Ultraviolet (Unrated, Extended Cut)

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Product Description
Set in the late 21st century a subculture of humans emerges who have been modified genetically by a vampire-like disease giving them enhanced speed incredible stamina & acute intelligence. As they are set apart the world is pushed to civil war. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 09/25/2007 Starring: Milla Jovovich Nick Chinlund Run time: 94 minutes Rating: Ur

Amazon.com
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.--Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews: Read 279 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining May 17, 2006
85 out of 126 found this review helpful

I can't understand how people can say the Resident Evil movies are "edgy and cool," but this gets trashed. It was a good action flick. Aeon Flux sucked. Catwoman sucked. At least here you see the heroine kick ass, in a tight costume, with hoards of weapons, for MOST of the movie. And, get this, she actually kills people in this movie--doesn't just knock them unconscious in deference to our violence loving society. Hopefully the extended cut will offer even more. What more do you want?

3 out of 5 stars

PS/2 type style and Milla only assets in okay film March 8, 2006
76 out of 122 found this review helpful

Hemo-prefix, blood
Phage-suffix, something that eats or destroys. E.g. bacteriophage.

I can't help feel that 11 September has affected moviemaking in presenting commentary on the aftereffects of that tragedy. In the case of Crash, it was ethnic relations. Instead of the "war on terrorism," there is a war against viruses and their carriers in Ultraviolet. A mutated virus infects certain people who are called hemophages. To maintain the health security of the people, special squads a scientific-oriented equivalent of Homeland Security under the leadership of the villainous Vice Cardinal Daxus, are sent to hunt down and exterminate the hemophages. Daxus is a stereotypical smarmy cartoonish villain, who has a pair of plugs, or are those filters-through both nostrils. And the presence of white plastic gloves and his unwrapping guns from sterilized packages make him the posterboy for bacteriophobia. Interesting too is the shape of Daxus's headquarters, in a cross, like a cathedral, making germ-freedom into a kind of religion.

Yet, a small resistance group has formed. Among them is Violet, or V, a warrior with long jet black hair, glossy midriffed fetish suits of varying colours, a brace of machine guns that look more like staple guns, and a sword with some runes all over the blade. They're very lethal, yet with the exception of some opponents on a rooftop, many of her opponents die without any blood. And even without weapons, she is quite the martial artist a la Crouching Tiger. V, herself once human, until the virus infecting her caused the death of her husband and unborn child-she was pregnant at the time-now hates humans, given how marginalized and persecuted hemophages are.

Despite being called hemophages, the only thing remotely similar to vampires is the telltale fangs, which aren't for drinking Transylvanian tea. Some characteristics of their mutations involve conjuring weapons from their bodies and a superior strength.

Assigned by the leader of the hemophage underground leader, Nerva, to steal a secret weapon that if used, would kill all hemophages, and which, if not delivered on time, will self-destruct, V passes herself off as a courier. When her cover's blown, she takes on several masked and heavily uniformed black and white-suited guards using her weapons. Yet, when she discovers that the "weapon" is a child named Six, for a reason that becomes clear later in the film, some maternal instincts take over and she flees from Nerva and the rebels, Six in tow. She has to avoid the hoards of Daxus's armed men, and fortunately gets help from Garth, a fellow hemophage and scientist.

Despite the comic book style opening sequence, those into PS/2, XBOX style games, and not DC or Marvel Comics collectors, will probably be the biggest fans of this movie. Watching the chase scene where V is pursued after leaving Daxus's headquarters, the peppered bulletholes, copters, shiny sides of skyscrapers all make Ultraviolet a video game on the big screen. And there is a focus on aerial shots, where the however-many assailants surround V in a circle, only to be made digital mincemeat out of them, sometimes set to a pulsing techno score during the fighting or chase scenes, another dynamic of video games. It's been mentioned along with Tron, itself an 80's movie that computerized its characters. I'd also add the sci-fi/noir atmosphere of Bladerunner crossed with Minority Report as another comparing factor.

Milla Jovovich's action films have a sci-fi bent to them-e.g. The Fifth Element and Resident Evil. Here, she's a sci-fi guardian of a child, and it's not the acting but her glossy appearance and moves that are the heart of the movie. So, despite the widespread panning by critics, what's my assessment? If one concentrates more on its stylistic merits and Jovovich, rather than plot, then it's worth a look. Those who automatically dismiss it as being another Matrix clone will probably not enjoy it.

2 out of 5 stars

"Haven't you been paying attention? Killing is what I do. It's what I'm good at." September 20, 2006
53 out of 64 found this review helpful

"Hello. My name is Violet and I was born into a world you may not understand." That's the first line of dialog heard from the film Ultraviolet (2006)...after watching the movie last night, I think the following would have been more appropriate..."Hello. My name is Violet and I was born into a movie you may not understand (or even like)." Written and directed by Kurt Wimmer (Sphere, Equilibrium), the film stars Milla Jovovich (Dazed and Confused, The Fifth Element, Resident Evil). Also appearing is Cameron Bright (X-Men: The Last Stand), Nick Chinlund (Con Air, The Chronicles of Riddick), Sebastien Andrieu, and William Fichtner (Heat, The Perfect Storm).

