over forty-five cents instead of ten).

In summary, if you are a coin enthusiast it does pay to check the change you are given – especially with what these auto-machines have been dispensing lately.

Therefore, I suspect that there are a lot of hidden treasures inside these checkout machines – at both Coles and Woolworths. With only two or three cash checkouts in each supermarket, the odds of finding a collectible coin are reasonable, but you better be quick before they go 100% cashless!

‘Empire of the Dark’ is pure B-Grade genius!

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An out-of-shape middle-aged leading man takes on sword-wielding Satanic priests, demons, gun-toting villains and more in this 1991 horror/action thriller!

Written, directed by and starring Steve Barkett (who sadly passed away in 2023), this feature has all the hallmarks of a vanity project – re Neil Breen or John De Hart – but turns out to be a pretty solid flick. One simply needs to see beyond the flaws of this ambitious low-budget film to be able to enjoy the spectacle that it truly is.

Barkett stars as Richard Flynn, who while working as a cop, enters through a portal into Hell to rescue his ex-girlfriend’s baby son before he is sacrificed by devil worshippers. The film then skips twenty years to when Flynn is now a private eye, and is forced to battle the evil acolytes of Satan once again!

Barkett clearly considers himself to be an action man, and his screenplay and direction suggests as much, as he is constantly killing bad guys and romancing women way out of his league. However, he delivers a lot of tongue-in-cheek comments and one-liners, hinting that he is aware of his physical shortcomings, and decides to run with it anyway. What this does is bring a lot of charm and character to the film, and you end up really liking the guy and cheering him on.

The soundtrack to this movie – from composer John Morgan – is quite good, from the opening theme to the catchy incidental music featured throughout the film. I have watched bigger – and supposedly better – productions whose musical scores were nowhere near as memorable as this effort.

The special effects were decent in places, especially the modelling of the hellish caves and wooden bridges and platforms within the underground labyrinth. However, the stop-start animation that brought the main demon to life was a bit ‘how ya going’, as we say in Australia. Perhaps ‘questionable’ might be a more widely-recognised term, but you can appreciate what the film-makers were trying to do.

As far as action goes, ‘Empire of the Dark’ delivers the goods. There is an endless supply of hooded evil disciples trying to kill our hero, who fights them all off with either a gun or a sword, while less-than-gracefully executing moves that are awkward and sluggish yet somehow appear on screen as poetry in slow-motion. It’s comedy through and through, and Steve Barkett is right on point here; really hamming things up and breaking the fourth wall on at least one occasion.

‘Empire of the Dark’ has a 4.8 rating out of 10 at IMDB, and I think this is just about right. This is not a great movie, especially with the poor acting and ridiculous plot, but nor is it a complete dud. This film is watchable and quite entertaining, and as mentioned earlier it has a certain charm – or affability – that gets it across the line.

It’s a solid 3 out of 5 from me. Yes, it’s a ‘bad’ movie but it’s one you can laugh along with. I also think it’s a shame we didn’t see Steve Barkett in more mainstream movies over the years.

There was an episode of ‘So Bad It’s Good’ on YouTube a few years back, where they reviewed this movie and seemingly enjoyed it as well. It’s worth watching, so I’ve added the link below.

But if you are feeling a little more adventurous, the entire film is also available on YouTube. I’m not sure if the link will work due to age restrictions, but it is provided below – courtesy of Jacohsc Films YouTube Channel.

Screenshots courtesy of the Nautilus Film Company.

The Blind Date Ball

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My latest offering should be available on Kindle Unlimited in June.

This will be my ninth book – tenth if you count ‘Lockdown Driver Wanted’ – and is the first direct sequel that I have written, as it follows on from the events of ‘Nine Mile Beach’.

The story revolves around two young men – who have been friends since childhood – and the vastly different turns their lives take after becoming involved in a match-making social event.

Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, but I can’t give too much away. What I can say is that the title was almost going to be ‘The Blind Date Ball: A Misogynist’s Tale’ – so that might suggest something about one of the main characters in the book. I’m still 50/50 on whether or not I should still use that additional line.

Currently I am in the final stages of editing, having completed the previous draft back in October last year, and in all honesty it’s looking pretty good at this stage.

I’m old and slow, but I finished ‘Tomb Raider Remastered’.

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The reflexes were not what they once were, and my hand-eye coordination has seen better days, but none of these issues prevented me from conquering this game.

