Ultraviolet (2006) Reviews

• You Need to See the Uncut Version (DVD).

  matikalyere2008-02-01

  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.

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• Hot body, not much else going on

  Lithigin2006-03-03

  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.

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• Definitely not Equilibrium

  ultraelite2006-03-05

  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.

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• Not nearly as bad as people complain it is.

  kane_locke2008-02-13

  After having been given repeated warnings about how bad this film is, I went ahead and watched a borrowed copy. About thirty minutes into the film I had reached a decision: I was enjoying it. While certainly not Oscar-winning material, most people apparently were expecting some kind of cinematic masterpiece rather than what they got, an over-the-top comic book-like action set piece with a modicum of plot to tie together the action sequences. The gunkata sequences, closer to Wimmer's original idea of the form, do not approach the stark and yet orgiastic death-art of Equilibrium, but they're fun all the same. The movie is full of neat, if improbable, gadgetry, from gravity manipulators to disposable paper cell phones. Nick Chinlund chews a satisfactory amount of scenery without stuffing himself down the viewer's throat. Milla Jovovich herself manages to use a two-dimensional role to display probably the most range I've ever seen her give outside of "The Messenger", and she was certainly much more attractive in this movie than in any of the others I've ever watched her in. All these things contribute to what amounted to a popcorn bowl of a film: not something you'd eat for every meal, but a nice snack for a change of pace when you don't want something too substantial. The problem seems to be that most people can't just shut off their brains and enjoy a romp once in a while. Would this film ever seriously contend for Best Anything? No. But it certainly does not deserve the almost universal slagging it has gotten since its release. Ignore what you've heard, don't expect too much, and you might just find yourself being entertained for an hour and a half.

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• Great imagination and visual style, but unjustly compared to bigger movies

  burpingcat2006-03-04

  The worst part about Ultraviolet is that it has THREE genres of movies to compete with. People will compare it to the blockbusters of Sci-Fi movies, Martial Arts movies, and Heroine movies. It will have a tough time trying to stand out when people will inevitably compare it to HUGE movies like Crouching Tiger, The Matrix, Kill Bill, Underworld, etc. Let's remember that Ultraviolet had a relatively small budget, and yet it did quite a bit with it. With all that said, let me say a few words, good and bad ones, on Ultraviolet. Yes, the story in Ultraviolet is its weakest point. The problem is in the lack of emotional attachment to the characters, the odd choice and delivery of lines (although you can't deny how great the "It is on." line is), and the strange dream-like stuff it goes into at times. A lot of the themes in this movie are very fleeting, maybe because they've just been done so often, they need no emphasis. There's one particular story element that you might miss ENTIRELY if you didn't pay attention during one shot. That's how little emphasis there is on story in this movie. The plot is also a little hard to follow at times because it jumps around. It's strange to see so little emphasis on the story when we know from Equilibrium that Kurt Wimmer is very capable of writing a good story. It makes me wonder if the lack of story was intentional or not, but the unfortunate bottom line is that it hurts this movie. So what saves this movie? Why 8 out of 10? If we were interested in movies only for their story, we wouldn't be interested in movies at all...we would all read books instead. Yes, a movie is defined as picture and sound. In that case, Ultraviolet is quite an amazingly interesting picture and sound. Ultraviolet sacrifices story for a very visceral picture and oodles of style. I haven't seen a movie that looks this COOL in a long time. It really reminds me of the type of style that 60's sci-fi movies were going for- very robust in color and costumes, but modernized and expanded for our time. It's certainly a very nice departure from the typical and BORING space station/stainless steel/green look of modern sci-fi. The action is kick-ass, applause-worthy at times...although I'll admit that I've seen a bit better from similarly-budgeted movies ("Versus" comes to mind). They could've had some more variety to it (like maybe some better/badder foes), but considering who and what they were working with, I think they did a good job. Another big strength of the movie is the very cool concepts. Color-changing outfits, gravity belts, disposable paper cellphones, crazy ninjas that drop out of planes like giant pinballs, and entire weapon arsenals stored in wrist devices. All of it with designer-quality fashion to it. You can tell where the budget went in this movie. Like I said, it's an older, weirder, more stylish sense of sci-fi that you don't see very often these days. In fact, a lot of this movie can be defined as set-pieces more so than a single flowing experience. True, their ability to execute some of these ideas (specifically, the motorcycle chase) is limited by their budget. I think it can be overlooked, though. Some rough edges on CG never hurt anybody...anybody that wants to whine about the graphics really doesn't want to appreciate the movie for what it is. Overall, I enjoyed this movie, more so for its visuals, music, concepts and set-pieces than for its story or characters. It's really quite interesting to look at. There are more moments in this movie that make me think 'awesome!' than in all of The Matrix trilogy. If this movie isn't a success, then I hope it at least inspires the movie that does get this particular formula just right.

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