Kelly WandUltraviolet
November 18th 2006 00:58
Well, here’s a surprise. Not just straight to video, a month after release and it’s already in the bargain bin. Released in the shadow of the almighty disaster that was “Aeon Flux”, this is a movie that nobody wanted. Heavy on the computed generated imaging and scripted like a Playstation game, my expectations could not have been lower. I am sure yours aren’t much higher. Let’s see if we can change that.
Milla Jovovich has always been a favourite of mine so I’m going to ignore the fact that she’s in it. I mean, it would just be too easy for me to fill up space with a couple of thousand words singing her praises. She looks good, she kicks arse and her acting is always strong. Let’s leave it at that. Besides, remember how she kicked the shit out of the zombie dog in “Resident Evil”?. Who is going to mess with that?
Instead, we should deal with the central issue of concern. Film adaptations of computer games have invariably trod a difficult path. Despite the fact that computer games play on the same screen as your DVDs, it doesn’t mean they instantly make for good cinema. Should we just be kind and state the obvious, computer game designers are yet to be recipients of any major literary prizes. The medium demands bitty action and minimal sub plot. It makes for dreary cinema.
Many films have recently been accused of being like computer games. The tedious “Aliens Versus Predators” flick did exactly what it said on the box but, if it was copying a computer game, it wasn’t the kind of game that would meet the approval of even the most easily pleased ten year old.
“Ultraviolet” is not an adaptation of a computer game. It is a science fiction action film made in the style of a computer game and it works. I pray to who ever is listening that nobody makes a habit of doing this but I can live with this one experiment. They don’t use the V word but Milla has been infected by some kind of disease that turned her into a vampire like creature. The humans are ruled by a neo fascist medical religious elite. Vampires and Humans fight a blood war and it looks like the humans have found a new weapon to finish it. It’s not much of a plot but it is enough to be working with. There is, however, enough political sub text, social commentary and human interaction to escape the more dire tendencies of the genre.
The art and set design along with the cinematography is inspired with a particular eye for symmetry and the use of a centre screen vanishing point. The coordination of colour and costume succeeds in not only effortlessly creating atmosphere but also provides clear visual clues that aid narrative through what could otherwise be a confusing world.
The action is extraordinary. Liberated from all laws of physics, car chases and fights leave the horizontal for the vertical and, for once, we go with it. When the movie begins the cityscape looks cartoonish but, once we become acclimatised, action we would normally dismiss as impossible becomes far more probable. Strangely, it is the absence of photorealism that achieves this. Where as the recent “Aeon Flux” was ponderous and cold, this is fast and surprisingly touching. It also manages one or two good laughs along the way.
Creatively, this is an interesting collaboration between Eastern and Western film makers. Filmed on location in Shanghai, that city’s sky line is treated and animated and combined with the imagined. It represents a genuine attempt to meld styles as opposed to slavish (if failed) mimicry. Even the martial arts employed manage to combine a variety of influences both oriental and occidental.
Not everyone is going to like it but I did. However – I’ll let you in on a secret – I almost didn’t give it a look. Having been bitten a few times on the arse by these things I was fighting a little shy. It’s certainly better than “Underworld” or “Resident Evil”, the films you are most likely to mistake it for through marketing. It’ll be a two dollar rental in no time and I think you’ll be surprised. This could be a cult movie just waiting to happen.
Milla Jovovich has always been a favourite of mine so I’m going to ignore the fact that she’s in it. I mean, it would just be too easy for me to fill up space with a couple of thousand words singing her praises. She looks good, she kicks arse and her acting is always strong. Let’s leave it at that. Besides, remember how she kicked the shit out of the zombie dog in “Resident Evil”?. Who is going to mess with that?
Instead, we should deal with the central issue of concern. Film adaptations of computer games have invariably trod a difficult path. Despite the fact that computer games play on the same screen as your DVDs, it doesn’t mean they instantly make for good cinema. Should we just be kind and state the obvious, computer game designers are yet to be recipients of any major literary prizes. The medium demands bitty action and minimal sub plot. It makes for dreary cinema.
Many films have recently been accused of being like computer games. The tedious “Aliens Versus Predators” flick did exactly what it said on the box but, if it was copying a computer game, it wasn’t the kind of game that would meet the approval of even the most easily pleased ten year old.
“Ultraviolet” is not an adaptation of a computer game. It is a science fiction action film made in the style of a computer game and it works. I pray to who ever is listening that nobody makes a habit of doing this but I can live with this one experiment. They don’t use the V word but Milla has been infected by some kind of disease that turned her into a vampire like creature. The humans are ruled by a neo fascist medical religious elite. Vampires and Humans fight a blood war and it looks like the humans have found a new weapon to finish it. It’s not much of a plot but it is enough to be working with. There is, however, enough political sub text, social commentary and human interaction to escape the more dire tendencies of the genre.
The art and set design along with the cinematography is inspired with a particular eye for symmetry and the use of a centre screen vanishing point. The coordination of colour and costume succeeds in not only effortlessly creating atmosphere but also provides clear visual clues that aid narrative through what could otherwise be a confusing world.
The action is extraordinary. Liberated from all laws of physics, car chases and fights leave the horizontal for the vertical and, for once, we go with it. When the movie begins the cityscape looks cartoonish but, once we become acclimatised, action we would normally dismiss as impossible becomes far more probable. Strangely, it is the absence of photorealism that achieves this. Where as the recent “Aeon Flux” was ponderous and cold, this is fast and surprisingly touching. It also manages one or two good laughs along the way.
Creatively, this is an interesting collaboration between Eastern and Western film makers. Filmed on location in Shanghai, that city’s sky line is treated and animated and combined with the imagined. It represents a genuine attempt to meld styles as opposed to slavish (if failed) mimicry. Even the martial arts employed manage to combine a variety of influences both oriental and occidental.
Not everyone is going to like it but I did. However – I’ll let you in on a secret – I almost didn’t give it a look. Having been bitten a few times on the arse by these things I was fighting a little shy. It’s certainly better than “Underworld” or “Resident Evil”, the films you are most likely to mistake it for through marketing. It’ll be a two dollar rental in no time and I think you’ll be surprised. This could be a cult movie just waiting to happen.
| 52 |
| Vote |
Add Comments
Comments (1)
Read More