I don’t have a lot of spare time on my hands, so it took me a few months – and countless short gaming sessions – to get the job done. In fact, so slow was I that the next trilogy (Tomb Raider 4-6) was released at around the same time I wrapped up this game.

But despite dragging things out, reliving ‘Tomb Raider’ was an enjoyable experience, except for the last three levels – but I will go into more detail about that later. I find this interesting as I don’t recall feeling this way during my initial playthroughs back in the late 90’s, but this time around just getting through those final areas was a real slog.

It’s probably just age catching up with me.

A quick recap: The game starts off in Peru with a level called ‘The Caves’, which allows the player to get used to the controls without too many dangerous foes to deal with – except for bats and the odd wolf pack.

Following that, things get a little harder – with a battle against a T-Rex and a few rogue raptors being the highlight.

The Peru adventure concludes with Lara taking a piece of the mystical Scion at the end of the ‘Tomb of Qualopec’ level.

My overall thoughts are that the first four chapters looked good, and were fun to play without being too much of a challenge.

The Greece levels – starting with ‘St Francis’ Folly’ – is when the game’s difficulty goes up a notch. Lions, crocodiles and gorillas are dangerous enemies and attack in large numbers, while you have to constantly pull off death-defying climbing and jumping stunts.

Adding to the difficulty are the constant surprise attacks from rival explorer Pierre DuPont. This guy is a real jerk and pops up at the worst possible times, inflicting huge amounts of damage with his guns before running away once Lara gets the upper hand.

The French pest appears across multiple levels until finally meeting his Waterloo at the end of the ‘Tomb of Tihocan’ level – right next to a pot plant, in my case.

As incredible as the Greece levels were, I think ‘Tomb Raider’ hits a peak once it reaches Egypt. There’s something far more alluring about exploring ancient Pyramids and seeing Sphinxes and hieroglyphics recreated so brilliantly in the remastered game.

However, whilst Egypt was a joy – the following levels were somewhat of a disappointment.

The lead-in to the finale starts off with ‘Natla’s Mines’; a stage that is both an eyesore and difficult, with a lot of jumping and climbing – not to mention searching and backtracking – with the only enemies being various henchmen popping up to shoot at Lara.

Then there is the ‘Atlantis’ level, that goes from looking like a hellish nightmare, to something resembling the inside of a stomach. The enemies are annoying as well, as they are fireball-shooting Atlantean beings that hatch from giant eggs – not good!

Then there is the infamous fleshy doppelganger, as well as the long-armed mutant torso Lara has to fight at the start of the final level – ‘The Great Pyramid’.

By this time the game had become frustrating and I was irritated by the off-putting surroundings and constant acrobatics needed in order to progress through.

However, as you can see in the above screenshots, I defeated the final boss (Natla) and scaled the seismic-shaking pyramid to make it to the very end. It was a struggle at times, with my age (fifty-something) being an issue with some of the trickier elements and tougher fights, so I shall keep that in mind when sharing my final thoughts and giving an overall score.

Despite the last three levels being less-than-inspiring, I still rate this game very highly. It was a ground-breaking release on PlayStation back in 1996, and a lot of that magic still rubs off on the 2024 PS5 version.

I cannot fault the work involved in improving the graphics and the overall aesthetics, but unfortunately I did have one minor gripe; and it was a problem that popped up constantly throughout the game.

It has been commonly reported that the remastered version of ‘Tomb Raider’ does have some lighting issues, and this was definitely a hangup for me as well. It was hard to find keys or other pickups, and sometimes it was so gloomy that even boulders of red-hot lava could not be seen until they were right on top of you.

If you check out the split screenshot above, it is clear that the boulder trap is near-impossible to detect in the new version (top), whereas in the original game (bottom) you can spot the danger from a country mile away. See what I mean?

Anyway, besides this, I have nothing but praise for the game and would give it a solid eight out of ten – with some of the Greece and Egypt levels receiving perfect scores.

On a final note, I was looking forward to playing the ‘Unfinished Business’ bonus levels, and even made it past the first stage – ‘Atlantean Stronghold’.

Now, very rarely will you hear about an Aussie quitting, but I simply couldn’t take any more of Atlantis. This level was everything I despised – the mutants, the eggs, the lava, the fleshy corridors – but this time around it was on steroids!

So, I shall now move on to ‘Tomb Raider II’ – and will try and pick up my pace and defeat it as quickly as possible.

Is this the greatest YouTube channel ever?

