How Did This Get Made?

Ultraviolet LIVE! w/ Nick Wiger & Mike Mitchell (HDTGM Matinee)

January 6, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The hosts and guests immediately express confusion over the movie's premise and world-building, with Paul Scheer admitting he was unsure if *Ultraviolet* was even a real movie. 
  • The film is heavily criticized for its lack of explanation regarding its futuristic technology, lore (like the difference between haemophages and vampires), and character motivations, leading Jason Mantzoukas to compare the experience to playing a poorly controlled video game. 
  • The discussion reveals that the film was significantly cut down from a 120-minute version to 88 minutes by the studio (Screen Gems) because the original was deemed 'too emotional' and lacked sufficient action, which the hosts feel contributed to its incoherence. 
  • The discussion heavily featured complex fan theories about *Ultraviolet*, including the idea that the character Six is Violet from the future, which the hosts ultimately found overly complicated compared to simple storytelling like *The Matrix*. 
  • A significant tangent derailed the *Ultraviolet* discussion into the bizarre post-credits scene of the Adam Sandler movie *Pixels*, specifically focusing on Josh Gad's relationship with Q*bert. 
  • Audience second opinions overwhelmingly praised Milla Jovovich's appearance and physical attributes while largely ignoring the film's plot, reinforcing the hosts' negative assessment of the movie's quality. 

