[Mini-Review] Ultra-Violet (2006)
Kurt Wimmer didn't learn from EQ's marketing (or lack thereof) in the US that Hollywood is run by idiots who he should not trust, and thus, his 2-hour epic quasi-sequel to EQ was reduced to a load of stylistic drivel... or something.
2/5, overall: sub-medicore considering its origins. Excessive flash highlights the lack of substance.
5/5, if you're a fan of Milla Jovovich, like to see "cool sci-fi stuff",
1/5, if you wanted a quasi-sequel to EQ or more of the hard-style gunkatas
After Equilibrium, Kurt Wimmer revived the "gunkatas" for Ultraviolet(2006).
Now, Hollywood messed up EQ by not funding the marketing for the US release, since it was really big in Europe. Yeah, how does that logic go? It's popular so we better not promote it, or we might lose money? Riiiiight...
Anyhow, after messing up EQ (which still managed to be successful somehow, esp. in DVD sales), Kurt didn't learn a thing and still trusted them with his next major project, Ultraviolet. Which they forced him to cut from a 2-hour epic to a 88-minute... thing, which feels rushed, focused too much om Milla, and what's worse, the gunkatas are now a softer style which takes the edge off of their impressive nature (probally adapated to Milla's tastes).
Generally speaking, having big-named stars in films based on an indepenedent universe ruins them. Look at Jean Claude Van Damm and what he did to Street Fighter: The Movie (which I haven't had the misfortune of watching, actually, but I trust that 100% of the people who saw it, and knew anything about SF, hated it). I suspect that MIlla's involvement in this film caused it to be re-written to give her more screen time. Too much, actually.
That's not to say the film is without its postive points. It has a cool motocycle which does all sorts of fun, impossible things. Lots of stunts, action. Impossible mutant characters like one with hands for feet (making her more agile, supposedly...), and other stuff which I don't really remember but it was very cool in a "glitzy" way.
However, all of that flash just made me wish there was some substance to back it up.
Perhaps there's an extended directors' cut, but meanwhile, if you like sci fi, there's Minority Report, Payback, Gattaca, and so many others. If you like random killing, there's EQ, Shogun Assasin(1980), The Hunted(1995), Ninja Scroll, and so many others. If you like your time, better spend it some other way than watching this... something.
Having said all that, when I first watched it in the cinema, I gave it 5/5. Probally, I was just sex-deprived and like seeing Milla. And the gadgets are cool.
2/5, overall: sub-medicore considering its origins. Excessive flash highlights the lack of substance.
5/5, if you're a fan of Milla Jovovich, like to see "cool sci-fi stuff",
1/5, if you wanted a quasi-sequel to EQ or more of the hard-style gunkatas
After Equilibrium, Kurt Wimmer revived the "gunkatas" for Ultraviolet(2006).
Now, Hollywood messed up EQ by not funding the marketing for the US release, since it was really big in Europe. Yeah, how does that logic go? It's popular so we better not promote it, or we might lose money? Riiiiight...
Anyhow, after messing up EQ (which still managed to be successful somehow, esp. in DVD sales), Kurt didn't learn a thing and still trusted them with his next major project, Ultraviolet. Which they forced him to cut from a 2-hour epic to a 88-minute... thing, which feels rushed, focused too much om Milla, and what's worse, the gunkatas are now a softer style which takes the edge off of their impressive nature (probally adapated to Milla's tastes).
Generally speaking, having big-named stars in films based on an indepenedent universe ruins them. Look at Jean Claude Van Damm and what he did to Street Fighter: The Movie (which I haven't had the misfortune of watching, actually, but I trust that 100% of the people who saw it, and knew anything about SF, hated it). I suspect that MIlla's involvement in this film caused it to be re-written to give her more screen time. Too much, actually.
That's not to say the film is without its postive points. It has a cool motocycle which does all sorts of fun, impossible things. Lots of stunts, action. Impossible mutant characters like one with hands for feet (making her more agile, supposedly...), and other stuff which I don't really remember but it was very cool in a "glitzy" way.
However, all of that flash just made me wish there was some substance to back it up.
Perhaps there's an extended directors' cut, but meanwhile, if you like sci fi, there's Minority Report, Payback, Gattaca, and so many others. If you like random killing, there's EQ, Shogun Assasin(1980), The Hunted(1995), Ninja Scroll, and so many others. If you like your time, better spend it some other way than watching this... something.
Having said all that, when I first watched it in the cinema, I gave it 5/5. Probally, I was just sex-deprived and like seeing Milla. And the gadgets are cool.