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Drain Cleaning Australia – yes, that’s right! As crazy as it sounds, this channel features some of the most addictive content I have ever come across, and all brought to you by a plumber based in Perth, Western Australia.

The premise is quite simple; the host gets called out to unblock drains, pipes, and grease traps – and then films everything while offering an entertaining and uniquely Australian commentary. I don’t know why this works, but it does – and very well indeed!

The plumber himself is a bit of a mystery man, as we never see his face nor learn the name of the business he owns. I could be wrong about this, but I have watched dozens of his videos and this appears to be the case. I think this dynamic works well for the channel.

What we do know is that his name is Bruce, and that he operates in Perth where he offers plumbing services to both the city and surrounding areas. We also learn very quickly indeed that Bruce is quite a character – a real entertainer to be sure!

How this man can film to such a high standard while battling difficult jobs is an achievement in itself, especially when you consider that most of his videos are created via his mobile phone – with additional footage provided by a drain camera.

Not only are the videos well-edited and presented, but the channel also provides a soundtrack of sorts – with 1980’s synth-electronic music pumping out whenever the action reaches a crescendo. The main beat sounds a little like Daft Punk, whilst another track regularly featured on the channel has a real Pet Shop Boys vibe about it.

These videos are highly informative and educational, as Bruce takes the time to explain the nature of how complex networks of pipes work and the direction in which the water is supposed to flow. Before long you will be talking about gullies and inspection points, and after that you will start noticing these places wherever you go – paying attention to things that were always there, and now knowing their purpose having watched this channel.

I can also assure you that after absorbing some of Bruce’s grease trap content, you will gain considerable knowledge about how these contraptions work.

The host also provides a great rundown of the equipment that he uses, and you quickly learn how and why – and under which circumstances he deploys them. In fact, after watching a couple of videos you might be able to start anticipating which tools Bruce is about to use – depending on what type of job he is facing.

For the most part, the weapon-of-choice is a high pressure jet hose – with a famous nozzle attached to the end that is known as ‘The German’.

I’m sure the owner won’t mind me giving his videos a plug, and I should mention that all the photos I have used were taken directly from his channel – Drain Cleaning Australia.

Look, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so if you are a little weak-stomached when it comes to built up grease and gunk – not to mention sewage – then perhaps you should give this channel a miss. But for those who have a curious streak and enjoy delving into subjects and situations foreign to them, then Drain Cleaning Australia could be for you.

Also consider that water usage is a big part of our everyday lives; we just don’t think about it a lot until something goes wrong – and when it does, plumbers become modern-day heroes. With that in mind, the host of this channel is incredibly highly-skilled at his job, and always gets the business done – leaving his viewers completely satisfied after every video.

Drain Cleaning Australia – 248,000 subscribers can’t be wrong, so check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/@DrainCleaningAUSTRALIA

All screenshots used are courtesy of Drain Cleaning Australia YouTube Channel.

‘The Living Daylights’ – An underrated Bond film.

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Following Roger Moore’s final appearance as James Bond in 1985’s ‘A View To A Kill’, the search was on to find the next actor to play agent 007. After an extensive auditioning process, Eon Productions decided on Pierce Brosnan, but he was unable to take the role due to a contractual situation with the television show ‘Remington Steele’ and NBC.

With the producers back to square one, they turned to Timothy Dalton; an actor who had been on their radar since the 1970’s. Eventually they would get their man, and a new incarnation of James Bond was ready to grace our screens.

The promotional material for ‘The Living Daylights’ suggested that the Bond franchise was heading into darker territory, moving away from the lighter tones of the Roger Moore era. I particularly like the phrase “The most dangerous Bond. Ever.” and Dalton’s expression on the poster was certainly encouraging for Bond fans hoping for a more serious turn.

‘The Living Daylights’ starts off with an explosive chase scene in Gibraltar, confirming Dalton’s standing as a great action man and proving that he was up to the task. It was an impressive sequence that set the plot of the movie up nicely, whilst keeping a fast pace and delivering plenty of thrills.

The film’s story revolves around the defection of KGB superior Giorgi Koskov, who makes contact with British Intelligence and personally requests James Bond to oversee his extraction from Bratislava to London.

It all sounds like a lifetime ago, when the Iron Curtain and Eastern Bloc countries were still around (in that form), but this part of the movie is quite entertaining – as well as nostalgic – and the method used to help Koskov escape to the West is most ingenious.