Segments

Initial Impressions and Mila Jovovich
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(00:01:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Paul Scheer admitted uncertainty about whether Ultraviolet qualified as a movie, noting it was his first time seeing a Milla Jovovich film post-2000.
  • Summary: Paul Scheer confessed he was unsure if Ultraviolet was actually a movie and noted this was his first time seeing a Milla Jovovich film released after 2000, excluding Dazed and Confused. Jason Mantzoukas compared watching the film to playing a poorly controlled Sega CD video game where pressing a button only changed the protagonist’s outfit. The hosts welcomed guests Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell from The Doughboys podcast for the crossover episode.
Comic Book Aesthetics and CGI Quality
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(00:06:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The movie opens with a comic book montage because the director wanted to make a comic book movie, despite the film not being based on any existing comic.
  • Summary: The opening credits feature a comic book montage, which the director reportedly included because he always wanted to make a comic book movie. Listeners noted the use of the term ‘Japanimation’ on an early comic cover, which felt outdated for a 2006 release. The visual style was described as having ‘shitty CGI’ that resembled a low-quality video game cutscene.
Vampire Lore Confusion and AIDS Allegory
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(00:08:51)
  • Key Takeaway: The distinction between ‘vampires’ and ‘haemophages’ was unclear, and the film was interpreted by one host as an allegory for HIV/AIDS due to the 12-year life sentence associated with the infection.
  • Summary: The hosts struggled to define the infected population, noting that Milla Jovovich’s character, Violet, did not initially appear to have the characteristic vampire teeth. Nick Wiger noted that the term ‘vampire’ was not explicitly used until 46 minutes into the film. The concept of a limited lifespan (12 years) for the infected led to the interpretation that Ultraviolet functions as an AIDS parable.
Lack of World-Building and Plot Exposition
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(00:10:17)
  • Key Takeaway: The film immediately cheats the audience by starting with Violet stating the world is hard to understand, failing to provide necessary context for its technology or societal structure.
  • Summary: The movie opens with Violet stating the world is hard to understand, which the hosts felt was a major narrative cheat. The flashback explaining the origin of the haemophages and the death of Violet’s husband felt like it occurred in the audience’s reality, making the jump to the future confusing. The lack of explanation for core elements, like why everything is radioactive or why characters need ‘clean blood,’ was a major criticism.
Inconsistent Technology and Character Abilities
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(00:15:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Future technology, such as Fitbits that generate guns, was impractical because the guns required manual reloading, and Violet’s combat invincibility was inconsistent across different fight scenes.
  • Summary: The technology, like Fitbits generating guns, was criticized for being impractical due to the need to manually load bullets one at a time. Violet’s powers were inconsistent; she could dodge coordinated gunfire from 700 guards but struggled navigating a crowded mall later. The film’s action sequences lacked tension because Violet seemed equally capable against any number of opponents.
Director’s Style and Writer’s Filmography
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(00:28:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Director Kurt Wimmer developed the fighting style ‘Gunkata’ for his film Equilibrium, which he claimed to have created, despite The Matrix predating it.
  • Summary: Director Kurt Wimmer developed ‘Gunkata,’ a blend of gun fighting and martial arts, which he previously utilized in Equilibrium. The screenwriter for Ultraviolet has a filmography dominated by action/reboot films, including Total Recall (new version) and Point Break (new version). Wimmer stated the film was intentionally left open to interpretation, including a theory where the character Six is Violet from the future.
The Dreadlock Fight and Racial Stereotypes
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(00:44:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The introduction of a heavily accented Jamaican man solely for a fight scene involving dreadlocks was called out as racially insensitive.
  • Summary: The fight scene where Violet battles a character with dreadlocks was highlighted as problematic. The character was introduced as the first heavily accented Jamaican man in the film, seemingly only to facilitate a fight where his dreadlocks were used as a weapon. The hosts agreed this specific character introduction felt racially insensitive.
Audience Questions on Plot Holes
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(00:47:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Audience members questioned the transmission method of the disease, noting the contradiction between the need for protective gear and the requirement to sign documents in blood.
  • Summary: An audience member questioned why protective equipment like nose guards made sense if the disease was airborne, especially since characters breathed through their mouths. Another contradiction noted was the requirement to sign a package release form in blood, despite the danger of blood transmission. The film’s visual style was compared unfavorably to Sin City, appearing airbrushed and out of focus.
Future Violet Time Travel Theory
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(00:56:56)
  • Key Takeaway: The theory posits Six is Violet from the future, explaining her actions against the trailer’s premise.
  • Summary: The theory suggests Six is Violet from the future, allowing her to remember the original timeline and prevent events. This also explains why Six disobeys Violet and why Violet protects a human despite her goal to kill them. The complexity of this theory led to skepticism from the hosts.
Director’s Intent and Fan Fiction
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(00:57:58)
  • Key Takeaway: The director allegedly left Ultraviolet open to interpretation by making the film nonsensical.
  • Summary: The director reportedly stated the film was open to interpretation, which the hosts interpreted as an admission that the movie made no sense. They contrasted this with small ambiguities in shows like Breaking Bad against Ultraviolet’s need for extensive fan fiction to be coherent. The hosts felt the director encouraged complex theories by creating nonsense.
Pixels Crossover and Q*bert Sex
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(00:59:36)
  • Key Takeaway: The Ultraviolet universe is jokingly suggested to be shared with Pixels, leading to a detailed analysis of Q*bert’s sexual relationship with Josh Gad.
  • Summary: The segment devolved into analyzing the Pixels post-credits scene where Josh Gad has a relationship with Qbert, who transforms into a woman. The logistics of this union, including genetic compatibility and the immediate birth of Qbert babies, were intensely scrutinized. The hosts questioned Q*bert’s agency in this forced romantic/sexual scenario.
Milla Jovovich’s Filmography and Stunts
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(01:05:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Milla Jovovich’s filmography is characterized by action roles, such as in Resident Evil, which are considered more coherent than Ultraviolet.
  • Summary: The hosts compared Ultraviolet unfavorably to Milla Jovovich’s Resident Evil movies, noting the latter has an existing property to ground its plot. One reviewer noted Jovovich’s dedication, claiming she performs her own superhuman stunts and has an uncompromising workout regimen. This reviewer also claimed Jovovich is 415 years old and invented fireworks.
Viewer Fatigue and Movie Slog
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(01:06:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The film’s lack of sense and poor pacing caused severe viewer fatigue, leading one host to nearly die before finishing it.
  • Summary: One host recounted nearly dying in a car accident on the way to the live show, noting that watching Ultraviolet on a broken recumbent bike was the last thing they would have wanted to do. The film’s 88-minute runtime felt interminable because it was joyless and made no sense, causing the host to fall asleep multiple times.
Director’s Vision and Test Screening Notes
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(01:08:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Actors praised the director’s singular, specific vision, which the hosts implied resulted from test audiences demanding the film make less sense.
  • Summary: Actors praised Kurt Wimmer’s specific vision for every element of the film, suggesting the production was entirely in his head. The hosts speculated that test screening notes must have requested the movie be made more confusing, contrasting it with The Matrix, which had cool ideas but simple storytelling. They noted the film was cut from 120 minutes to 88 minutes.
Fictional Language and Pocket Dimensions
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(01:11:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The film uses ‘Thalandi,’ a fictional language that is actually spoken Vietnamese, which the hosts found particularly egregious.
  • Summary: The movie features a fictional Asian race speaking ‘Thalandi,’ which is identified as the actual Vietnamese language. Trivia revealed that the technology includes easily overlooked wristbands that load ammunition into guns with 18-inch bayonets stored in six-inch grips. Furthermore, Garth’s entire lab exists within a pocket dimension inside his red Mac truck.
Audience Second Opinions Focus on Looks
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(01:13:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Second opinions from viewers were overwhelmingly focused on Milla Jovovich’s attractiveness rather than the film’s plot or quality.
  • Summary: The majority of positive reviews centered on how hot and horny the viewers felt watching Milla Jovovich, with one reviewer renting, buying, and downloading the film because of her presence. One review dedicated several minutes to praising her voice, eyes, posture, and costumes, calling her a ‘creature’ inhabiting the planet. The hosts noted that being a single guy seemed to correlate with enjoying the movie.
Box Office and Spinoffs
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(01:26:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Ultraviolet grossed $31 million worldwide against a $30 million budget, and it later spawned an animated series called Ultraviolet Code 44.
  • Summary: The film’s budget was $30 million, earning $18 million domestically and $31 million globally, meaning it technically recouped its production cost. The movie was also associated with an early digital copy feature, offering a free download when purchasing the physical media. A direct animated spin-off, Ultraviolet Code 44, was created two years after the film’s release.