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Ultraviolet: Code 044
Anime Review by Brian Cirulnick
I'm sure you've seen the live-action Ultra Violet. I mean it's either on TBS or Syfy, like, every 2 weeks. The stylish but ultimately empty film starring Milla Jovovich was created by writer/director Kurt Wimmer as a kind of gun-fu sequel to Equilibrium. And why the heck am I writing about this film here?
Because there's now an ANIME VERSION... Yes, UltraViolet the anime SERIES is available for viewing on Crackle, and we need to say that it's just as stylish and empty as the original. It's 12 episodes of bloodthirsty fun. You would have figured that any movie that used guns, kung-fu and swordplay as much as Ultra Violet would have *of course* inspired an anime series, perhaps the only surprise here is that it took so long (rights issues?).
 Unfortunately, director Osamu Dezaki plays it safe, keeping it glitzy-looking, but missing the panache and visual impact of the live-action film. Which is frustrating to say the least, as with animation, the visual effects are unlimited, and we hate to say it, but Kurt Wimmer was much more innovative in his handling of the little touches that made the live action film worth watching, even if the script was nothing to write home about.
The animation itself has a clunky, spartan-ness to it, which sort of screams "outsourced". Although designed in Japan by Madhouse, I'm willing to bet the production was actually in China. UltraViolet: Code 044 also suffers from constant, random, gratuitous fanservice in the hopes that you'll keep watching for the next T&A shot.
Ultimately UltraViolet: Code 044 makes me hunger for the source material, which was not exactly spectacular, but certainly better than this.
Ultraviolet: Code 044 is available for viewing on Crackle.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, June 2011
Below: Scenes from Ultraviolet: Code 044.
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