FILM REVIEW: Underworld

[diebitter]

UNDERWORLD




Underworld mentioned and Underworld 2 reviewed by Alobar

Review in less than 10 words: Crap plot/dialogue, but cool popcorn movie.

Long version:

Underworld is a movie set in a gothic, dark world, where vampires and 'lycans' (fancy-pants way of saying werewolves) are at war, and amid this chaos strides a vampire assassin/warrior Selene, played by the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale. The war seems to be drawing to a close, and Selene comes across a human who seems to hold the key to forging some sort of peace or connection between werewolves and vampires - but there's lots of obstacles to overcome...

Sounds awesome, huh? Vampires vs Werewolves! A leather-clad dominatrix-type turn from Kate Beckinsale, who wears her leather REALLY REALLY well! And also a star-turn from hottie Sophia Myles (picture above, on right) as another cool vampire chick too....

meh. The plot is too convoluted to be fun, the dialogue is pretty bad, and the whole pacing and coherency seems to be poorly conceived - it's all over the place. The CGI werewolves are a bit too CGI, and this diverts your attention too much and you keep remembering you're watching a movie, rather than just let you get on with watching and enjoying. There is a possible subtext here that Vampires represent the upper class or aristocracy, whilst werewolves are the lower-class, thuggish type, but that really never gets explored (and who cares anyway?)

On the plus side, the action scenes are okay, we still get poster-girl Beckinsale in black leather, and overall it's a passable way to pass an hour or two.

Overall, the worst thing about this film is the truly wasted potential - great ideas and great cast - but it's not BAD and reasonably entertaining, and worth a watch. I liked it, and you may like it too, but it's not gonna stick with you.


OVERALL: 2
REWATCHABILITY: Once every few years. Or whenever a sequel comes out [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

RATINGS (out of 5):
0 - This is a complete waste of time, and you will regret wasting it
1 - don't bother unless no other options at all
2 - okay for a single watch, if you've got time
3 - Definite watch if you get a chance
4 - See it very soon, at least once before you die
5 - See it immediately, no excuses

Previous Reviews in: OOT Visual Media Repository

[Blarg]

This is one of those movies where the trailers looked so in awe of the movie that they convinced me it must be nothing much. I stayed away in droves.

Kate is damn hot though. It's about time she stopped picking garbage movies. I wouldn't mind seeing some more of that sweetness somewhere else.

(cue obvious joke here)

[diebitter]

There's several shots of Kate running, all leathered up.

Convinced to see it now?

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Crap plot/dialogue, but cool popcorn movie.

[/ QUOTE ]

I really don't understand people who say stuff like this.

The plot had a complex mixture of love, politics, action, war, deceit, revenge, murder, etc. Honestly, if you thought this movie didn't have a plot then you must hate shakespear.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Crap plot/dialogue, but cool popcorn movie.

[/ QUOTE ]

I really don't understand people who say stuff like this.

The plot had a complex mixture of love, politics, action, war, deceit, revenge, murder, etc. Honestly, if you thought this movie didn't have a plot then you must hate shakespear.

[/ QUOTE ]

shakespear actually makes it all work tho. The idea for the plot in underworld is really good, however it doesnt execute well IMO. It comes off more as a vehicle for kate to run around in leather and shoot things (the fact she has 8,000 round clips in her handgun and can only reload when there is some cool slowmotion ceoreographed scene, doesnt help). The poor acting and dialogue doesnt help it either.

[DrSavage]

[ QUOTE ]
The CGI werewolves are a bit too CGI, and this diverts your attention too much and you keep remembering you're watching a movie, rather than just let you get on with watching and enjoying.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually there's surprisingly little CGI in there, other than in transformation sequences. All WW are costumes , and most of the action that you see is stunts. I was watching "making of Underworld and Underworld: Apocalypse" on a plane from Vegas and some of the stunts they do are pretty sick actually.
I liked that movie just fine, I thought plot and dialogue were very appropriate for a Vampires vs Werewolves movie.

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Crap plot/dialogue, but cool popcorn movie.

[/ QUOTE ]

I really don't understand people who say stuff like this.

The plot had a complex mixture of love, politics, action, war, deceit, revenge, murder, etc. Honestly, if you thought this movie didn't have a plot then you must hate shakespear.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aww c'mon, the plot wasn't very clear at all. It was confusing and poorly presented - but in the end, it didn't matter too much. Sometimes plot doesn't matter.

[TheBlueMonster]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The CGI werewolves are a bit too CGI, and this diverts your attention too much and you keep remembering you're watching a movie, rather than just let you get on with watching and enjoying.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually there's surprisingly little CGI in there, other than in transformation sequences. All WW are costumes , and most of the action that you see is stunts. I was watching "making of Underworld and Underworld: Apocalypse" on a plane from Vegas and some of the stunts they do are pretty sick actually.
I liked that movie just fine, I thought plot and dialogue were very appropriate for a Vampires vs Werewolves movie.

[/ QUOTE ]
yeah, I liked it for what it was. I especially enjoyed watching a vampire movie that has very little human involvement. I think that's part of the series' appeal; you're rooting for one side even though they're both monsters.

[Blarg]

Normally I would rent a movie like this without caring too much how good it was, but I'm still kind of shell shocked by how bad Van Helsing was. It wasn't just a cheap flick thrown together by D-list hacks either. I dunno, so much crap has been coming out for so long on the vampire theme that it's really hard to get the stomach to sit through any more of it.

Sometimes it seems like horror movies aren't even being made by people who like horror anymore, just by people who figure it's good for a buck. The two used to go hand in hand plenty, and that's fine, but now it seems like nobody even cares if the movie is any good before they make it or star in it.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
Normally I would rent a movie like this without caring too much how good it was, but I'm still kind of shell shocked by how bad Van Helsing was. It wasn't just a cheap flick thrown together by D-list hacks either. I dunno, so much crap has been coming out for so long on the vampire theme that it's really hard to get the stomach to sit through any more of it.

[/ QUOTE ]


well said. Which is to be fair, why im maybe a little more critical about underworld than I should be, because it had sooo much potential, and in the end it was just another cheesy movie.