Rating: Summary: Nothing orginal Review: This movie has no orginal ideas, it's Romeo & Juliet meets The Matrix; but man what a ride it is. The special effects are not too over the top and the movie itself is very noir, so if your into this kind of stuff you will not be disapointed. Also if you are a fan of CarrieAnn Moss and her body-suits, you may have found a replacement, or at least a companion for her....
Rating: Summary: Ummm Review: First off this was a good film. Second, it wasn't scary; and it definitely could have been better. A Vampire verses Werewolf film should be action intensive; and although it did have action none of it was ever in slow motion. (So the watcher never got those cool "matrix" shots.) And most of the action just felt like those old westerns. Draw a gun bang, bang, bang. "Oh, one guy went down and the other's running." "He got shot in the back." "Okay the good guys win." Not really what should be created in our modern world; but! If you can get over that it had a vary good story line, and some cool morphs between humanoid and wolfish. Plot was a Five Star. Acting Five Star. Photography, Five Star. Action, about two.
Rating: Summary: UNDERWORLD--Underdeveloped Characterization Review: Vampire and werewolf movies usually come in two flavors: one has great special effects with minimal character development while the other is the reverse. When Bela Lugosi hammed it up in DRACULA, his rich, Hungarian cadences resonate even today. Lugosi did not need any effect more special than a dark, creepy castle in which to lay in his coffin. In UNDERWORLD, director Len Wiseman presents a milennia long epic struggle between vampires and lycans (werewolves) in what should have been a riveting tale of a blood feud heightened by some truly outstanding special effects. The problem with UNDERWORLD and films that emphasize sight and sound over characterization is that the balance between the two is a subtle one and that if one is to dominate, then that one should be the latter. One can always tell when this balance is out of whack. If at any time, the viewer has a hard time distinguishing between one set of species and another, then he is pretty sure that the intent of the film is to dazzle the eye rather than engage the mind. Kate Beckinsale is Selene, a vampire killer of werewolves. In her hunting for the lycans, she wears an expression that is as ossified as any that Clint Eastwood has worn. She neither frowns, smiles, nor shows the slightest interest in the rather interesting events engulfing her. In fact, she is more an expressionless female version of another vampire hunter (Wesley Snipes) in the BLADE series. Her male lead is Scott Speedman, who plays Michael, a normal human being whom the lycans relentlessly pursue. The plot revolves around why the lycans want him and what the vampires can do to prevent him from falling into their lupine clutches.I quibble over the wasted potential of a plot that combines ROMEO AND JULIET, BLADE, and centuries-old conspiracy storylines. The only interesting point of the plot was the unexpectedly engaging character of Lucian (Michael Sheen), who as the bearded leader of the lycans, first horrifies us, then causes us to feel some sympathy for a species that is simply reacting to prevent its own destruction by a competing one. There are too many scenes of gratuitous violence, with both lycan and vampire using modern technological firearms to blast away at each other as if they were no more than urban gangbangers delighting in drive by shootings. Further, there were several scenes in which I had some difficulty separating a vampire gunslinger from his lycan counterpart. Beckinsale and Speedman are attractive actors who were clearly instructed by the director to vent their inner demons in over the top gravity defying leaps and bounds. Lugosi, by contrast, never had to amble faster than a slow and dignified gate. UNDERWORLD promises to be the kind of movie that will initially do well at both the both office and the video market. But in years to come, the vampire film that will continue to fascinate a new generation of viewers will still be the one that has the Transylvanian count intoning: "Come here, Van Helsing."
Rating: Summary: A review Review: The plot is intriguing yet somewhat predictable. Also, the acting is not very impressive (especially Craven's character.) It's pretty hard to care for any of the characters in this film. Having said that, UNDERWORLD is really not that bad. It's stylish and fast-paced. There is something in it for everyone: science, revenge, mystery, thrill, horror and of course love. These elements are not overdone or abused. Some scenes might make you snicker, though, because the acting is so over-the-top. What I really liked about this movie was the fact that it did emphasize on the story rather than overdoing the cheesy horror routines that are bane to such genre of films. The 3 stars are for a great story that could have been acted better. Go see it if you are, like me, a vampire/werewolf fan. This is more of a drama than a horror film, and that's where I think this film succeeds.
Rating: Summary: Underworld yep Overrated Review: As many of you reading this review the appealing trailers is what drew you to this movie. To say it simply I was bored. The action was ripped off from the matrix. If you have the chance to do something new and different take that chance. This was Len Wiseman first movie which to say for a freshman is was decent. My biggest complaint had to do with a plot that was thin. I am a huge fan of the Vampire and Werewolf genera. Comparing Underworld to other great movies Underworld falls horribly short to say the least. Characters weren't well developed or even interesting. I wanted more related to historical content, much more then providing me with a blurry flashback. Ok if you like action then this movie will deliver but remember that action doesn't make for a great movie. It's probably worth your time but not going down in my book as a top ten. What is worst is this movie was set up for a sequel. I beg those involved to not waste money of a sequel which will one day be found buried deep in the 4.99 DVD bin. Also I watched it at the Wynnsong 16 in Knoxville which had it turned up loud enough to hurt my ears and also there was a loud reverberating sound coming from the direction of the screen which was taken care of by saying to me that maybe next time I'll be different. "?" To summarize my Underworld experience, if I had to do it all over again I probably would have stayed home and played some WarCraft or rented a DVD.
