Underworld (2003)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I'd heard so many negative reviews about this movie but I actually saw it in theaters with a friend. This was the first Kate Beckinsale film I actually liked. She made a good vampire she-warrior. It's no longer good versus evil but a story of survival. Who are the true villains? Vampires or werewolves? Or is there something darker at work? There's a lot going on and I found myself wondering who was who and what was going on throughout the film. It went pretty quickly. But in the end, it was a satisfying story that ended with an opening for a sequel. I remember coming out of the theater and hearing two people, a man and a woman, talking about it. They were both older than me, and the man apparently enjoyed it, but the woman said it was stupid. Or something like that. But as for me, it wasn't the worst film I had seen. It's no Oscar contender either but most movies aren't Oscar worthy. I mean, who really needs the Oscars? It's just a clique. Anyway, back to the movie. I was entertained and I especially liked how the makeup was done on the characters. Really creepy but cool. If you want action and vampires and werewolves, try this.

Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a vampire warrior who finds herself slap bang in the middle of a war between werewolves or Lycans and vampires because she falls in love with a human host called Michael (Scott Speedman). But it isn't only Selene that is in the middle of this war it turns out that Michael is part of the war too and he is seemingly an integral part of the battle between the Lycans and the vampires....First things first this is a stylistic triumph and it's fair to say that it's hard not to be blown away by the visuals and the whole style of the product. Whilst this has a lot of the Matrix style choreography and impressive visuals what it doesn't have is a particularly impressive story or engaging narrative....There is a war brewing between the Lycans and the vampires and Michael (a human) is unfortunately caught up between the two rivalling factions. Ordinarily, the idea of two warring factions and one man/person being caught in the middle can present itself as being an interesting idea, but with Underworld the whole concept is so poorly conceived and developed that it gets to the point where you find yourself rather indifferent to everything.The film's true shining glory is in its style and presentation; it's clear that director Len Wiseman has watched the Matrix and other Wachowski films as his approach here feels very similar; eye-popping visuals and impressive choreography, but the narrative feels hollow and underwritten and as a story it never really engages.The performances are a mixed bag and whilst Kate Beckinsale is absolutely gorgeous she is very bland in the lead role (and it really pains me to say this as I was a big fan of her late father when he was in Porridge). Her supporting cast do fare better with the likes of Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly and Bill Nighy all of whom put in solid supporting performances.One other thing working against the film (other than Beckinsale's performance) is the unrelentingly drab and gloomy tone. The whole tone of the film is way too dark and coupled with a weak and underwritten narrative it also feels quite boring and it's fair to say that the two hour running time feels at least 50% longer than the actual run time.Underworld will undoubtedly impress younger viewers who may get taken in by the garish visuals, but for mature audiences or for anyone with half a brain the dreary tone and weak story are going to serve more as an annoyance and make one wish that they'd left the Underworld well alone.

I saw this first in a theatre in 2003. Revisited it recently on a DVD. Seen all its sequels in theatre. The plot - Kate Beckinsale is a vampire looking incredibly hot in ridiculously tight leather matrix style clothes whose job it is to eliminate the werewolves as part of the centuries old war between the two species. Her acting is good too. Things change when Beckinsale tries to protect a human, Speedman who is targetted by the werewolves for some reasons. The movie has a distinctively Gothic look, with great attention given to the backdrop. Every inch of the cinematography is polished. The architecture and costumes are true fashion statements. This world is so dense with aggressiveness it is almost surreal. Borrowing from The Matrix and Blade, the director Len Wiseman made Underworld more of a goth action flick n less of a vampire/werewolf. Nonetheless pretty enjoyable action flick. Was happy that none of those hand held shaky cam stuff was added.

The series begins at the supposed end of the war between the vampires and lycans. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a death dealer vampire that hunts werewolves, introduced dropping from a building where she was scowling like a gargoyle. The whole movie is a goth dream mimicking gunplay, leather, heavy metal, and superpowers from the popularity of The Matrix and adding the fantastical twist of mythology.Selene notices that the remaining lycans are trailing a particular human Michael (Scott Speedman). The head of the lycans Lucian (Michael Sheen) has taken a particular interest in Michael. The movie contains some great action scenes that I remember really pleasing me when I was much younger. I always thought this movie had a great mix of action and horror tropes.The plot is all sorts of jumbled picking up in the middle of a story so as to dull any sort of character emotional impact and confusing lots of different threads. There are treacheries and magical happenings that all come together with a bit of ridiculousness that is to be expected in these types of movies. The action lifts it up and the special effects don't look terrible even after thirteen years of advancement. Check out more of this review and others at swilliky.com