The Soldier

The Soldier

Year: 1982

Runtime: 88 mins

Language: English

Director: James Glickenhaus

ActionDrama

The story follows a lethal operative, unleashed to confront a terrorist group that has seized a plutonium‑laden bomb and threatens to blow up a Saudi Arabian oil field. An elite anti‑terrorist unit is deployed to thwart the plot and prevent a catastrophic disaster, and the mission tests their skill and resolve as they race against time.

Warning: spoilers below!

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The Soldier (1982) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of The Soldier (1982), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

Renegade KGB agents, led by Ivan, Jeremiah Sullivan, hijack a plutonium shipment inside the United States and plan to plant a nuclear device in the Ghawar Oil Field in Saudi Arabia. They threaten to detonate it, contaminating 50% of the world’s oil supply, unless Israel withdraws its settlements from the West Bank. In Washington, the President William Prince contemplates starting a war with Israel to avert a global oil crisis, unaware that the KGB is behind the threat. The President orders the head of the CIA Ron Harper to uncover who planted the bomb and to stop it; the Soldier is activated.

An elite CIA operative codenamed “The Soldier” Ken Wahl, who operates outside standard channels, is assigned to the case. After the KGB assassin Dracha Klaus Kinski attempts to terminate him in the Austrian Alps, The Soldier contacts the CIA director from the US embassy in West Berlin. A KGB agent assassinates the director and frames The Soldier, leaving no official knowledge of his actions except for the president, who has disavowed any knowledge. On the run, he seeks refuge in the Israeli embassy. He and his team cooperate with the Israeli Mossad, represented by their director of covert operations Susan Goodman Alberta Watson.

Meanwhile, the president authorizes military action against Israel. Faced with the unpleasant options of the KGB destroying a large part of the world’s oil supply or the United States having to invoke a military response to force Israel to remove its settlements from the West Bank, The Soldier’s team infiltrates and captures a US nuclear missile silo in Smith Center, Kansas, and obtains independent launch capability. As the American military launches air strikes toward Israel, The Soldier and Susan break into East Berlin by launching their Porsche over the Berlin Wall, confronting the KGB agents and informing them that if their nuke in Saudi Arabia is detonated, his team in Smith Center will nuke Moscow. This forces the Russian KGB to dismantle their device in Saudi Arabia and the American air strike is recalled.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:56

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Characters, Settings & Themes in The Soldier

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