Just a couple of days ago, I went to the cinema to catch this movie – Ultraviolet. I didn’t know what the movie is about, but it just sounded rather science fiction to me. I enjoy watching science fiction – at least most of the time.
Ultraviolet is indeed a science fiction film, just that I wasn’t too impress with it. The main character of Ultraviolet, Violet, supposed to be a heroine in an Xbox game of a similar title where she fights against the government. It uses lots of 3D imaging. And the problem of the movie? It really seemed like an Xbox game and it used too much 3D stuff.
(Yeah, the one that looks like a 50 year old rock star… Well, that’s Violet.)
Perhaps the producers did that on purpose to make the whole movie look like a game – because it really did – and I was disappointed. Everything seemed so lifeless there – just everything – from Milla Jovovich’s skin to the gun fights. Watching Ultraviolet felt like playing an Xbox game without the controller, it looks like a bunch of 3D characters featured in the game.
And the soundtrack, it’s senseless. It just doesn’t excite me much. And yes, it sounded like a game’s soundtrack too. But really, that wasn’t exactly the main problem.
“I was born into a world you wouldn’t understand,” explained Violet in the movie. How well-phrased. Really I don’t quite understand the world in the end. There are a lot of things that are not explained. My friend, Jay, told me that I have to watch the movie, Equilibrium, first to enjoy this movie more. So I returned home and borrowed Equilibrium and start watching. Equilibrium is the movie made by the Ultraviolet directors I think. It didn’t come to Singapore so I didn’t even know that there is such a movie.
Equilibrium was enjoyable much more, it felt like a better movie and it felt more ‘human’ than Ultraviolet. The two movies are not linked except the Gun Kata which is a martial art form of positioning your body to best shoot and avoid your enemies.
Ultraviolet is quite poor a film. It has a lack plot, bad sounds, the gorgeous Milla Jovovich, 3D that’s too fake and crazy futuristic building. If you indeed want to watch Ultraviolet, concentrate on Milla Jovovich’s character’s fights and just treat it as a simulator ride kinda thing. Great for foreigners too, don’t need to understand the plot. Ultraviolet is rated 2 stars out of 5. Equilibrium does better with 3 out of 5.
Possibly related:
I should have read your post earlier. Apparently, I dragged my boyfriend to the show instead of something much better such as “Inside Man”, and we had to sit through the show, not knowing what the purpose of the show was.
The plot was so not in focus. It’s like they could not decide what to do with Violet. *shakes head*
by Milky (Apr 10, 2006 at 2 AM)Milky: Inside Man seemed like a better show, my girlfriend wanted to watch Ultraviolet too. So we watched that despite a friend’s protest – he claims that Ultraviolet is a total bore.
Turns out that he is part right, I don’t see the plot much. And I wondered if I am to find Violet changing colors exciting – and yeah, I never understood what’s with the color change.
by Mr. Dew (Apr 10, 2006 at 7 AM)It’s just saying how she is a hemophage with the ability of camouflaging herself at will? Who knows lol.
by Milky (Apr 10, 2006 at 5 PM)Milky: hmmmp.. I think it makes a much better game though.
by Mr. Dew (Apr 11, 2006 at 10 PM)I totally agree my brother and myself went to see it because in the commercials it looked like a totally kicken movie. Well we came out going, “Wtf was that?” It was very hard to try and follow the plot, and if you noticed the hemophage also had like vampire teeth. Wth so are they vampires or just people infected with some crap. I guess they’re like leet vampires or something who knows. lol
by MunkeyButt (Aug 27, 2006 at 2 PM)Now, I don’t remember the plot at all. I’m not surprised though, hahaa… It’s just not worth remembering…
by Mr. Dew (Aug 27, 2006 at 7 PM)I would see anything that Ms. Jovo is in.
by AgentOrange (Nov 23, 2006 at 3 AM)I don’t agree with you on some parts. I personaly love the movie Ultraviolet, it has a certain appeal to me. I don’t know what you all mean there was no plot or they were jumping around with Violet, I understood and followed the plot, same as the vampire disease Hemophagia. The buildings, while many of them are CGI, there are a few actually real buildings, including the strange tall tower that looks like Seattle’s space needle with blue balls around the middle. That was real, as well as the Vice Cardinal’s office. The big glass dome. The color changes with Violet’s moods and/or surroundings.
The vampire teeth are a symptom of the disease, just like hightened speed and strength. Yes, some parts of the movie were really silly looking because of the video-game/Comic book look, (which was intended, by the way.) and some of the scenes with Six are rediculasly sappy. But I love Milla Jovovich, and fighting. There were enough fight scenes that were completely awesome to overlook the silly bits.
by Jessy (Jan 7, 2007 at 6 AM)I guess I just didn’t like to watch a film that look like the game. I am not sure if the whole idea of making a film look like a game is a good one to begin with.
I had no idea those buildings were real. They all look so digitally altered. I was hoping for a more real Violet.
by Mr. Dew (Jan 8, 2007 at 12 AM)OMG, U GUYS ACTUALLY SIT HERE AND REVIEW THIS ?? HOW SAD ARE YOU?
by froggy (Feb 5, 2007 at 1 AM)I totally agree with Jessy. Being a vampire fan, and having watched Vampire movies,i could understand the Hemophage part. But since i am not a gamer, so i couldn’t tell what parts resembled the game and what parts did not. So all in all, i found the special effects and the CGI amazing. Especially the motorbike race in which she is speeding vertically and horizontally down the building side. And after watching the making of this movie, i found it even more amazing. Milla is scared of motorbikes!
by Fizza (Mar 19, 2008 at 2 PM)Anyway,i enjoyed Equilibrium and Ultraviolet equally!