Rating: Summary: Great Movie - When is the Sequel? Review: I get so bored with the same old Vampires and Werewolves stories that I don't even go to see those kind of movies anymore. However, when I saw the preview of Underworld, I was excited. Finally, a movie that is fresh and different. When they said it was a "Romeo and Juliet" story, they were correct. Lucien and Viktor's daughter were the Romeo and the Juliet. Seline's and Michael'a blossoming romance will make a great sequel. I enjoyed the Matrix, the Crow and Blade, so this movie will be added to that growing list. The artistry of this movie was fantastic. I didn't want this movie to end. When is the Sequel?
Rating: Summary: Watch with an open mind Review: It's hard to ignore the comparisons to Matrix and Blade action sequences, set designs, wardrobe, and wall/ceiling destruction. Yes the actions scenes are slowed down while a dark blue tinged, protruding, picture carries you through a film of gunfire, some martial arts, and rain. A very gothic movie. Despite the comparisons, watch with an open mind, because the concept is very unique, and the story is intresting and smart. One idea they must've have stolen from Blade or other movies with gun firing vampires is a silver nitrate bullet. But, who ever said vampires were allergic to silver? Werewolves are! Please, watch this movie with an open mind, and don't be turned off by the influences of the Matrix and Blade because you will not be able to appreciate what could be an awesome movie, I can't wait til a sequel comes out. Like many other men watching this movie I sat down hoping for gore, body parts flying, and maybe a nude scene from Kate Beckinsale, HEY do not watch it hoping for that, you will get blood, you will get a hot herioin in black latex, and you will get an awesome story with serious acting, more convincing and real dialogue than the dead faced Matrix, and better ideas and concepts than Blade. One last note... rent this movie.
Rating: Summary: We enjoyed it... Review: This film was far better than the other Sci-Fi/Fantasy "blockbuster" that came out this past year.(The Leaque of Extraordinary Gentlemen) While it did play with some of the classic rules of Vamps and Lycans everyone needs to take a breath and realize that this is all fiction! Vamps aren't real and neither are Lycans and even if they were this is just a movie! Why do so many people nitpick stuff just because they didn't follow the classic rules? Who cares it isn't a remake of Dracula or any of the shlockey 1950's werewolf films it is its own creation and so they used what they wanted to use and made up new ideas that were creative and exciting. If this were a remake of a classic book or movie then I could understand all the criticisim but get real folks, or perhaps I should say get unreal! LOL You are all taking a piece of fiction way too seriously and need to relax and enjoy the new ideas that these excellent filmamakers devloped for this film. If everything always followed the rules set down by earlier writers/myths then nothing new would ever be written or filmed!!! Now as for the film the acting was quite good and I really enjoyed Kate Bekinsale taking on a new role so different from all the Jane Austen and Shakespeare she had been doing.
Rating: Summary: A good movie with a twist I wasn't ready for. Review: Underworld, for those not in the know, is a Vampires vs. Werewolves (Lycans) movie. My first initial reaction to it when I saw the previews on TV were, "Oh no! Not another Matrix ripoff!" The scene where Kate Beckinsale's character shoots through the floor to drop down to the floor below it, as well as the shoot out in the subway, scream "Matrix". The sad thing is that those two scenes alone almost do an injustice to the movie for those that have not truely given it a chance. Other than those two scenes, the movie itself is NOT a Matrix ripoff. It only borrows some ideas from the Matrix series. I'm glad that I finally went and purchased the DVD and watched the movie. It was refreshing and a twist in the plot had me going. Underworld has a story line to it, unlike Matrix Reloaded (which I still enjoyed, BTW). Rather than throwing in a lot of action and trying to weave a story into it, this movie has a story with the action supporting the story. The darkness of the sets helps to bring out the broodishness of the war between the two factions. In many respects, it reminded me of The Crow and the first two Batman movies, giving a Gothic feel to it, which sets the tone for the movie. For fans looking for a fast-paced action movie, you might want to look elsewhere. This movie is more about a war between two factions that hate each other. At first, you are given the belief that there is no known reason for the war except that there is an extreme hatred between Vampires and Lycans, but clues are given as the movie advances and the real reason will eventually be revealed, and for me, it was out of left field! Who do you root for? The Vamps or the Lycans? You decide! The only problem I have is that the Vampires cast reflections! For me, that is such an integral part of the Vampire lore, but I can overlook it in this case. Also, it might seem weird with Vampires and Lycans shooting at each other, but the ammunition is not your standard grade of ammo. It's actually ingenious with the types of ammo they came up with for this movie. Why shouldn't the Vampires and Lycans be with the times? Better to use the technology at hand I say to give yourself an advantage. Besides, this ISN'T Buffy the Vampire Slayer, another one of my favorites (the TV series, that is!) The ending seems to leave room for a sequel. However, I think it might be best left alone and we are left to just wonder what is to become of the war between the Vampires and the Lycans.
Rating: Summary: Underwhelmed Review: Okay, the premise was interesting, Vampires versus Werewolves (Lycans). But who wants to see them duke it out with GUNS??? Adding to the stupidity, the Vampires shoot silver nitrate bullets, and the Lycans shoot (I'm not joking here, folks) daylight bullets! The acting is rather hammy. The dialogue is such a waste, many times it really seems as though it is simply there to fill time. I will admit that the movie got better as it went on, and in the end, I would call it midly entertaining. Really, though, nothing more than a hybrid of The Matrix and The Crow movies. Unless you are a serious comic book geek or insatiable g*th cow, skip it.
