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Underworld (Unrated Extended Cut)

Underworld (Unrated Extended Cut)

List Price: $34.95
Your Price: $27.96
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: awesome film
Review: Once i saw this film, i thought right away great film because first of all we don't always get these vampire werewolf films especially like this one, the characters were all very believable, and all through the movie it had very interesting and sometimes exciting twists to it. i give this film 5 out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I liked it.
Review: I'm not sure why people did not like this movie. They must not be scifi fans or into the whole vampire, werewolf thing. Or maybe they just don't have a good sound system. I think one of the reasons I thoroughly enjoyed this movie was the sound and the dark quality of the movie. There was plenty of violence for those who say that there were not enough fight scenes. People were also saying this is just another knock off movie, but who cares if it is entertaining. If you like the whole Blade/Matrix theme I think you will enjoy this movie. I gave it 5 stars not because it has the best acting or writing. I gave it 5 stars because I really enjoyed the movie. And that's what really counts.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I'm a death dealer...
Review: This is a love story very much in the line of Romeo and Juliet, where the lovers come from two different families who have been feuding for centuries and that no matter how hard their families fight against their love, they belong together. Except, this is also a tale of vampires and werewolves.

Selene (Beckinsale) is a "death dealer", a vampire soldier who dedicates her life to killing the Lycans (the werewolves). On one of her stakeouts, she spots two Lycans following a human, Michael Corvis (Speedman) for reasons unknown to her. After a confrontation with the Lycans, she starts discovering many secrets about the war amongst the two races and about Michael.

Now, how can a movie about vampires *and* werewolves go wrong? I really don't know, but this movie manages to disappoint. Mind you, it's a fine movie. It's fun, it's got good action scenes, it's got good f/x, but there's something missing. Maybe the story or the character development could have been handled somewhat differently (a little more back story, perhaps?). The acting is another thing; Beckinsale is pretty good in this, but the role offers very few moments to shine. Speedman is barely on this side of being a wooden totem, and the rest of the cast tend to over act whatever few lines they have (and what's with the voice of the big, black Lycan?).

The look of the film is quite good. Very dark and moody. The costumes are very Matrix-y (as well as some of the f/x) but their given proper use. The transformation of the Lycans is not as good as it could have been, but it doesn't really take from the film.

In my opinion, this movie could have been made better with a little bit more back story and better character development (we get where Selene is coming from, but the rest? Only Lucian (Sheen), the head Lycan receives a bit of explanation).

The movie's ending lets the door open for a sequel, and talks are supposed to have been going on about not only one but two new movies, one of them being a prequel. This makes sense because eventhough the film *only* made 52MM at the box office, the reported budget was 23MM.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Trailer Is the Best Part
Review: With all of the money thrown into the special effects of this movie, you'd think it would be pretty good horror/scifi. But it's not. The plot's thin (and predictable), none of the characters is developed (why does anybody do what they do in here? sure, there are some reasons offered, but it feels as if somebody made this stuff up at the last minute because somebody else said, "hey, you should have some characterization in here"), the acting is ok but uninspiring. Absolutely, yes, everybody in the movie looks fabulous in leather (and everybody's under 20 except the ancient vampire), so if you like your movies in the violent eye-candy style with plenty of blood and slow-mo fight scenes, then this may be for you. I felt like I wasted the $4 rental fee on it; I'd suggest you rent it first before you blow this much money on a second-rate movie. If you like horror, try Ringu (the Japanese original) ---- truly frightening, without reliance on buckets of blood or really any graphic violence. I haven't seen the Hollywood remake, but the original was amazing. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, I really liked George Clooney's remake of Solaris. I saw the original Russian version, which had a lot of 70s Russian cinematic tics (like long, slow, pointless establishing shots and the overdevelopment of extremely minor characters); Clooney's remake is startlingly faithful to the original, which may be why so few people liked it --- the pace was slow, too --- while paring down the truly incomprehensible plot offshoots. If you can free yourself from your Hollywood expectations of how fast stuff should happen on screen, the Solaris remake is very good scifi. Good viewing!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Matrix + Vampires + Werewolves in old Europe
Review: "Underworld" was marketed as a Romeo and Juliet story within horror elements of werewolves and vampires. The romance between the vampire (Kate Beckinsale - great in latex!) and would-be werewolf, or rather "Lycan" (Scott Speedman) is nearly nonexistent save for a few kisses and lingering stares.
The story is really a series of extended action sequences and the inner politics and scheming of the vampire elite and hunted lycans. I actually some of the plot ideas intriguing, with the racial homogeneity issues, and the history between the various characters such as Viktor (one of the vampire elders), Lucien (leader of the lycans presumed dead for centuries but conducting nasty bio-tech like experiments) and Kraven (the vampire who allegedly killed Lucien and now leads the coven, but has some shady dealings...)
Beckinsale as the assassin Seline is the most "human" of the groups, and her conscience leads her to some startling discoveries as she attempts to save Michael Corvin (Speedman) from both the vampires and the lycans.
The cinematography is effectively dark and gothic, with the Hungarian buildings, constant darkness and rain, and blue and gray lighting effects. The ending has a satisfying conclusion, while leaving us with a tease that there will be a sequel.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not a bad film, despite any bad review's you may read.
Review: The idea behind a secret war between Vampires and Werewolves is something new at least, but throw away any ideas you may have about a battle of teeth and claws. Most of the fighting is done with high-tech weaponry. In fact the only actual act commited by any of the Vampires, that resembles what you would think a Vampire would do, occurs late in the movie. The Werewolves (Lycans) do tend to show their tendancies more. They "make the change" quite more often.
But this film goes past a mere sci-fi gory bloodbath. Although it doesn't really seem like one exists early, there is a plot. And it's not a bad one, but the film does tend to get pretty predictable. That would have to be it's main downfall.
If you can put aside the predictability and the lack of Vampires being traditional Vampires, then this film will go over quite well with you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It howls, it bites
Review: There are two kinds of directorial debuts. There are the kinds that instantly establish directors as critically-acclaimed and immensely talented, and then there are movies like "Underworld." Len Wiseman's vampires vs. werewolves flick had so much promise, and just about all of it is squandered.

