rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States, Germany, Hungary, United Kingdom; 2003
Directed by Len Wiseman; produced by Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, Richard Wright; screenplay by Danny McBride
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Bill Nighy, Erwin Leder
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Underworld' is a constantly dark movie about a fight between vampires and
werewolves. I liked watching Kate Beckinsale and some of the dark production
design but I could not care for any of the characters, I did not like the
story and the longer the movie took the more I wanted it to end.
Beckinsale, who was sweet in bad movies like 'Pearl Harbor' and
'Serendipity' (a guilty pleasure for me,) is a cool lady here. She is a
vampire warrior named Selene, young and rebellious. In the vampire fight
against werewolves, she falls in love with one named Michael Corvin (Scott
Speedman) and together they want the war between the two races to end. As we
always see in movies like this, we have good guys and bad guys on both
sides. To discover who is good and who is bad is the task of the heroine.
In a way the movie is entertaining, especially the first hour. One of the
problems is that the movie stars only characters that can not stand
daylight. Although the production design and cinematography are interesting
at times there is a point where you have seen enough dark places. The plot
only takes place when it is night, we simply skip daytime. I prefer a movie
like 'Blade', also about vampires, but with characters that can stand
daylight. That movie is better anyway.
'Underworld' will be liked by fans of the genre. The action sequences are
not bad, the visuals look good enough and the heroine, although I didn't
care for her, has a cool appearance. It mixes the looks of 'The Matrix' and
'Blade' and even borrows some of the 'Blade II' story-elements, accidentally
I guess. Many movies are better but it is not a complete waste of time.