The 1998 sci-fi war film “Soldier” might be the best film in Paul W.S. Anderson’s career. A kind-of-spinoff to “Blade Runner” (both films were written by David Webb Peoples), “Soldier” begins in 1996, when the American government implements a new program to raise children, from birth, to engage in combat. Over the course of decades, their souls are meticulously erased and they become wholly devoted to military conquest. The soldiers barely speak and don’t appear to possess empathy or compassion. If anyone falls behind or displays weakness, they are executed. 

One of the star soldiers of the program is Todd-3465 (Kurt Russell), who has been molded into a ruthless killing machine over the past 40 years. It is now 2036, and the Soldier program is under threat. It seems that a new breed of soldiers, genetically engineered ones, are stepping up to take Todd’s place. The new soldiers are faster, stronger, can live much longer, and are incapable of feeling emotions. Todd, now obsolete, is shipped off to a garbage planet, presumably to die. 

It seems, however, that the garbage planet is more than just a dump. A human transport vessel crashed there many years before, and the survivors have set up a colony of their own. Todd, having never met ordinary people, must come to understand concepts like empathy and protectiveness. When the government sends its new soldiers to the garbage planet to kill the colonists as target practice, Todd steps forward to be a warrior for their cause. 

Todd isn’t just taciturn and stoic — he barely speaks. Indeed, Russell only has 104 words of dialogue in Anderson’s film. And yet, it’s also one of the star’s best performances.

Russell, of course, has experience playing tough-as-nails, stoic, sci-fi badasses. In 1981, Russell played the bitter Clint Eastwood-esque Snake Plissken in John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York,” and he growled his way through that role with aloof aplomb. Russell would reprise the role in 1996 for “Escape from L.A.,” just as much a remake as a sequel. Russell also played a grizzled, bitter character, albeit not an action star, in Carpenter’s 1982 version of “The Thing.” 

“Soldier” was a culmination of sorts for Russell, allowing him to be tougher and more violent than ever, and to speak even fewer words of dialogue. Russell is present throughout the bulk of “Soldier” — 85{e4fde47aac1ae89bf29a738865fe54795955cdfa0720535d5449f21447854535} of it, by some measures — and yet barely speaks. In one notable sequence, Russell teaches a young boy (Jared & Taylor Thorne) with a fear of snakes how to grab a boot and thwack it, should a snake attack. Russell surmises the situation, comes up with a plan of attack, but then decides to teach the boy how to handle it. He becomes a father figure, or at least a benevolent drill instructor in that moment. Not a single word of dialogue is required. Its early reams of exposition aside, “Soldier” is practically a silent movie. 

The film ends with Todd’s fellow “obsolete” soldiers siding with him to defend the colonists, and the villain of the piece (Jason Isaacs) hoisted by his own petard. Todd doesn’t become warm or chatty; he is still a professional killer. But he does still seem to possess a scrap of humanity, and it’s implied that he will become more human in time. 

“Soldier,” rather unfortunately, was a massive box office bomb. Produced for a pretty-expensive $60 million, the film only made $14.6 million at the box office. It opened at #5, behind the opening weekend of “Pleasantville,” the second week of “Practical Magic,” the fourth week of “Antz,” and the second week of “Bride of Chucky.” We should perhaps pause at this juncture and marvel at the vast variety of films that 1990s cinemas provided us. 

“Soldier” also wasn’t terribly well-reviewed either, currently sporting only a 17{e4fde47aac1ae89bf29a738865fe54795955cdfa0720535d5449f21447854535} approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Many critics agreed that the slam-bang action was a little too overwhelming, not allowing Anderson to truly depict the growing humanity in Todd’s heart. The Los Angeles Times, however, though it was effective pulp, liking the comic book tone of the film. 

Like Anderson’s own “Event Horizon” from the previous year, “Soldier” has undergone something of a fan reevaluation in recent years, with many (including this author) imploring that audiences check it out. As of this writing, it’s available to stream on AppleTV+, and on Hoopla. Russell rarely sleepwalks through a performance, and its his dedication to the stoicism of the role that might be the film’s most appealing feature. 

It’s also a fun game for fans of Philip K. Dick, who wrote the original story “Blade Runner” is based on. See how many Dick references you can spot. There’s at least three or four.