Underworld

January 22, 2006

Rated: R Runtime: 121 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Underworld was a decent movie in many ways, but it never really clicked well enough for me to give it a stronger rating.

Underworld

The movies premise is excellent, vampires and werewolves have been locked in a war for centuries and it looks as though the vampires have almost won. The problem is that while you might think you’d mentally pick sides at the beginning of the movie and thus have an interest in what’s going on, that never really happens. We get vamps hunting down wolves using some high-tech weapons and the wolves changing form to fight back. We don’t care who wins, we just liked looking at the effects.

Speaking of the vamps and their weapons, it’s a good thing they have them because otherwise they’d get their butts whipped in a hurry. The vampires in this movie are the wimpiest bunch of night dwellers I’ve ever seen portrayed. Fans of Anne Rice’s vampires will be sorely disappointed as the only “power” these guys have is quick healing and the ability to jump around and stick to ceilings.

The werewolves have pretty much the same abilities, but appear to be much stronger in their wolf form, and just look cooler to boot.

The visuals (especially Kate Beckinsale) are good, the acting is better than expected for this type of movie, and the overall atmosphere works. One thing I really did like about the movie is that it doesn’t spoon feed you the plot, it will be a good hour into the movie before you really know everything that’s going on. That’s pretty rare these days, and I appreciated it. I would like to know what’s going on with the vampires checking themselves out in the mirror though, that’s just all wrong.

If you’re looking for a good popcorn movie, then go check this one out. Otherwise, wait for the DVD.

Posted by John | Filed Under 3 Stars, Action, Bill Nighy, DVD, Danny McBride, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen, R, Scott Speedman