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Ultraviolet
Directed by: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Milla Jovovich
Genre:
Science Fiction
Run Time: 94
min.
Release Date: March 2006
On The Web:
Official Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Milla Jovovich appeared in one of my
all-time favorite sci-fi action comedies (THE FIFTH ELEMENT), but she
also holds the title of "Most Overused Female Actress" in some really
shoddy flicks (RESIDENT
EVIL, DUMMY, and RETURN TO THE BLUE LAGOON just
to touch on a few). So I hesitate whenever I see her name attached to a
title. Perhaps her agent needs to be a bit more selective when handing
her manuscripts.
So it is with a heavy heart that I have to say her unfortunate role
selections seem to have no end in sight with the addition of ULTRAVIOLET
to her sagging film repertoire.
Vampires (aka Hemophages) have been done to death, but I don't mind
that. If a story is interesting and contains vampires, hey, that's fine
by me. But shoving Milla into a body-fitting, white leather outfit and
having her kick butt in almost every scene makes me think that much more
could've been made out of this film rather than just a vampiric female
ruffian who's deadly with a blade. Swinging swords and Matrix-like
action sequences were all one gets to see here ...that and some really
bad CGI (harkening back to the days of TRON).
The story of vampires and humans battling for supremacy is nothing new
to film, too, and it would've been nice to see more character
development surrounding Milla's Violet character and that of the main
antagonist, Vicecardinum Ferdinand Daxus played by Nick Chinlund (24). But we
just are led to believe that the two hate each other because they're on
opposite sides of the human/vampire equation. Or are they? It seems the
scriptwriters/filmmakers couldn't make up their minds about that either.
What a mess.
The story tries to pull a sympathetic chord with the audience by
explaining that Violet lost a child in-utero, so when she starts feeling
empathy for Six (Cameron Blight,
JUNO), a young boy who carries a virus that
can wipe out all vampires (or can he?), we (the audience) are supposed
to support her decision not to kill the very child who could kill her.
But the emotional impact is nil, again, since almost all of the film
time is dedicated to swordplay, killing, and showing us how nice Milla
looks in her leathers while decapitating a few hundred bad guys at a
time.
There have been comparisons made between Ultraviolet and
AEON FLUX. I've
seen and rated both of these films and found the latter much more
entertaining than the former. Although both films had deadly women as
their prime protagonists, Aeon Flux actually had a story behind it with
some intriguing concepts, while Ultraviolet simply put a futuristic bent
on a worn-out theme.
(back to top) |
Image from Ultraviolet
DVD cost: $13.89
Purchase:
Tower.com
(Blu-Ray)
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Against the wishes of
director, the film was completely re-edited by the studio after they saw
the original version which they apparently did not like; they saw it as
'too emotional' for the action film they were expecting and re-edited it
so there would be more of an emphasis on the action and to cut it down
to a PG-13 rating. The edition shortened the film from its original
length of 120 minutes to 88 minutes. The director was quite angry about
the edition, and many fans agree that it lowered the quality of the film
significantly.
Movie Quote: "You
think those people are bad? Well, let me tell you something. The real
monster you don't want knocking down your door is me."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Ultraviolet
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