Rating: Summary: Underwhelming 'World' Lacks Bite Review: "Underworld" has been horribly misrepresented. It's advertising campaign promised a "Romeo and Juliet" love story set among a war between werewolves and vampires. Instead, the filmmakers have given us a "Matrix"/"Crow"/"Blade" rip-off that is light on action, heavy on melodramatics, and big on style. Kate Beckinsale is Seline, a death-dealing vampire who has the sole purpose of hunting down the vicious lycans (calling them werewolves would be too nerdy). Apparently, a war between the two species has been raging for centuries. The battle strategies of these supernatural beings are most bizarre. Instead of planning their next attack, the vampires choose to sit around their mansion drinking and looking posh while the lycans wrestle each other in the sewers. Enter Scott Speedman as Michael, a medical intern who's being hunted by the werewolves for reasons that aren't revealed until the end of the film. Of course, Seline reaches him first, but not before the clueless chump is bitten by a werewolf. This film is much more "Matrix" than anything else, and I'm not just talking about the leather outfits or the blazing gun battles or the jumping up really high in the air. The stories of the two films are identical. Instead of rebels and machines chasing Neo we have vamps and wolves chasing Speedman. The problem is that "Underworld" is presented on a much lesser scale. The action scenes are sparse and lack any originality. At one point they become downright stupid as a vamp soldier fights a werewolf with two whips. He gets eaten in a few seconds. Maybe he should have tried two pitchforks or maybe even two unripe bananas. Between the blood and bullets, we are introduced to the various characters of the vampire and lycan clans. I was much more interested during these moments, mostly because whenever I became bored with the talking heads I turned my attention to the stylish cinematography, the real star of this film. If anything else, "Underworld" makes for great eye candy. A warning to anyone looking for an epic, forbidden romance set between the travesties of violent conflict: the filmmakers equate the idea of a love story to Beckinsale giving Speedman a peck on the lips. That's it. There is no chemistry whatsoever between the two actors. They barely come into contact with each other. Don't you think it's so cool how vampires and werewolves are totally evil, legendary monsters. Screenwriter Danny McBride doesn't. His reinterpretations of these classic beasts are of the lamest, failing at almost every point to use their full potential. Instead of coming out during a full moon, the lycans can change whenever they want. Silver bullets only work if you use about a hundred of them. And the wolves are the more formidable of the two species. The so-called-vampires aren't even really vampires. They have reflections, don't drink blood, and run away like panicked deer at the first sign of danger. Without guns, the lycans tear them apart like wet tissue paper. It seems like the only reason McBride calls them vampires is so that there is an excuse for their gravity-defying stunts. After having vampires updated with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the "Blade" films it's a letdown that this is the best McBride could imagine. Had "Underworld" made its debut a decade ago, it may have been the groundbreaking hit that "The Matrix" was. Having come out now only makes it a rehash of things we've seen before. Still, the style of the film and some interesting characters save it from being a straight-to-video type disaster. Grade: C or 2 stars out of 4.
Rating: Summary: Awesome! Review: Went to see it in the theaters and I loved it! Best movie I have seen this year! And one of my favorites of all time now! Loved it!
Rating: Summary: Decent flick for a Friday night Review: There isn't much great acting here, although the scientist guy is sort of a kick and actually Lucian was pretty good in his lead Lycan role. The female lead is strikingly beautiful and reminds me of Liv Ullman, but she spends almost all of the movie scowling or with some dour expression on her face. But the stylishly dark film noir cinematography looks great and sets the mood appropriately enough. The far-out plot of a war between the werewolves and the vampires for control of the world creates plenty of rapid-fire action sequences. If you can picture a movie that's sort of a fusion of Blade, American Werewolf in London, and Darkman, then you have some idea of this flick. There's even some science thrown in about the Lycans' attempts to genetically merge the Lycan and Vampire bloodlines, with the repulsive Himmler-like scientist guy doing a great send-up on the part and getting some good play. Overall a pretty good movie with some great special effects and enough action to make you forget to eat that stale, over-salty, overpriced popcorn that they foist on you these days. Big Steve says go see it and don't Bogart the lousy popcorn.
Rating: Summary: nonsense Review: This movie makes no sense.....Unless watching a bunch of actors wear nice trendy clothes posing here and there (the vampires) makes sense to anybody else & the plot is so ridiculous you cant help but laugh...This could've been so much more, with the vampire vs werewolf concept and all, somewhere in the terrirory of 'blade II' or something.
Rating: Summary: Very good, but it will require a brain to follow. Review: If you could not follow the movie, give up. I am very tired of hearing about people that cannot follow the Matrix or any sci-fi movie that requires some kind of intellect to follow. Maybe we can have theaters pause movies every ten minutes so the room can get together and discuss what is happening before it is too far into the movie for some to follow. Amazing. This movie was well done. I must admit I had read harsh reviews and wasn't expecting much. It's full of eyecandy and if you like the idea of a dark and different story then go for it. I'm not a die hard vampire / werewolf fan so it may not be as accurate as expected, but overall the movie was quite fun.
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