Rating: Summary: Jungle Fever Review: Underworld. I have come to hate these kinds of films. The kind of films were art direction is the soul of the movie, and the script becomes an afterthought. Maybe even less than that. With its decadent costumes and constant visual blasts of post-industrial color schemes, Underworld is obsessed with its own image. For two hours, we are taken for a ride through a monochromatic labyrinth of boredom, where a nameless gothic paradise (we may call it Budapest) is the center of an apocalyptic war between vampire and "werewolf" that has raged for, oh, ages. Only in this image obsessed film, the old-school term werewolf is replaced by the much cooler title of lycan. YAWN. But this war isn't about justice, vengeance, freedom, or ideology, although it pretends it is; no, the conflict in Underworld is about action scenes so sadly derivative of The Matrix, they look like out-takes (Blade and The Crow also pop in to say hi). Once again, instead of well choreographed action involving skill, we get camera tricks. And lot's of bullets. What's up with that? Instead of supernatural combat, we get mundane, unoriginal street gang warfare. YAWN. What skeleton of a plot the film does have has something to do with an annoying racial metaphor between werewo, er, I mean lycan and vampire. It seems the CGI lycans were once slaves of the vampires, and treated like, well, dogs. And of course, wouldn't you know it, one of these savage, inferior lycans had an affair with the daughter of the Grand Dragon of the KKK, or rather, the lord vampire, who, as it turns out, is the best thing in this film. HA! You can guess what happened once he found darling daughter shaming her blood. From there, the plot attempts to establish that miscegenation is a revolutionary act, one that will ultimately lead to a better race. YAWN. However, this garden-variety liberal noise is buried by self-conscious poses and variations in grey. You know, the important stuff. Kate Beckinsale does a wonderful job of, well, scowling, and, er, everyone else looks cool, I guess. The digital transformations of the lycans only makes one yearn for Rick Baker, while the soundtrack is so nice and trendy. In the end, Underworld is another reminder as to why horror films are on the bottom of the genre food chain. I'm done.
Rating: Summary: Amazing action and in-depth story. Review: I want to begin with 'Underworld' is not for everyone. It is hightly specific for a certain kind of audience. The audience that knows the rules and behaviors of Vampires and Werewolves, because they don't go into detail about that in the movie. Not everyone will love it, but to those people who love vampire, werewolf, myth movies, (myself included), it was great!!! One of the first to combine the unlikely combinations of Vampires vs. Werewolves ( or Lycon as in the movie ). The story was true to many beliefs (Vampires are stuck-up upper class, and werewolfs are more savage) and explored a plot line that revolves around inter-species connections. It was fanastic, the movie was very well done, with the color palette being a mix of dark blues, and gloomy atmospheres. It was something out of movies like 'From Hell' and 'Interview from a Vampire'. The actors were of course not all that good, but hey, what actors are really good in movies now a days? The heroine, Celine was good for the part in looks, and her counterpart, Micheal was not a bad match either. They seemed compatable, but not to flashy in the romantic department, which was nice for the action-lovers, but a little lacking for a vampire movie. Whatever you are looking for in this movie, its there and i, along with hopefully many other fans, will be looking for a sequel or two to this mysterious and cryptic story.
Rating: Summary: I liked and enjoyed this movie Review: I have read all kinds of vampire books (and a few on werewolves) and it seems though some authors tend to stick to the same existance for both (no reflection, holy water, silver bullets), it always seems nice to me to either read a story or see a movie that is courageous enough to be different and to create their own rules. I didn't see Underworld as a love story (I guess the love between Lucien and Viktor's daughter could seem that way) and the funny thing is after it was over and my husband asked me what I thought, I told him "It wasn't gory at all but it had to have blood in it since it was about vampires and werewolves" and then I watched the movie, and one of the people said a similar thing so I guess I got what they were trying to do. I was amazed that there were REAL people in those werewolf suits (I wish they would have gotten a real person to play the Hulk but that is a whole nother issue) because they wanted the audience to see how real looking they could be made to look. I was facinated by the way Michael looked after Lucien told Selene to bite him and what happened afterwards. Even though they didn't show the vampires actually taking blood from people, I think they were actually drinking blood at one point in the movie (or at least it looked like a red colored substance in glasses). There are so many ways of writing a story like this and I believe a good job was done in the making of the movie from the settings, (being so dark and gloomy - the movie IS called Underworld) the thirst (excuse the pun) for power, a struggle (that was based on a lie) between two species and an ending that leads me to believe that there will be a second Underworld.
Rating: Summary: Spare us this, Sony. Review: I have seen some pretty over-rated movies before, but not like this. It's a MTV music video discussied as a movie with terrible acting, direction, and very bad cgi effects. Sony makes cheap everything including movies and DVDs. If you want to waste your money on this and other Sony films, go ahead. I'm going back to Warner Brothers for great film entertainment.
Rating: Summary: Nothing special, but a good way to spend an hour and a half Review: Underworld is nothing more than what the cover shows: a slick looking action movie with vampires and werewolves. That is all it really needs to be, in my opinion. This movie doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does have some tightly shot action sequences, and Kate Beckinsale breathes uncommon life into the usual cardboard cut-out 'bad girl'.
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