Kurt Wimmer’s previous film, the underrated Equilibrium, was a derivative tale but showcased the director’s eye for action with spectacularly choreographed sequences. This follow-up, set in a similarly dystopian future, shows what can happen when such potential is beaten unconscious, stuffed in a suitcase and buried alive beneath 100 tons of concrete.
It's only 87 minutes long, but every second of Ultraviolet feels like a month in detention. All meaningful narrative is disposed of in an excruciating voiceover, leaving it impossible to underthink the first-draft nonsense that passes for a story here. Which would be bad enough if the action were impressive, but even the elaborate martial arts prove awkwardly shot and stultifyingly repetitive.
It’s actually quite an achievement that even during the major set-pieces Wimmer fails to generate a single moment of real engagement. Things don’t improve when the dust settles either, as this is when the characters start talking, twisting their tongues around dialogue so consistently bad, it sounds like a poorly translated dub track. The CG is low-grade, the characters atom-thin, the costumes clichéd and the sets devoid of inspiration. In fact, there’s so little that’s right with Ultraviolet, finding fault is almost redundant. Arse of the highest (lowest?) order.