Ultraviolet

Another terrible super-heroine-of-the-future flick, writer-director Kurt Wimmer's Ultraviolet stars Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) as Violet, a typically svelte, leather-clad, sword-and-automatic-pistol-wielding resistance fighter who can dispose of hundreds of enemies all alone in hand-to-hand combat (no shrinking Violet, she). A plague-surviving hemophage (which apparently means semi-vampire) who escaped being imprisoned or executed by the current dictatorial regime, Violet has been assigned by her superiors to steal a hemophage-destroying “doomsday machine” from the powers-that-be. Horrified to discover that the supposed device is actually a young boy (Cameron Bright), Violet is caught up in an elongated chase (kind of like a really bad Road Runner knockoff), trying to save the child from both sides and recover her humanity in the process. All of this is punctuated at regular intervals by clumsily choreographed fight scenes in which Violet strides into a room filled with opponents, does a few gymnastic jumps, and is suddenly surrounded by corpses. Ultraviolet's script is puerile and incoherent; the actors are unremittingly atrocious; and the futuristic CGI work is simply awful. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by star Milla Jovovich, the 31-minute “making-of” documentary “UV Protection,” and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a dud film.] (F. Swietek)