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As an overdose of eye candy, Ultraviolet can be marginally recommended as the second-half of a double-feature with Aeon Flux. Both films are disposable adolescent fantasies featuring a butt-kicking babe (in this case, the svelte and sexy Milla Jovovich) in a dystopian future, and both specialize in the kind of barely-coherent, video-game storytelling that's constantly overwhelmed by an over-abundance of low-budget CGI. Director Kurt Wimmer fared much better with his earlier film Equilibrium, but he's trying for a lively comic-book vibe here (beginning with Hulk-like opening credits) with a digitally enhanced, Tron-like color palette. It largely suits this late-21st century story of a "blood war" between the ultra-violent Violet (Jovovich), member of a vampire-like group of resistance fighters infected with a man-made virus called the Hemophage, and the human Vice Cardinal Daxus (Nick Chinlund), who's determined to eliminate Violet's kind once and for all. Wimmer takes all of this way too seriously, crafting a plot involving Violet's rescue of a human clone boy (Cameron Bright) that's intended as an homage to John Cassevetes' 1980 drama Gloria, but Wimmer's good intentions are mostly lost in a repetitive series of chaotically choreographed fight scenes, mostly involving the tight-bodied Jovovich wiping out dozens of armor-clad enemies. It's all too numbingly hectic to qualify as a satisfying movie, but sci-fi buffs should give it a look anyway, if only to see how locations in Shanghai and Hong Kong contribute to the film's futuristic design.Read full review
Here is the IMDB plot outline.. A beautiful vampire in a futuristic world has to protect a boy, who is in fact a secret weapon: the cure for all the humans transformed into vampires. This movie is hard to stick in one category. (Sci fi, Action, Vampire) But I suppose that it would be action. This is set in the future, and has a believable feeling to it. (not a future where everything is robotic ie. Star Wars). Also it is a vampire movie (but certainly not like any typical one).. Actually it is a virus, that causes some people to be vampire like. However, with the virus, they get some perks over normal humans ; better vision, hearing, speed. The main reason to watch the movie is M. Jovovich which most people will remember her from The 5th Element. The story is not bad, it should hold most people all the way through. It does slow down in the middle (and has a slight bore to it). By far, the first 20 minutes are the best, with motorcycle, car, helicopter, etc chase. I am an avid movie watcher, and I could easily recommend this one. The worst comment I heard from a friend on the movie, was that it was so/so. But he got through the whole movie. Heck, go to your local library, view it for free, and see if you like it.. I would give it a 6 1/2 to 7 out of 10.Read full review
I am an action fan so you may be wondering why I gave it only an average rating. Don't get me wrong, this movie is full of action- swords, guns, sci-fi style martial arts, hot babes in shiny skinsuits (well, at least one hottie, Milla Jovovich, whom you may remember from films like the 5th Element or the Resident Evil series), technologically advanced everything and did I say action? Yes, loads of the aforementioned- what it lacked, however, was a cohesive story. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I'll allow that, but this movie made very little sense to me. There's a lot of talk of hemophages (think of it as a blood disorder on the level of AIDS, but gives the infected superhuman strength, speed and reflexes) and they make references to vampiric tendencies- but no one's drinking any blood and I have to be honest, I had little trouble following the story (what there was of it) - it was that it didn't seem to make much sense. Because of the lack of character development, you meet a number of different individuals throughout the movie but never really know who they are, what they are or what drives them- other than the cheesy plot points that are offered. For instance, why is a Yakuza/Triad style gang patrolling/controlling the top ten floors of the conglomerate responsible for finding/making this malady and tracking down the infected? Didn't make sense to me. Did I like this movie? Yes. Is this one that is in my library? Yes. Am I likely to view it again? Probably not. I've seen other action movies with lesser-known actors that I would score better than this; this one is just shelf filler for me.Read full review
Pros: Highly stylized, nearly seamless CGI and live action film; Guns GALORE! The beautiful and talented Milla Jovovich. Cons: No substance. Breaks from its belief system, leaving the active viewer puzzled. Annoying, unnecessary effects and/or props. Ultra-overkill. If you took 2005's miss, "Doom," replaced the remote gloom with immediate sterility, sliced in a supermodel and a sickly looking kid, you'd have UltraViolet. Too much time was spent on flashy video game-like effects and clearly not enough on substance or even continuity. About halfway through the film, it was as if the makers forgot the audience might actually have been paying attention. Rules that were established to help you understand Violet's world are then inexplicably broken. Violet's character lacks depth; we expect introversion (shrinking violet) or mania (ultra-violence) from the lead in. Instead she is more like an irreverent teenager - with a lot of guns. The body count for this movie is massive (which they take pains to point out). However; the blood and gore that would accompany such a feat is eliminated to maintain a PG13 rating. That bothers me on both the philosophical and the material planes. The movie combines a predictable plot with equally unoriginal dialogue and does nothing to establish Jovovich's Violet as a dynamic heroine whose wellbeing who care about past the closing credits. Shallow characterizations may be why the director felt the need to distract us by having Violet's hair and clothing change color so frequently (and also inexplicably). The bad teeth caps that looked like big pieces of orzo pasta were absolutely ridiculous as was all the freeze-frame action scene "vogueing". In the end, Violet suffered more from bad conception and execution than from her viral blood disease. Summary: Unless all you really want are cosplay fashion tips and to learn new Goth dance club moves, skip it. BUT...at least it wasn't as bad and DareDevil or Elektra.Read full review
I had seen my brother's copy of this. I'm a Milla Jovovich fan. Since The Fifth Element, she's sensibly stuck with the genre that brought her to public attention. As such, you know you're not going to see,"As Good As It Gets" but you do know you'll get an amazing looking, athletic woman making best use of special effects to create that sexy, ass-kickin' fantasy we testosterone junkies queue up for every time. As such it's standard Milla fare but if you like the Resident Evil stuff, you'll dig this...
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