This movie is a bit of a mess:
- In the future, a disease causes people to become vampires - strong, fast, quick-healing, light sensitive, fangs, require transfusions, etc. However, these vampires or "hemophages" never actually drink any blood. The fangs are just for pretty.
- In this fascist future, controlled by the medical-industrial complex, surveillance is omnipresent and armed security is everywhere. But shoot up a subway, and does anybody investigate? Never around when you need them.
- Constant testing for infected DNA never seems to catch anyone.
- The emotional development (Jovavich lost her baby, the MacGuffin is a little boy) is heavy-handed, unconvincing and slows the movie down a lot.
On the other hands:
- Milla Jovavich. She looks great posing with a gun or sword in skimpy yet armored outfits. She moves well too.
- In fact, in the fight scenes, she moves like a trained stuntman! The favored technique is ducking bullets, and letting the baddies who have surrounded you shoot each other. This technique works for swords as well.
The director, Kurt Wimmer, calls this "gun kata", but we know it was invented by Joel Grey, in Remo Williams. - The CGI looks a lot like a video game, but that could be considered an artistic decision instead of a drawback.
- In fact, if you don't mind the CGI/greenscreen style, the art direction is great. The movie has a great futuristic look.
- There are some cool gadgets, like a gravity reverser, guns that materialize out of a bracelet, and flat storage. Flat storage lets you storage a large boy in a small briefcase, or a sword in a brooch - so the ninjas can sheath their swords in their chests!
In conclusion, heed the warning of Ultraviolet, and beware socialized medicine!
Next week on Not So Bad theater, we hope to bring you: Tank Girl!
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