Directed by:
Len WisemanScreenplay:
Danny McBrideCinematography:
Tony Pierce-RobertsComposer:
Paul HaslingerCast:
Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Bill Nighy, Sophia Myles, Robbie Gee, Wentworth Miller, Zita Görög, Andreas Patton, Erwin Leder (more)VOD (3)
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In UNDERWORLD, a dark and Gothic monster action movie, vampires and lycans--an ancient form of werewolf--are at war. While the vampires inhabit a gigantic castle that houses their ancestor's tombs, the lycans live underground in a dilapidated sewer cave. Both teams are equipped with big guns, and they are constantly innovating deadlier bullets to gain advantage over each other. On the vampire side, the leather-clad death agent Selene (Kate Beckinsale) delegates teams of vamps to attack the lycans. But when she discovers that the lycans have kidnapped a human medical student, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), she knows the worst is on its way. Against the orders of her superior, Kraven (Shane Brolly), who is obsessively in love with Selene, she awakens the most powerful vampire of all time, Viktor (Bill Nighy) and prepares for a massive feud against lycan leader Lucian (Michael Sheen). (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
A terribly naive barrage of action that perhaps suffers from the inexperience of Wiseman as a director; he obviously shot the film with great passion, never letting the viewer breathe a sigh of relief with a relentless sequence of shootouts, chases and werewolf transformations. That's certainly a good thing, but with such a bland and silly story, it didn't really come together. I felt like the film was exactly the same from start to finish and ultimately didn't bring anything groundbreaking to make me remember it for a long time. Apart from Kate Beckinsale, the best was probably the demonic Bill Nighy, whom I couldn't recognize at first thanks to the thorough work of the make-up artists.
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This was alright. Kate in the corset and latex is decent at least. The purposefully colorized black-and-blue-and-white film is pleasing to the eye, but that's about all there is to say about it. Dramatically, it’s too straightforward, so the only films it can beat on points in its genre are the infamous Twilight saga films.
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Along with Ginger Snaps, Underworld is one of those series featuring monsters that I can't get enough of, despite my mediocre rating. The first episode has a really well done and atmospheric opening, including an introduction to the mythology of vampires and werewolves that draws the viewer into the story. I liked the hierarchy and the overall concept of the world of vampires, who, compared to werewolves (or here so nobly called Lycans), seemed more "aristocratic" – for example, covens and awakening elders. Like more than one user here, I have to comment on some of the illogical or even downright silly scenes that occurred from time to time in the film, such as the floor being shot through with a pistol (overall, Selene had a lot of rough bullets as they pierced the floor and walls at rest), the shooting sequence (a ton of bullets politely losing all the way against a few shots), or (possible SPOILER! ) the final duel between Viktor and Michael, which at times kind of reminded me of an awkwardly done game of strings and flying through the air (end of possible SPOILER!). But not to be a detractor here, I have to give credit to the decently done cliffhanger, which set the stage for the sequel, and also the decent soundtrack. It's a film that I like despite these visible flaws, which is why I like to come back to it from time to time.
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I'm not saying it's a masterpiece, but in concept and treatment, Underworld certainly doesn't fall into the category of a purely "B" film: The sets, the art direction, the music, and the excellent action are the main pluses of this film, which otherwise flounders on its script. Underworld is far from being a sophisticated and intelligent vampire saga, but I was not bored, quite the opposite – I had a great time. A weaker 4 stars.
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How to put it best... I really like the topic of vampirism and I don't mind the pop culture mutation of “Vampire: The Masquerade". I am more bothered when there is too much of the same thing in Hollywood, which is exactly the case of Underworld. I quite liked the atmosphere of some of the shots, and I also liked the vampire guru Viktor and his counterpart, the Lycan "Pepa Vojtek" Lucius. Otherwise, the characters lack motivation and, what’s worse, they are played tragically (particularly Barbi Kate is dismal). The biggest loser, however, is director Len Wiseman... the film might be stupid but also attractive, but in its current form it is only stupid. I would forgive the completely obvious and non-artificial copying of the visual style of the Wachowski brothers, but it is very difficult to forgive the totally chaotic and choreographically-weak action scenes, which culminate at the end with a confusing swarm of uncles in black coats... Trying to figure out who is who in the cannonade of cuts is useless, and this characterizes the entire film. Underworld lacks strong conflict and drama bearers, a clearly defined storyline, and mastered choreography. In some places the film does not lack decent action momentum, but the mentioned chaos and dialogues conducted in a ridiculously ceremonial spirit undermine the film and make it weaker.
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