Directed By: Kurt Wimmer
Written By: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, Nick Chinlund
There should be a law that requires film to be longer than 88 minutes long. When a film is done uncoiling at that amount of time, you get the feeling that you might be watching a film with no development and a lot of pretty things. The sad part is that there are people who think that Ultraviolet is a bad film. The funny thing about it is that it is so bad that it’s good.
Ultraviolet starts off with a montage of mock comic book covers Similar to Mallrats. Tha art reflects modern comic art. Some of the art was good, some of it was just a bit plain. After the credits, the backstory voiceover reared its overtly detailed head. It was horrible. The worst part is that it made the impression that the director thinks that the audience is a tad slow. Still, I understand the need for exposition, as there is no real time to dwell on the past events that shape the upcoming action.
The story is simple enough. Milla Jovovich plays Violet, a mutated human with superhuman skills. She also has a hate for humanity because a pharmaceutical company, which serves as the government/military entity of the future that experimented on her. During the experiments, she lost her unborn child. The corporation is led by a guy named Daxus, who is played with all the seriousness of an 80’s Saturday morning cartoon played by Nick Chinlund. Daxus wants Violetsback because she stole a weapon from the corporation in the form of a nine-year-old child (Cameron Bright).
Then the hitting, stabbing and mayhem begins. This is where the film excels. People are shot at, stabbed, lit on fire, kicked, and thrown off roofs, buildings, cars, There is jumping, moping and puzzled bewilderment on display as well about why the planned violence did not go well. This may not be entertaining to some people, but since Milla Jovovich does it so well there should be no complaint.
Watching the film, I started to think that Milla Jovovich does not make movies, she really makes elaborate workout tapes. She is the star and everything else is a prop. Cameron Bright does nothing but serve as a plot device and Nick Chinlind’s acting here is gleefully dire. Jovovich at points looked like a misplaced extra from Sky Captain and the green screen is so noticeably bad that it makes one wish to see how much better the story could be as a one person play.
Those involved made an active effort to make either a bad film, or the ultimate action film wet dream. We need no plot here; we have explosions and cute girls. Ultraviolet is a badly executed sci-fi film, which in reality may be the best junk food film of the year.
- Francis Davis a career drunk with a love of comics and movies, lives in and works for the City of Chicago. Confidentiality agreements prevent him from saying exactly what he does, but it is important.