Year: 2006
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Summary:
So we're put into the realm of movies based on comic books, yet again. The movie begins with Violet (Jovovich) giving a long introduction to the back story. In the future, there is a long-standing civil war between your average, everyday human and a special race known as "Hemophages". Hemophages are humans who were infected with a special virus. They quickly adopt traits similar to those of your traditional vampire: sensitivity to light, super-speed, super-strength, and the need for precious blood. We are quickly put into the eyes of Violet, a middle aged woman and a key player in the revolt against the humans. At a young age, Violet was infected with the Hemophage virus and was quickly put into quarentine. She spends her childhood and much of her early adult life in this prison. Eventually, (as the way it goes) she becomes pregnant. In a Red-China fashion, the government forces her to have an abortion. She grows with rage, escapes the facility, and joins the rebellion. Her first act, as we know, is to infiltrate a government agency. She takes on the role of an agent and enters without a hitch. She is to deliver a "weapon" within a limited amount of time. She is eventually discovered, lots of action, and finds that the "weapon" is a child, learns the child is the antagonist's son/clone, and fights to protect him. Big happy ending.
Plot:
Yes, this was definitely an original story, BUT, if you pick out all the fancy special effects, you get your traditional fight-the-man sci-fi. There were a few plot holes (like when she confronts the antagonist for the first time, gets shot to hell only it was a hologram, then cuts to a scene RANDOMLY). Also, and these were little things that probably only I would've picked up, but there were a few holes in the fighting style. Overall? Not SUPER captivating, but interesting, nonetheless. 3/5
Characters:
Violet, to be summarized in one word, was a mother. All the way. And that's the way the writer intended her to be. Continually the story would harp on her forced abortion and her new-found love for the boy, Six. Six was your run-of-the-mill boy genius. He continually causes Violet to get caught in a mess of baddies. The antagonist ended up proving that he could hold his ground in a fight, despite the sissy outer shell. Eh? Sure. 3/5
Aesthetics:
If there's one thing this movie had going for it, it was the colors. Wow, was it beautiful at some parts. Everytime Violet stepped into a new scenario her outfit would change to match it. Lead to some incredibly beautiful fight scenes. Which brings me to another plus: the fighting. Yes, as I before mentioned, there were some gaps in matching the styles, but DAMN. I guess that's the testosterone-infused-man deep down inside. 5/5
Cast:
To answer Jamie's question: No, Milla Jovovich was a miss for me in this movie. She just didn't grasp the character as well as she could've. The boy who played Six, whom at this time I cant think of his name, was spot-on. Usually, it's the other way around (due to the fact that I dont care for child actors). Not a super all star cast, but they held their own. 3/5
Grade: 70, C
Afterthoughts:
Yeah, I liked it. It was entertaining, but at a measly 85 minutes, it seemed short. Too many cuts in storyline and back-plot. Good for what it was, a movie to enjoy with my little brother. I'd recommend it to the artist in you.
As you described the plot, I remembered that I had seen this. I guess it wasn't horrible, but at the same time... ... it kind of really sucked, I thought. The colors were amazing, but I thought the acting kind of sucked on Jovovich's part. It was too cool; not enough energy when fighting to fit the compassion of the mother role. It just didn't work for me. And though the plot was -original-, I really didn't think it was -good-. It was just kind of painful... and the fighting wasn't nearly good enough to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteBut that was my take.
Glad to see you're writing like this--if anything, justify it as developing a portfolio.