From Kurt Wimmer, the director of the kick-ass sci-fi action film "Equilibrium," comes his follow-up film, another sci-fi action film that... well, sucks major ass.

"Ultraviolet" stars sci-fi action hero Milla Jovovich (who has played similar roles in two "Resident Evil" films and "The Fifth Element") as a woman infected with a weird virus that has turned her into a super-powered vampire-assassin and an outlaw from the world's authoritative government. Working for the resistance, she is sent on a mission to extract a deadly weapon that could wipe out her kind, but when she discovers that the weapon is actually a child, she turns on her own to protect the kid. That's about as far as I got, and then I turned off this piece of crap before my brain became even more scrambled.

Before we get into the movie, let's take a look at Jovovich's career choice to star in this movie. Certainly, her motives here were to capitalize on her success with the "Resident Evil" pictures, but shouldn't she be worried about being typecasted? After all, in "Resident Evil" she plays a woman who was partially infected with the zombie virus and has thus become a super-human who has the best of both worlds. In "Ultraviolet," she plays a woman who was partially infected with the vampire virus and has thus become a super-human who has the best of both worlds. Sadly, "Utlraviolet" makes "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" look like an Oscar-winner.

"Ultraviolet" sucks on many levels. The writing and dialogue are terrible, and the acting is about as stale as it gets. If you've seen a sci-fi movie where the government is too controlling, then you've heard this dialogue before. Amazingly, though, what ruins this film are the special effects, which are about some of the most atrocious visuals I have seen in years. And I believe they are intentional.

Wimmer's style in this movie is ambitious and different, to say the least, but sometimes when you take risks you fail miserably. While "Equilibrium" had some kick-ass special effects and incredible visuals, at least for the film's budget, "Ultraviolet" is the complete opposite. Everything looks whitewashed, giving the whole movie a very artificial look. Maybe this was intentional but I don't care - it just makes every little moment cheesy.

The special effects really do their damage in the first big chase sequence, where the title character takes her gravity-defying motorcycle through the streets of the city. As she drives up and down the sides of buildings, barely avoiding police cars and helicopters every step of the way, I lost absolutely all interesting in the flick. The graphics are so bad and the action so unbelievable that I can't comprehend anyone getting drawn into the picture.

"Ultraviolet" sucks beyond belief, although in reality it lives up to expectations set by the previews. This is a poor, poor follow-up for Kurt Wimmer. A one hit wonder is maybe too early to predict, but he is certainly on a bad trend.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.