Underworld

"Underworld" is no ordinary horror movie. It tells the tale of a secret war between vampires and werewolves (or as they're called here, lycans). Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, a lethal assassin on the vampire side. Scott Speedman plays Michael Corvin, a man who finds himself wrapped up in this brutal war. This movie is rather well done, despite all the blood and graphic violence. The look of the movie is dark, Gothic and brooding, which fits very well with the story. The script is interesting, using science to bring the vampire and werewolf legends into the modern age (such as saying the lycans are allergic to silver). The story of the bitter rivalry between to two mythic characters would make a fascinating prequel, and the sequel should follow "Underworld" with real impact as well.

I can understand why some people were unwilling to give this movie a chance. I started out thinking, OK, so Anna Valerious from Van Helsing is now a female Blade! I was wrong! I also went in thinking it was going to be a push button movie with no real twists.

Again I was wrong.

I didn't really see the twist coming at the end (surprising, since I figured out who Kaiser Sosay was!) I liked this move for a lot of reasons. The darkness in the movie wasn't oppressive. The acting was good, and the story strong.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Everything you've heard from the critics, everything you know about vampires and werewolves, everything that is standard in most fantasy/action films. Then you'll enjoy this film. I, unlike a lot of fans, will not claim that this is a move masterpiece, I will not claim that this will change movie making history. I, however, will go against the critics and say that this is a good film. Not getting a chance to see this in the cinema, when it came out on video I rented it out immediately. Now, at first, I could see what the critics meant it wasn't how the trailers depicted it and the script and acting in places was a bit rusty. I put it back and gave no more thought to it. However I soon found myself thinking about the film and the bits I'd enjoyed. I soon realised that this was good because it wasn't conventional and I couldn't stop thinking about it. There had been so many plot twists, so much to take in that I knew I had to see it a second time. This time I bought it, on DVD, and I found myself watching it again and again. This film gives you wonderful villains and just when you start to hate them something nastier comes along or they give you a motive which makes you confused. In one film the world which you are presented with at the beginning, Lycans (Werewolves) vrs. Vampires, is thrown into doubt. There are no longer good and evil, it is no longer this side versus this side and our hero Selene is stuck in the middle. The thing is every villain in this film seems to be fully justifiable in their actions yet completely nasty. I was trying, after falling in love with this film, to work out where it went wrong. I realised there was too much. You are thrown into this world and you have to keep up, there is no chance to sit down and work things out. That comes after seeing the film, this world explains itself through the characters actions. It is as if this world is real and we are meant to know about it already. Their is a history, their is a false history, their are legendary characters and not all of it is gone into in particular detail. Pieces of the world's history are just thrown in by the characters, as they would be in real life, with no long detailed explanation. That mixed with the cliff hanger ending, the promise of more characters from the past. MEans that even if you weren't sure about this film, the sequel Underworld: Evolution looks like it will be amazing.

As soon as I saw the preview to this film I wrote it off as a silly Matrix rip-off trying to attack a subject that is so tired (vampires/werewolves). I really never had any intention of seeing Underworld until my girlfriend, who saw it in theaters, repeatedly suggested I watch it. After watching the DVD just now I must say that I enjoyed it a lot. I was completely into the story, which is surprisingly rich and engaging. One would have to be a bit naïve not to admit that Underworld does indeed borrow from a variety of action films, most notably The Matrix. It should be obvious to any free-thinking person that none of the ideas present in Underworld are original, but what this film does well is take ideas that were established in the past and build on them more. This is by no means a carbon copy of any of the films from which it borrows from. Slow motion gun battles didn't originate with the Matrix films. The most refreshing aspect of this movie is the story, which surprisingly has many layers and puts a totally fresh new spin on the vampire/werewolf stories. This aspect, along with the excellent visual effects makes Underworld an enjoyable experience. A sequel for this is inevitable, and I must say that I'm really looking forward to it. Underworld was a very pleasant surprise.

*** out of **** stars

Beneath the surface, in the shadows, a dark sphere; two hostile factions, scythe and rip, and claw and shear; a battle born of ages, a perpetual war rages, without forgiveness, without compassion, just hate sincere.

A warring vampire makes a link to treachery, this wolf assassin's stalked Lycans for centuries, hidden secrets are revealed, open wounds that never healed, genes are diced and spliced to halt adversaries.

It's only downhill from now on, as the franchise ruptures, the bloods gone, not quite knowing when to stop, perpetually draining a good plot, leaving a husk, a shallow spectre of what was.