I can admit that there is something about scifi movies with Milla Jovovich kicking ass that I just enjoy watching.
My first exposure was with the SciFi comedy “5th Element” a movie that I have watched probably 100 times, and to this day think is probably Luke Perry’s finest acting ever, it is a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Many memorable lines in the movie, starring Bruce Willis, Ian Holm, as well as Gary Oldman as the bad guy.
Who can forget the epic line: “Multipass”? Geeks everywhere get the reference.
This catapulted her career as a kick-ass protagonist in the genre.
Following The Fifth Element comes the slick production of Ultraviolet, where she again just reigns supreme. The premise being:
… a subculture of humans have emerged who have been modified genetically by a vampire-like disease (Hemophagia), giving them enhanced speed, incredible stamina and acute intelligence, and as they are set apart from “normal” and “healthy” humans, the world is pushed to the brink of worldwide civil war (a war between humans and hemophages) aimed at the destruction of the “diseased” population. In the middle of this crossed-fire is – an infected woman – Ultraviolet, who finds herself protecting a nine-year-old boy who has been marked for death by the human government as he is believed to be a threat to humans.
Production values are high, and the action is intense. While the physicist in me is appalled by the unreality of the action shots, I can turn that off and enjoy the show.
Of course, this means that I also watch and enjoy the dreadful Resident Evil movies, based on a mediocre video game of the same name.
The premise:
Something rotten is brewing beneath the industrial mecca known as Raccoon City. Unknown to its millions of residents, a huge underground bioengineering facility known as The Hive has accidentally unleashed the deadly and mutating T-virus, killing all of its employees. To contain the leak, the governing supercomputer, Red Queen, has sealed all entrances and exits. Now a team of highly-trained super commandos including Rain (Michelle Rodriguez – The Fast and the Furious, Girlfight), Alice (Milla Jovovich) and Matt (Eric Mabius – Cruel Intentions) must race to penetrate The Hive in order to isolate the T-virus before it overwhelms humanity. To do so, they must get past the Red Queen’s deadly defenses, face the flesh-eating undead employees, fight killer mutant dogs and battle The Licker, a genetically mutated savage beast whose strength increases with each of its slain victims.
The first movie in the trilogy is better than the video game (which, IMHO was awful), well produced, and entertaining. Of course the end of the first movie paves the way for the second movie, the weaponization of Alice, Milla’s role, and itself concludes with an olive branch to the third episode, where the world is a post apocalyptic wasteland, with a wandering group of survivors, and the original Umbrella Corp dickheads trying to profit from their douchebaggery.
Of course, the scripts are awful, the effects are great, but what I enjoy the most is the action scenes.
As I said, a guilty pleasure, but I do enjoy me a good Milla Jovovich ass-whooping. I know she has done some non-scifi kick-ass movies, but seriously, who cares.
