Beckinsale has a Lycan for Leather
The war between the Vampires and Lycans has been raging on for centuries with Selene (Kate Beckinsale) a death dealer whose job it is to hunt down and terminate the last of the Lycans. But Selene discovers that the leader of the Vampires, Kraven (Shane Brolly), and Lucian (Michael Sheen), the leader of the Lycans, are up to no good, no good which involves human Michael (Scott Speedman) who is the key to everything and maybe the destruction of the vampires. It forces Selene to do the unthinkable and awaken Viktor (Bill Nighy), a vampire noble, from his deep sleep to deal with Kraven.
I don't suppose for a minute that if you met a vampire and told them they were smoking hot that they would take it as much of the compliment but that to be honest is one of the attractions of "Underworld" a smoking hot, leather clad Kate Beckinsale who is one sexy but tough vampire cookie.
The other thing which is just appealing is that "Underworld" is a visual treat full of cool gothic styling and effect heavy, stylized action which will appeal to those who enjoyed the "Matrix". In fact the styling is impressive with lots of cool looking Vampires and muscular Lycans running around in dark places doing battle with fancy weapons and even fancier moves as their leather coats whip through the air behind as much as their hair flicks from in front of their eyes. Yes "Underworld" is pretty for those seeking entertainment from a modern action movie which focuses more on the style of the action rather than the bloodshed itself.
But put aside the look of "Underworld" for a minute and frankly the storyline did little for me and seemed for a lot of the movie to be less than important, playing second fiddle to the look. In fact it is so unimportant that often director Len Wiseman resorts to long scenes of exposition to explain what is going on rather than telling the story through the action and unfolding drama. It is for me annoying as I like movies which are more than just a visual box of tricks but then I suppose for those who don't want to concentrate on what is going on this is exactly what they want.
Beyond the look what "Underworld" has is a recognizable cast with a heavy British influence. Not that the actors nationality play any significance in the movie nor to be honest do their acting talents because all this movie calls on the likes of Beckinsale and Sheen to do is look the part. But they do look the part with Kate Beckinsale delivering one of the sexiest vampires you will come across.
What this all boils down to is that "Underworld" is a cool, modern vampire movie with a focus on the ultra-cool stylized action and the look of the characters. It probably works for the majority of audiences who don't want to have to pay a great deal of attention to what is going on story wise but it makes it a shallow, visual experience for those who want story and character development as well as a good looking effects and action.
Tags: Vampire Movies
