Although it masquerades as a futuristic action-thriller, "Ultraviolet" functions best as a multi-million dollar commercial for Milla Jovovich's personal trainer. The dialogue may be leaden, the computer graphics may seem cheap and incomplete, the plot may be recycled and nonsensical, but Jovovich looks fabulous.

Allegedly Kurt Wimmer's script was inspired by John Cassavetes' "Gloria," though "Ultraviolet" is set sometime in the 21st century after a perplexing virus has turned a small part of the population into vampire-like monsters and the rest of the world into paranoid cattle ruled by the iron-fisted fascist government. The vampires are fighting back with the help of recent convert Violet (Jovovich), the only woman in the future confident enough to wear midriff-bearing t-shirts. Violet is a cold-blooded killing machine with an arsenal of weapons and heightened powers that make her unstoppable, at least until she meets Six (Cameron Bright), a young genetic experiment who teaches Violet to love again.

Wimmer's earlier film, "Equilibrium," has a devoted cadre of fans, who are devoted to its sci-fi philosophy and its low budget/high return fight sequences. With "Ultraviolet," the science fiction details are delivered in jargon-heavy snatches of dialogue by supporting actors who speak with a uniform monotone. Nobody has a clue what they're talking about when they natter about "hemophages" and "antigens" and "flat space technology" and "gravity levelers." They're all just empty words to explain Violet's omnipotence.

Violet's endless supply of guns, ability to dodge bullets, superhuman control of swords and absurd flexibility make her an unstoppable foe and neuter the film's combat scenes, which break down the exact same way: Violet finds herself surrounded, bends and spins and shoots and stabs and there's instantly a legion of dead soldiers around her. The ratio of posing to butt-kicking is all off.

"Ultraviolet" takes place in a largely computer-generated universe that's so flat and non-descript that you'd think Wimmer was relying on first generation technology. "Ultraviolet" is to digital environments what "Tron" was to computer effects in the first place, except that the video game-style graphics seem well behind the curve. Nobody's even trying to make the motorcycles, helicopters or cyber-Violets look real.

There are instances where Wimmer's aesthetic inspiration immerges and quickly gets cut down by either sheer absurdity or shoddy effects. I was intrigued, for example, by the beginnings of a gorgeous umber-tinted rooftop showdown between Violet and the "Blood Chinois" (don't ask, I couldn't explain) until the camera passed through one character's ear canal and out his gun barrel. That's not cool. It's stupid.

The movie is finally just about Wimmer's love for Jovovich. Every shot either begins on her taut belly and moves up to her face or starts on her face and circles back to her rear. He even shoots her like an old-time movie star, in gauzy close-ups, even when matching shots of fellow actors (names withheld to protect the innocent) are unfiltered.

A colleague exited the movie calling it "kaleidoscopic crap." I can't do any better than that.