Of course, things never go so easily in the world of espionage, and before the British have a chance to find out everything Koskov knows, he is snatched back by a KGB agent posing as a milkman – and armed with explosive milk bottles!

At this point we are thirty-five minutes in, and so far so good. However, from here onward the pace of the film does slow a little, but the steely performance of Dalton and well-executed action scenes are more than enough to propel things along.

From Czechoslovakia to Vienna and then onto Afghanistan (and also Tangier) for the third and final act, the movie progresses neatly within an ideal running time of just over two hours.

Timothy Dalton is supported by a decent cast in this film with Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe as Koskov, John Rhys-Davies as General Pushkin, Joe Don Baker as arms dealer Brad Whittaker and Maryam D’Abo as Kara Milovy.

The movie’s soundtrack is also impressive, and would be the final Bond film for composer John Barry. The main theme by Norwegian band a-ha has a great eighties beat, and there are two songs performed by The Pretenders – one of which is the haunting and moody ‘If There Was A Man’, that is played during the end credits.

‘The Living Daylights’ opened to reasonable reviews in June 1987, and did very well at the box office – earning $190 million from a $40 million budget – and easily eclipsing the takings from the previous Bond film ‘A View to a Kill’ released two years earlier.

I always found this to be a gritty and mature entry into the Bond series, but the seriousness of Dalton’s performance did take a little adjusting to – especially after more than a decade of Roger Moore’s humour and tongue-in-cheek antics.

My only criticism of the film is that the plot does become a little complex and the main villains come across as lightweight, even comical at times. That being said, the plans of these bad guys are a lot more grounded and realistic compared to previous Bond foes who usually wanted to take over the entire world.

This is one of my favourite Bond films, and I have grown to appreciate it even more over the years. I think what has helped raise this movie’s wider appeal – as well as cast Dalton’s portrayal of Bond in a new light – would be the success of Daniel Craig and his similar approach to the role in recent years.

Dalton would play James Bond one more time – in 1989’s ‘Licence To Kill’ – and I will share my thoughts on that film at a later date.

A link to the theatrical trailer for ‘The Living Daylights’ is below, courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers YouTube Channel.

Screenshots and photos courtesy of United Artists and Eon Productions.

A night out at Port FC – Bangkok, Thailand.

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When I was in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago, I studied the schedule for the Thai Premier League and discovered that a game was being played only two train stops away from my hotel.

Needless to say I went and checked it out.

My destination was PAT Stadium, which is a compact venue that holds far less than 10,000 spectators – possibly closer to 5,000 – so it doesn’t take much to fill the place up and create a loud and vibrant atmosphere.

The local team here is Port FC, based in Bangkok’s port district, who are a reasonably successful side and currently sit around 3rd or 4th place on the league table.

Outside the venue there were dozens of food vendors set up, and the beer sellers were doing a roaring trade. In fact, I observed that hundreds of people were in no hurry to catch the kick-off, as they were still sitting around outside the ground enjoying their drinks well after the game had commenced.

I also noted that even more folks left their seats just before half-time to resume their drinking session outside, which was a shame because in doing so they missed their team score a goal.

There was a great merchandise shop at the ground as well, and it was obvious that the club jerseys were a highly-sought-after item as almost everyone was wearing one.

The game itself was an entertaining affair, with Port FC fighting back from 3-1 down against Ratchaburi to salvage a 3-3 draw.

In my honest opinion, the standard of the competition is well below that of the A-League here in Australia (recent results in the Asian Champions League might suggest otherwise), but there was enough speed and individual skill on show to satisfy any football fan. The VAR was a real mess however, and was constantly stopping the game and taking ages to come up with a decision – not helped by the linesman (assistant referee) nearest to where I was sitting who didn’t have the best of games.

If I had to give my experience a score out of ten, it would be no lower than 9. This was an enjoyable night out; the crowd and atmosphere were brilliant, the fans were friendly and welcoming, and there was a ton of well-priced food and beverages available.

In fact, I liked it so much that I will make an effort to come back and watch another game next time I am in Bangkok.

“A feast of football!” as the late, great Les Murray would say.

I did create a short video of my experience – the link is below.

The Taj Mahal of Thailand

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The Central Mosque of Songkhla, situated on the outskirts of Hat Yai, is not exactly a famous tourist attraction in Thailand – but it is well worth visiting.

