hu-bris (hew-bris) n. Overbearing pride or presumption.

Icarus flew too close to the sun, Napoleon invaded Russia and the makers of Ultraviolet thought that computer generated environments and martial arts sequences flashing by at a frenetic pace could replace a good story and involving characters.

Ultraviolet's shred of a story involves a society in which an oppressed underclass of diseased humans must fight for their survival against a government bent on eliminating them. Their disease, known as hemophagia, genetically changes them into a very untraditional race of vampires.

The failure of Ultraviolet is particularly sad for several reasons. Its writer/director Kurt Wimmer created the highly regarded film Equilibrium, which is also based on the premise of a dystopian future. A lot of time, toil, money and talent went into the creation of this maddening misfire (though obviously not quite enough). And Milla Jovovich is an extraordinary visual presence in front of the camera, who has made a career of playing ass-kicking superwomen since her role as Leeloo in The Fifth Element.

On paper, these must have appeared to add up to a winning combination, but the result is sterile and stillborn, for all of the fuss being played out on the screen. A ninety minute film of Jovovich as Violet simply sitting in front of the camera, talking about her life as a hemophage would have been more involving and infinitely less expensive.

Ultraviolet is already being spoken of as one of the worst movies of its kind ever made, particularly for viewers over the age of 12.

You've been warned.