Ultraviolet

Kurt Wimmer who wrote and directed Equilibrium, which imho is a great movie, failed miserably to repeat his former success. The idea's behind the movie had visible potential but unfortunately the execution was extremely poor. Bad acting, a confusing and altogether nonsensical story line, and most of all bad writing really killed this one for me. This movie seemed more like a commercial for CGI than anything else. The CGI however was excellent (except for the last scene, I guess they ran out of money)and probably the most interesting part of the movie. The action which is why I saw the movie suffered from repetition: from the characters, to the setups (Violet is being attacked when she is out-numbered), to the moves, unnecessary sword fighting when they have guns with bullets, unnecessarily repetitive situations (big circle everyone attacks at once and violet wins with ease no challenging battle), and a lack of depth. Kurt really missed the mark, better luck next time.

Having watched the regular release version I was somewhat confused as to what was going on, though I was able to surmise the base elements of the plot, but when I saw the uncut version with the scenes left in, things made a lot more sense.

The plot seems a bit obscure at first; unless you're sharp, you're not going to be able to follow it. That is all I will say about that.

It's true the acting wasn't magnificent but I really don't know what everyone is complaining about. Plenty of action, yes, and Milla Jovovich looks great. I thought it was a pretty good watch myself, and I am in the minority there. I definitely don't think it's a waste of time, though it is a bit dark. It's now in my DVD collection, in fact.

Rent it, watch the uncut version. Though not my favourite movie of all time, I enjoyed it.

Ultraviolet was embarrassingly terrible on so many levels. My husband and I usually really dig the comic book and action movies, so I think that our expectations were reasonable for the genre. The kinds of movies that Ultraviolet tried to channel were X-Men, The Matrix and Underworld. Unfortunately, this movie failed to do so.

1) Dialogue was laughably bad. One of Milla's lines was actually "Because these beautiful moments turn evil when they're over." What?? This was regarding a romantic pass made at her. Totally incongruous with the setting. 2) Excessive use of CGI is a personal irritant. Additionally, the motorcycle chase scenes were only one step above TRON. I might as well have been watching my 11 year old neighbors play some video game. 3) Zero character development. I didn't care about Violet, the french guy, the scientist guy, the pretty boy, or the evil nose filter guy. I didn't care about their individual goals (mainly because they weren't very clear). I didn't care about characters dying, and I didn't care about the revelation at the end; the only indicator that I had that it was important was her somewhat awed reaction.

To be fair, Milla Jovovich has an incredible face and body and is well-suited for fight scenes. If all-CGI, all-the-time is your thing, then you'll be thrilled with the loads of glossed-over fight scenes involving Milla and hordes of green screen baddies. If you're like our entire theater, you're bored. Really, fake fights just don't impress me.

It is a little difficult to imagine why this film was released in its current form. It has some potential, the action sequences look a little mundane as we have seen it all before but they are quick and effective. The story is quirky enough to be interesting and some of the backdrops look good.

The problem is, Ultraviolet neither makes sense nor holds together as a film. Huge chunks of action and story seem to have been lost on the cutting room floor. The film is left overloaded with the expensive bits that had already been paid for. Lots of sweeping city-scapes and shots of Mila walking down corridors don't make a film.

It reminds me of other Japanese live action Manga smash-ups (See Kasshern etc). The problem is that Japanese films have every right not to make sense and be completely over the top, as it is what they do best. Unfortunately, due to a westernised need for slight reality, Hollywood have attempted same thing and ended up with a cheap looking film with a poor script stuck together with a bunch of crap one liners.

Look, let's be serious. The movie is flashy and fantastic, buried in cgi and special effects, and the plot is rather obscure and strange. What makes the movie good is that it does go over the top. This movie dazzles.

If Mila catches your eye, this movie may be the finest piece that she did around this time. So beautiful.