"Underworld" takes vampires and pits them against werewolves, portraying the two as clans that have been at war for thousands of years. Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, a 'death dealer' (death dealers are kind of like an elite S.W.A.T. team of werewolf killers). After hundreds of years of hunting, the werewolf population has been decimated and the leader of the werewolves, Lucian (Michael Sheen), has been killed.
At the same time as a big event (an 'awakening' of an ancient) is about to take place in the vampire world, there comes a flurry of action from the werewolves. Apparently most werewolves were neglecting to return their census cards and the population tally had been vastly underestimated. There also comes news that Lucian might actually be alive and leading the charge.
Just in case that’s not enough to confuse the audience, a mortal, Dr. Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), gets thrown into the mix. We don't get to know too much about Michael personally, except that he's kind of a loner and pretty clueless. When Selene discovers the werewolves are specifically targeting Michael, she takes it upon herself to figure out why.
Eye candy abounds from Kate Beckinsale looking like every straight man's wet dream in tight black leather to Scott Speedman's bedroom eyes and muscled abs. But pretty as they are to look at, there's never any emotional connection between the audience and the characters. It's as though the blue tones the director used to give the film it's underworldly feel permeated the characters emotional responses and help disconnect them from the audience.
As far as the acting goes, Kate Beckinsale makes for a surprisingly passable action star. Scott Speedman doesn't have a lot to do with his character other than to mostly look helpless, but he does that just fine. Shane Brolly as Kraven was the one supporting character who really stood out from the bunch - and not in a flattering way. Scowling and alternating yelling his lines and hissing them just didn't work. That character would have worked well back during the old “Dark Shadows” TV series, but not in something so highly stylized as this film was attempting to be.
Will vampire freaks or werewolf fans like “Underworld?” That's a tough call and a generalization I wouldn't want to make. I do know that the 'Goths' in attendance at the preview screening I went to loudly cheered when the first vampires appeared on screen, but nary a clap was heard when the movie ended. You've got to take that as a bad sign.
As far as following the rules of vampirism, my limited knowledge comes from horror books and TV’s “Buffy,” but it seemed weird that vampires could use mirrors and that most of the killing took place using guns. Fangs didn't have much meaning other than ornamental usage.
The overall feeling I was left with after the movie ended is that I'd been taken on a high-speed ride that went nowhere fast. In the end, all the gun battles, chase scenes and gore didn't add up to much of a film. I didn't know much more about the story the writer/director was trying to tell when the credits rolled than I did when the opening music played. The whole film experience felt like an extended music video without the right lyrics.
GRADE: C-
"Underworld" was directed by Len Wiseman (cast and crew list)and is rated R for violence/gore and some language.
