Like any film freak, there was a time in my life wherein I'd see practically anything that looked like it fit the mold of an acceptable Science Fiction and/or Fantasy release ... and, sure, I had a stable of actors and actresses I followed whose films always tweaked my interest. One of those ladies -- for a time -- was the talented Milla Jovovich.
Now, I couldn't say why her films intrigued me exactly. Sure, she's attractive in that Maybelline movie face way -- I mean that as no disrespect -- so I can be visually wooed just as much as the next guy. But I recall thinking that she had kinda/sorta inherited the mantle of 'Genre Queen' from so many other talented actresses in the past; and she was doing a respectable job trying to seek out and explore any and all scripts that put her in like-minded fare. While I wasn't a fan of the film The Fifth Element (1997), I did love her work in the picture; and -- so far as I'm concerned -- she's really one of the chief reasons to see that flick even now, decades later. (That, and some very, very, very good production values. But -- ugh -- it's story is kinda hot garbage.) And, yes, I think I've sat through all of the Resident Evil franchise; even though I likely couldn't distinguish one or the other of those stories in a police line-up if my life depended on it, I still went back to appreciate what Milla was doing in them.
What can I say? Some faces -- and forces -- deserve some appreciation, and she's always been dynamic and watchable in my book.
That said, I've only seen her Ultraviolet (2006) once, and that was during its theatrical run. I vaguely recall walking out of the theater and turning to my lovely wife to ask, "What the Hell did I just watch?" It seemed more than a bit contrived, void of any real central intriguing narrative, and a bit of a mess, so far as characters go. (I've since learned to not be so hard on B-Movies, but back then I remember expecting a bit more from flicks.) So this one-timer was something that came and went, easily and quickly forgotten mostly because it just didn't resonate in any manageable way. This can happen, and methinks Ultraviolet deserved a better fate.
From what I've since come to understand, both its top star and writer/director Kurt Wimmer have pretty much disowned the property. As best as I can explain it, the storyteller delivered a two-hour hard R final cut to Sony, an incarnation of the tale that apparently confused the suits. They were smitten -- quite obviously -- with the female action star premise and thus expected a bit more frenetic action, something the studio had hoped to release to fans hungry for much of the same. As executives will do from time-to-time, they locked both Milla and Wimmer out of the project, trimmed it down to something like 90-minutes, and shoved that into theaters ... even without all special effects sequences being fully completed!
As you can imagine, the film mostly crashed and burned at the box office. I have read that it actually made very good money with a subsequent home video release -- I think I've also noticed that some of the cut footage was re-installed -- but as I've never seen it since I can't speak to whether or not the surviving incarnation is any better than the confusing lot I witnessed with my own two eyes.
Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"A beautiful hæmophage infected with a virus that gives her superhuman powers has to protect a boy in a futuristic world, who is thought to be carrying antigens that would destroy all hæmophages."
Now, I couldn't say why her films intrigued me exactly. Sure, she's attractive in that Maybelline movie face way -- I mean that as no disrespect -- so I can be visually wooed just as much as the next guy. But I recall thinking that she had kinda/sorta inherited the mantle of 'Genre Queen' from so many other talented actresses in the past; and she was doing a respectable job trying to seek out and explore any and all scripts that put her in like-minded fare. While I wasn't a fan of the film The Fifth Element (1997), I did love her work in the picture; and -- so far as I'm concerned -- she's really one of the chief reasons to see that flick even now, decades later. (That, and some very, very, very good production values. But -- ugh -- it's story is kinda hot garbage.) And, yes, I think I've sat through all of the Resident Evil franchise; even though I likely couldn't distinguish one or the other of those stories in a police line-up if my life depended on it, I still went back to appreciate what Milla was doing in them.
What can I say? Some faces -- and forces -- deserve some appreciation, and she's always been dynamic and watchable in my book.
That said, I've only seen her Ultraviolet (2006) once, and that was during its theatrical run. I vaguely recall walking out of the theater and turning to my lovely wife to ask, "What the Hell did I just watch?" It seemed more than a bit contrived, void of any real central intriguing narrative, and a bit of a mess, so far as characters go. (I've since learned to not be so hard on B-Movies, but back then I remember expecting a bit more from flicks.) So this one-timer was something that came and went, easily and quickly forgotten mostly because it just didn't resonate in any manageable way. This can happen, and methinks Ultraviolet deserved a better fate.
From what I've since come to understand, both its top star and writer/director Kurt Wimmer have pretty much disowned the property. As best as I can explain it, the storyteller delivered a two-hour hard R final cut to Sony, an incarnation of the tale that apparently confused the suits. They were smitten -- quite obviously -- with the female action star premise and thus expected a bit more frenetic action, something the studio had hoped to release to fans hungry for much of the same. As executives will do from time-to-time, they locked both Milla and Wimmer out of the project, trimmed it down to something like 90-minutes, and shoved that into theaters ... even without all special effects sequences being fully completed!
As you can imagine, the film mostly crashed and burned at the box office. I have read that it actually made very good money with a subsequent home video release -- I think I've also noticed that some of the cut footage was re-installed -- but as I've never seen it since I can't speak to whether or not the surviving incarnation is any better than the confusing lot I witnessed with my own two eyes.
Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"A beautiful hæmophage infected with a virus that gives her superhuman powers has to protect a boy in a futuristic world, who is thought to be carrying antigens that would destroy all hæmophages."
Now, wouldn't it be grand if there were some way to find all of that unseen footage, bring Wimmer back into the fold, and -- years later -- give his original tale a proper airing? That's exactly the kind of thing that I find so grand about a few home video distributors like Kino Lorber, Arrow Films, and others: these outlets are actually investing some time and money into helping mythmakers go about resolving some issues that tanked a project here and there, giving light to slightly different versions of earlier releases and thereby granting them new life. Maybe -- someday -- the same could happen for Ultraviolet ... as it would be exciting to see a story that made a bit more sense.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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