As the movie, set in a messed up future (isn't that always the case?), begins we see some giant bowling balls dropped from the air into a building, and once inside the balls turn into deadly assassins...well, that's a pretty neat trick...anyway, some stuff happens, which leads into a lengthy flashback with voiceover by Jovovich. Apparently, some time ago, a nasty virus was found in Eastern Europe, one which Western powers tried to modify in order to create super soldiers or some such thing, but all they really ended up doing was creating a nastier form of the virus, one which gives it's victims sharper eyesight, acute hearing, enhanced strength, superior healing abilities, and vampire fangs...so what's the downside? Well I tell you...the victims are generally sensitive to light and have an extremely shortened lifespan. Seems those affected, known as Hemophages, were then rounded up by the norms and put into camps for experimentation, and those still on the loose formed an underground resistance movement, of which Violet (Jovovich) is a member. All right, as the flashback/background stuff comes to a close, we find out Vice Cardinal Ferdinand Daxus (Chinlund), the egomaniacal tyrant ruler of the norms has developed a new super weapon, one that supposedly will eliminate the Hemophage threat once and for all, but Violet nicks it through a lengthy and involved series of high-octane action sequences. As it turns out, the weapon just happens to be an idiot child named Six (Bright), whose blood, while deadly to Hemophages, may also contain a cure. Violet soon finds herself stuck in the middle as the leader of the Hemophages, some Euro trash named Nerva (Andrieu) wants the kid dead, while the Vice Cardinal wants back what's his...what follows are numerous dead end scenes between Violet and the kid, lots of running around, some fight sequences, some back door dealing, and ultimately a final showdown as Violet battles her way through an army into the belly of the beast (the Arch Ministry building) to face off against the Vice Cardinal himself, who has some serious secrets of his own...

By the end of this film I was somewhat aggravated...why? A number of reasons, but the main one being it seemed like the story was a patchwork of ideas and concepts, none of them developed particularly well. I did like all the action sequences up front, but once those passed, we were left with having to sit through a whole lot of rotten acting and goofy dialog, the latter being the weakest element of this film, for me, at least. One example in particular happens after Violet liberates Six, and is on the run. After a close encounter with armed authorities, Violet asks Six "Are you damaged?" Why not just ask "Are you hurt?"...I'll tell you why...because it's the future and asking someone if they're `damaged' sounds a lot cooler than asking them if they're hurt, at least in Wimmer's mind, I think. In my mind it just came off as idiotic...I've read the studio re-cut some of the film prior to its release, and even removed some sequences (I read the original film ran about a half hour longer). Did this meddling hurt the movie, resulting in a less than desirable end product? I don't think so, as the flaws seemed ingrained regardless of any tinkering (for a prime example of this go rent the theatrical and renegade DVD releases of the 1991 film Highlander II: The Quickening and tell me which is better). I liked the exteriors, some of the special effects were pretty spiffy (some seemed ridiculously phony), and the fight sequences, for the most part, were fairly engaging, but the slower moments in the middle really caused the feature to drag out. I found it rather annoying near the end when Violet, the one woman army, was invading the Arch Ministry building, and we'd see her come up against a whole mess of guards, only to cut to a scene with her coming through a door, and beyond the door we see the guards from the previous scene lying dead. I did learn a lot from this film, including the following...

1.Milla Jovovich sure likes to show off her midriff (and I like to see it).
2.Body armor in the future is pretty ineffectual given it's tendency to shatter like glass when struck.
3.Germophobia runs wild in the future, to the extent of affecting fashions as people don designer air masks and surgical gowns.
4.In the future you'll be able to carry small to medium sized children around inside fancy, fashionable briefcases that double as backpacks.
5.Uzis fitted with blades that stick out from the bottom seems like overkill (and kinda dumb).
6.Extremely long hair can be detrimental to its owner during hand-to-hand combat.
7.The biohazard symbol seems an awkward and impractical design for a building.
8.In the future most all interiors will be designed to look like bad discotheques.
9.Milla Jovovich's character seems the only one who actually knows how to fight.
10.Milla Jovovich's character can literally pull futuristic gizmos and weaponry out of her ash.
11.Sword usage returns to fashion in the future.
12.What's the only thing cooler than a sword fight sequence? A flaming sword fight sequence!

All in al the film is very slick, stylish, and colorful, laden with a good deal of flashy action sequences (wire work galore) and special effects, but hamstrung by poor performances, terrible dialog, and not a lot of substance. By the way, I've got the `Unrated, Extended' version, which runs about six minutes longer than the theatrical release, but I seriously doubt anyone who only saw the original release is missing much as I doubt those six minutes included anything critical or even worthwhile to the actual film. More or less labeling this the `Unrated, Extended' version was just an attempt by the studio to breathe new life in the aftermarket into a film that died in the box office.