The Mosque was a two hour walk (10km) from my hotel in mid-town Hat Yai, which in hindsight was perhaps a little too far to hike – especially as half that distance was alongside a busy highway with no footpaths.

However, being a typical Aussie, I toughed it out and reached my destination without too much trouble; and the long walk was definitely worth it!

I should point out that this is a place of worship and not Disneyland, so there is little else to do here except take photos and admire the grandness of the building.

Also, I’m not sure what the rules were, but I walked up to the main doors and upon seeing others not wearing shoes – unlike myself – I quickly turned around and scurried back to the road. There were a few strange looks thrown my way, but hopefully I didn’t offend anyone – and I’m sure the arrival of the Tourist Police minutes later was purely a coincidence.

So, if you happen to be in Southern Thailand – Hat Yai or Songkhla Town to be exact – then the Central Mosque should be on your list of places to visit.

I did take some video footage as well and uploaded it to my YouTube channel – link below.

‘Soldier’ – The 1998 Kurt Russell cult-classic.

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I will put this out there right away; this film was panned by critics and seriously bombed at the box office when it was released in 1998.

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Resident Evil), the movie is based around the genetically modified – but ageing – futuristic soldier Sgt Todd 3465 (played by Russell) who is literally dumped like unwanted garbage onto a distant planet inhabited by scavengers and refugees.

I thought the film was okay when I first watched it around twenty-five years ago. The cast was pretty good – with Gary Busey and Jason Isaacs starring alongside Russell – and the special effects and battle scenes were more-than-passable.

Kurt Russell was in amazing shape for this film, as the requirements of his character dictated. Over his career, he would have been in decent condition for some of his roles – Snake Plissken in ‘Escape From New York’ springs to mind – but his physique in this movie is on another level. Check out the screenshots below.

But perhaps what is most intriguing about ‘Soldier’ are the references to ‘Blade Runner’, posing the question: – Are these two films set in the same cinematic universe?

I know this discussion is old hat for science-fiction aficionados, but I shall continue to present some evidence for those unaware of the possible connection.

The first thing I will point out is that David Peoples – the writer of ‘Soldier’ – also co-wrote the screenplay for ‘Blade Runner’. With that in mind, let’s move on to the film itself and see where the crossovers take place.

If you follow the arrows in the above capture you will note ‘Nexus’, ‘Tannhauser Gate’ and ‘Shoulder of Orion’ – and for most sci-fi fans, there is no explanation required here.

But for those unaware; the term ‘Nexus’ is used in ‘Blade Runner’ to categorise a series of replicants and the two places named are mentioned in Roy Batty’s famous monologue at the end of the film – which is one of the greatest passages in cinema history.

In this screenshot, you can see what looks like a ‘spinner’ from ‘Blade Runner’ among the rest of the garbage on the planet Arcadia 234.

There is also a conversation that takes place between the two settlers Mace and Sandra (played by Sean Pertwee and Connie Nielsen) who shelter Sgt Todd in their home. Once again, ‘Tannhauser Gate’ is mentioned.

However, if you once again look at Todd’s military record and focus on where the arrow is, you will see four references to characters Kurt Russell has played in other movies. In my opinion, this comedic touch all but removes any seriousness with the connections to ‘Blade Runner’.

For the record, and for those who aren’t movie buffs, I will explain exactly where these tongue-in-cheek commendation names originated from: – Russell played Gabriel Cash in ‘Tango and Cash’, Snake Plissken in ‘Escape from New York’ and ‘Escape from LA’, Jack O’Neil in ‘Stargate’, and R. J MacReady in ‘The Thing’ (but spelled incorrectly in the screenshot).

In one last piece of trivia regarding ‘Soldier’ – Kurt Russell’s son Wyatt played the twelve-year-old version of Todd 3465 in the movie.

My understanding is that ‘Soldier’ has become a little more appreciated over the years, which is good to know as it is a fairly solid sci-fi flick – and definitely worth watching.

It’s good value just for Kurt Russell alone, but looking back I have to say that this movie has more of a ‘Pitch Black’ or ‘Riddick’ vibe to it – and not so much ‘Blade Runner’.

As far as the action sequences are concerned, the combat scenes, firefights and explosions are right up there – a lot better than what we see today and less reliant on CGI effects.

I would have given this film a solid pass mark when it first came out, but now I’ve upped the score to a 3.5 out of 5.

See the official trailer below, courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers YouTube Channel.

Screenshots and photos courtesy of Morgan Creek Productions and People.com