Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms is a 1998 American made-for-television science fiction film directed by Jeff Woolnough and starring Matt Battaglia, Chandra West, Jeff Wincott, Andrew Jackson, and Gary Busey. It is the second installment in the Universal Soldier franchise and is a sequel to the 1992 film Universal Soldier. Despite featuring the same characters as the original, the film features none of the original cast or crew. It was followed in the same year by Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. In 1999, a theatrical sequel, once again starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Universal Soldier: The Return was produced, which essentially ignored the plotline of the direct-to-video sequels entirely.
Plot
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.
Cast
Matt Battaglia as Private Luc Deveraux
Jeff Wincott as Eric Devereaux
Andrew Jackson as Andrew Scott
Eric Bryson as Peterson
Kevin Rushton as Martinez
Desmond Campbell as Cooper
Michael Copeman as Lt. Col. Jack Cameron
Gary Busey as Dr. Otto Mazur
Burt Reynolds as CIA Deputy Director
Richard McMillan as Dr. Walker
Chandra West as Veronica Roberts
Aron Tager as John Devereaux
Barbara Gordon as Danielle Devereaux
Carla Collins as Anchorwoman
James Kee as Jasper
Frank McAnulty as Purser
Jared Wall as Luc at 9
Neville Edwards as Porter
Sophie Bennett as Annie
Layton Morrison as Bodyguard
Loren Peterson as Bodyguard
Doug Murray as Young Dr. Gregor
James Binkley as Sentry
Randy Butcher as Sentry
Michael Dyson as Sentry
Jeffrey R. Smith as Control Operator
Roy T. Anderson as Head Sentry
Reg Dreger as Farmer
Julian Richings as Bix
James Kim as Sung Bodyguard
Simon Kim as Sung Bodyguard
Production
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. 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. The project was reformatted as a pair of television films, with eyes on a possible syndicated series.
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.
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.
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, and recommended his son try acting. Battaglia, to whom Reynolds was a real-life mentor, had previously supported the star on several shows he headlined. 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.
Brothers in Arms and Unfinished Business were primarily shot in Southern Ontario over 42 days spread between 27 October and 23 December 1997. Downsview Military Base was used as the UniSols' operations center. Both pictures were shot concurrently, with the schedule alternating between scenes from each film. The two sequels had an aggregate budget of $10.7 million.