The picture, presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), looks very sharp and the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio comes through fine. Skimpy extras include an uninteresting commentary track with Milla Jovovich by herself (where the heck is Wimmer?), a featurette titled UV Protection: The Making of Ultraviolet, and English subtitles. Also thrown in are previews for other Sony DVD release including Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005), Mirrormask (2005), Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005), The Fog (2005), The Benchwarmers (2006), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006).

Cookieman108

1 out of 5 stars

like needles in your eyes June 4, 2006
20 out of 35 found this review helpful

A distinction:

There are many, many terrible movies. A great number of those are student films, independent films made by amateurs, low-budget genre pictures, and Rob Schneider movies. In other words: really, they never stood a chance of being good.

Then, there are medium- to large-budget films, such as "Battlefield Earth," "Batman and Robin," or "Howard the Duck," films about which it can only be said, "Shouldn't someone have been able to do better than this?" These are monumentally awful movies made by people who, on a fundamental level, ought to have known better.

"Ultraviolet," as far as I'm concerned, is a new low amongst that latter category. It is so bad that if I ever have a conversation with someone who honestly claims to have enjoyed it, I cannot envision failing to want to choke said person. I'm civilized, so I won't do it; but I'll think about it. A lot.

On every single level, this film is a pathetic failure. Milla Jovovich is awful. Cameron Bright is one of the worst child actors I've ever seen appear in numerous movies; he was similarly terrible in "Running Scared," "X-Men: The Last Stand," an episode of "Stargate SG1," and the otherwise good "Thank You For Smoking" . . . and that was in 2006 alone! William Fichtner is mediocre, whereas he is usually terrific. Nick Chinlund, whom I remember fondly from an excellent "X-Files" episode (the title of which escapes me), is one of the lamest villains in history.

Lest you think this is sounding "so bad it's good," no, stop, that ain't it. It's just bad. People ride motorcycles down the sides of buildings because they've flipped a switch inside their bodies to alter their gravity. WHAT ABOUT THE BIKE'S GRAVITY?!? LAME!

The action scenes, like the one I just ranted about, are laughable. Not exciting, not well-conceived, not original; not even campy. It's like watching stunt choreography done by someone who had never seen a movie before, but had been told about "The Matrix" and thought it sounded nifty. Ridiculous . . . and I'm not usually grumpy about fight scenes, I don't care whether they're realistic or not. These just suck.

There is a subplot about how some of the characters are "hemophages," or vampires, but they don't do anything that vampires do; they don't suck blood, they don't burn in the sun, they . . . oh, they just don't make any sense. Occasionally, it looks like they have fangs, but they disappear during most of the scenes with no explanation.

The color scheme is preposterous. The entire movie -- and I'm not making this up or exaggerating in the tiniest degree -- looks like a Revlon ad. Stylish?!? No, sir. Only if you're a chump, and a 13-year-old one at that. Every single scene screams, LOOK . . . HOW . . . COOL . . . I . . . AM! And yet, not one single cool thing ever happens. NOT . . . ONE.

What more can I say? If you liked this, I hate you. I also hate your mother, your various uncles, your uncles' barbers, your elementary-school best friend, and the last person who sold you a taco. And if you haven't seen "Battlefield Earth," check it out, cause you will dig it the most.

If you buy this DVD, I hate you more, to the slender extent that that is possible.

Need more testimonial?

I work at a movie theatre as a projectionist; I get paid to watch movies before they come out, and even on the clock, I felt like I was being ripped off while watching this tomfoolery. I almost clocked out and left; this movie is seriously THAT bad. But I didn't. You want to know why I stayed and suffered?

I did it for you.

That's right, I did it so you don't have to. I wept with rage; I shouted at the projector and begged it to break; I threw up in my mouth; I resolved to never talk down "Big Momma's House 2" again. I did all of those things and more. But I stayed.

Don't let it have been in vain. Skip this garbage!

4 out of 5 stars

What's not to like? June 12, 2006
18 out of 23 found this review helpful

Seriously, I dont know why anyone would think this movie was bad. For me it was a visually stimulating, actioned packed movie with at least an interesting plot line and for god's sake it has Milla. I really like her, I think she has an interesting style and she can actually act.

This movie reminded me very much of Equilibrium (Christian Bale and Taye Diggs). The dystopian society is an obvious corrilation. More than that though it was almost like they were directed by the same person. The imagery and sets and fighting style were so similar. UltraViolet was much more colour infused but on the whole I was having major dejavu through the movie.

So, if you like Equilibrium you will like this movie. If your expecting earth shattering, mind blowing commentaries on the nature of society and the human condition your expecting too much. This movie covers pretty much the same gound as others have before. If you want a cool movie to relax and eat popcorn in front of, this is your bag.

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