Pure, unadulterated schlock and I absolutely love it for that. A joy to watch from start to end, and watching Michael Sheen in this movie is just an absolute joy. Plus Kate Beckinsale in leather is nice too lol. Nice worldbuilding, good action, cool lore even though it doesn't always make sense. Recommend this to anyone.
What I really like is how it utterly catapults you into the action and the mythos of the world that it is crafting as you're along for the ride. Beckinsale cuts a mean figure in her leather getup and ice blue contact lenses and the action scenes are very decent. Bill Nighy brings more than a little pizazz to the film and plays a great vampire.
Taking a page or twelve from the World of Darkness RPGs Vampire the Masquerade and Werewolf the Apocalypse, Underworld throws us into the deep end of the pool, very much in medias res, in a war between vampires and werewolves. We catch up to the politics at play eventually, and the heroine Selene (Kate Beckingsale) also eventually becomes sympathetic, but the film does a poor job of telling us why we should root for either side. Though there are some quick references to artificial blood, it all feels like they're washing the blood off monsters' hands. Except it all takes too long, so the first-time viewer would be right to feel at a distance from any of the stakes. I appreciate the world-building, but perhaps it loses something in the pacing, and is entirely too interested in extended machine guns blazing (not only does this seem off-genre, but it's just about the most boring action sequence I can imagine; there's some gun fu too, and that's where the movie needed to go, not boring 80s Hollywood gunplay). Still better than the monster vs. monster movies Underworld's success spawned, like Van Helsing and I, Frankenstein, which lack even more character.
For what could be a cheap genre film, Underworld looks suprisingly good, heavily borrowing from Matrix, Dark City and Blade, which all gained a cult following in the years before. Sets and action are solid, although there are way too many shoot-outs which don't achieve much. Thinking about it, not a single scene stays memorable after the credits roll. Hm.
The story is also quite ambitious considering this is an original work and not based on a novel, so there's that. Unfortunately, it also felt a bit convoluted to me, and since I personally can't stand vampires or werewolves, I got fed up with it after an hour - and after that there's even more than an hour left, you know. The extended edition adds up to 2:13h, offering even more action scenes I didn't ask for. Duh.
If you have a thing for the subject and Kate Beckinsale in a tight suit, go for it. Otherwise, you should easily determine from the trailer if you really need more than 2 hours of this one single blueish gothic look.
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thecr1mmreaper
Pure, unadulterated schlock and I absolutely love it for that. A joy to watch from start to end, and watching Michael Sheen in this movie is just an absolute joy. Plus Kate Beckinsale in leather is nice too lol. Nice worldbuilding, good action, cool lore even though it doesn't always make sense. Recommend this to anyone.DisneyStitch
What I really like is how it utterly catapults you into the action and the mythos of the world that it is crafting as you're along for the ride. Beckinsale cuts a mean figure in her leather getup and ice blue contact lenses and the action scenes are very decent. Bill Nighy brings more than a little pizazz to the film and plays a great vampire.Siskoid
Taking a page or twelve from the World of Darkness RPGs Vampire the Masquerade and Werewolf the Apocalypse, Underworld throws us into the deep end of the pool, very much in medias res, in a war between vampires and werewolves. We catch up to the politics at play eventually, and the heroine Selene (Kate Beckingsale) also eventually becomes sympathetic, but the film does a poor job of telling us why we should root for either side. Though there are some quick references to artificial blood, it all feels like they're washing the blood off monsters' hands. Except it all takes too long, so the first-time viewer would be right to feel at a distance from any of the stakes. I appreciate the world-building, but perhaps it loses something in the pacing, and is entirely too interested in extended machine guns blazing (not only does this seem off-genre, but it's just about the most boring action sequence I can imagine; there's some gun fu too, and that's where the movie needed to go, not boring 80s Hollywood gunplay). Still better than the monster vs. monster movies Underworld's success spawned, like Van Helsing and I, Frankenstein, which lack even more character.Pad
A surprisingly nice movie, it's not too good but it's not that bad. At first glance it looks like a typical action movie with Matrix-like scenes but the story is actually engaging and it's not too cliché. It's more a popcorn movie, but it's a good one.Torgo
For what could be a cheap genre film, Underworld looks suprisingly good, heavily borrowing from Matrix, Dark City and Blade, which all gained a cult following in the years before. Sets and action are solid, although there are way too many shoot-outs which don't achieve much. Thinking about it, not a single scene stays memorable after the credits roll. Hm.The story is also quite ambitious considering this is an original work and not based on a novel, so there's that. Unfortunately, it also felt a bit convoluted to me, and since I personally can't stand vampires or werewolves, I got fed up with it after an hour - and after that there's even more than an hour left, you know. The extended edition adds up to 2:13h, offering even more action scenes I didn't ask for. Duh.
If you have a thing for the subject and Kate Beckinsale in a tight suit, go for it. Otherwise, you should easily determine from the trailer if you really need more than 2 hours of this one single blueish gothic look.
IreneAdler
Nice action - not outstanding, but a good movie when you're in the mood for vampires and werewolves :)ansver
I realize that I have to open a dental clinic in a vampire town!