The vampires and Lycans have been at war for centuries, for reasons that are revealed later in the movie. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is one of the vampires whose sole duty and purpose is to hunt down and kill the Lycans (a "death dealer," har har) with guns that shoot silver bullets. The Lycans, in turn, fire ultraviolet bullets that can kill the vampires. Whatever.

Enter Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), a young human who is being followed by the Lycans. Selene is intrigued by why he's important to the Lycans, but unfortunately he's been bitten by one, and is now in danger of becoming one. To uncover the answers about why Corvin is important, Selene will uncover the truth about both the Lycan and vampire races -- and secrets about her own past.

There hasn't been a halfway decent vampire flick in uncounted years, or a decent werewolf flick in even longer. Looks like that Taking "Underworld" even semi-seriously is hard to do; it's like the unwanted illegitimate child of "Matrix" and "Blade," without the appeal of either. The special effects are okay, but the story and action (not to mention the near-nonexistant romance) are as cold and clammy as a vampire's kiss.

Wiseman's clumsiness is shown vividly in the action scenes, which are all cloned from "Matrix" -- lots of bullets, swirling leather and antigravity jumps. And some humor might have elevated this film to action camp, but heroes and villains alike are so earnest that they almost come across as goofy. There are plenty of gaping plot holes that could have been avoided (why do vampires spend all their time lounging around?), but Wiseman apparently doesn't bother to try spackling them shut.

Kate Beckinsale, a talented young actress, is horribly wasted here. Most of her time is spent pouting and wearing how-can-she-move leather. Her chemistry with Speedman is nil, which is good, since the romance between them is also virtually nonexistant. Speedman does what he can, but he doesn't have much to work with. Bill Nighy alone gets to chew the scenery as senior vamp Viktor.

Relentlessly hokey and humorless, "Underworld" is an effort to elevate style over substance. In the end, it doesn't have either. Watch it with some friends to mock it, but otherwise don't bother.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Werewolf and Vampires
Review: When i first saw this preview i was expecting a romeo and juliet story with werewolves, or lycans as in the movie, and vampires. i wasn't that. i thought that the story was good, the werewolves were trying to gain the upperhand in a war with vampires, but why did they make both sides so weak? if the vampires don't have guns they will be torn to shreds in a matter of seconds. they can't do anything but jump off buildings. why wouldthe werewolves, who i was voting for, ever transform. they had a better chance of killing some one if they shot them with their glow in the dark bullets. there is one good scene where a pack of the wolves kill a group of vampires on the train. lots of blood. there were also some ridiculous scenes, even for the movie, where seline standing in the middle of a narrow hall and can some how kill ten werewolfs, taking cover, shoting bullets that are filled with some kind of sunlight thing out of machine guns. she then walks away with out a scratch. i don't care if you are vampiric our not, you would be a pile of ashes at the end of the scene. there is also just one thing i should clear up. in original werewolf legend, the werewolves could transform at anytime not just at the full moon. if you can get by the few ridiculous moments then you should be fine with this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best vamp movie I've seen in a long time!
Review: Finally a vampire movie with an intriguing story to tell. I originally saw UW at the thearter, and let me say it was a whole lot better than what I had initially expected. The idea of vamps fighting werewolves was a fresh and especially interesting concept. Some people have complained about how dark the movie is. I believe that the darkness adds to the believability of the story. This is definitely not a gore fest or a martial arts type of movie. Am I the only one who's really tired of seeing vampires that are martial arts master? This movie leaves a lot to the imagination when it comes to the gore factor but not to much. This is definitely a good one to own, and I can't wait until the sequel comes out.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It can't get much worse than this
Review: When I first heard about this movie-and saw the previews, my plan was to let it pass me by, but since it starred Kate Beckinsale, I decided to give it a try when it came out on dvd.
What a mistake-this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen-the plot and storyline are pathetic--and if there are any redeeming qualities at all it's the visual special effects--but they're not really able to save this clunker. The move does have some gore--but no fear factor. Avoid if at all possible!


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