Ultraviolet (2006)

Vapid, ridiculous, self-important, and nearly indecipherable, Ultraviolet still packs enough visual punch and audacity to earn begrudging respect. Director Kurt Wimmer's follow-up to 2002's generally excellent Equilibrium serves as a cogent example of Style over Substance. When the action is piling on hot and heavy the film is at its peak but the moment the bullets stop flying you find yourself checking your watch and hoping the next poorly accented “thespian” walking around the corner is hiding a gun behind his back. The good news is they often are, the bad is that it's not nearly often enough. When the body count is rising there are an astonishing amount of things happening on screen, most of them further extensions of Wimmer's semi-brilliant “Gun Kata” martial art invention from Equilibrium, all wrapped around a color palette that pushes straight past nauseating into downright experimental. The film doesn't involve your brain in any way that matters, and when the loud techno music and gunfire lullaby stop the film is just plain awful, but when the film kicks into fight mode there's enough visual flair to warrant a watch.

5 out of 10.