Ultraviolet - 2006

Screen Gems, Ultravi Productions

Written and Directed by Kurt Wimmer

Cast:

• Ultraviolet / Violet Song Jat Shariff - Milla Jovovich
• Six – Cameron Bright
• Ferdinand Daxus – Nick Chinlund
• Garth – William Fichtner

Story: Far in the future, we are once again beset by ...wait for it....Vampires. Well, sort of anyway. A disease known as Human Hemophagic Virus has turned many humans into Hemophages, persons who take on many characteristics of vampires, like elongated teeth, sensitivity to light, and super-advanced healing and strength. Their hearing and eyesight are much better than the normal humans, but the price they pay for all these goodies is a reduced life span (see Replicants in Bladerunner). These hemophages have been separated from society and the government is systematically killing them off. A few have escaped and are fighting to win freedom for their kind. Daxus, the vice cardinal of the government, has cloned himself in an attempt to create a blood borne pathogen that will ultimately kill all the hemophages, but Violet has stolen the only viable clone, a boy named Six, and is protecting him at all costs. Garth, the hemophage scientist and friend, is fighting to keep Ultraviolet alive, and solve the riddle of Six's blood. Ultraviolet triumphs in the end, but swears vengeance against the remaining evil in the world.

Review: I've read reviews that blast Wimmer for this film. And as a film critic, I would have to agree that this is not your average action /fantasy/adventure film. It is an entirely different genre that will probably find it's niche in the same fashion the old Saturday morning serials at the movies did. This is a COMIC BOOK for the screen, like Nemesis (next review), and should be viewed like one. There is little lead in, except for about ten minutes of narration by Jovovich to set the stage. The action scenes are fast and final, and nobody gets out alive, except our heroine. The characters are polarized, no doubt about good guys or bad guys, and the scenery is futuristic and simple. If you are looking for science fiction with the depth of Star Trek or Star Wars, forget this movie. But if you want to watch one of the hottest women on the planet kick ass and take names without the entanglement of complex plots or deep emotional meaning, here's your film. Milla Jovovich is the perfect choice for the film, Nick Chinlund does what he does best, gives us a character we can despise, and William Fichtner rises to the occasion in a role that does little to show his real abilities. Cameron Bright is the perfect CLK (Creepy Little Kid), as one critic described him. Oh, and despite the opening credits where they show you comic book cover after cover in several languages, Ultraviolet was never a comic book in print. Perhaps I am belaboring the obvious here, but for the benefit of those critics who have blasted this film, the comic books at the beginning tell you the film itself is a COMIC BOOK. Or would you prefer the term Graphic Novel? You guys get it now? As far as the kiddies, parents should look this over first, but it isn't terribly offensive in language or nudity, and the violence is over so quickly it may or may not make a bad impression.