Rating: 
Summary: Underworld's Underappreciated
Review: This is a good little flick. "Underworld" is about a war between vampires and werewolves. Although it's a war with a lot of espionage, double crosses and family feuds that belongs in a soap opera (although I heard that there were some wierd shanangons going on behind the scenes). The beautiful Kate Beckinsale (decked head to toe in leather and sporting major fire power) is the head warrior for the vampire team. She happens on a plot from the werewolves that involve a mortal (Scott Speedman), a doctor. She has to find him and figure out what's going on before the next full moon. I liked this movie a lot because it was fast, bloody, and some pretty intense action sequences. But it isn't perfect. One thing I didn't like was the coloring of the movie, dark blue all the way through. Also there was too many plot twists in the end. But my biggest complaint is that vampires have a reflection! Anne Rice can get away with it, Len Wiseman can not. There are, however, a lot of good things in this flick, it's a fast paced, bloodier version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". The werewolf transformation is very cool, alomst couldn't tell the CGI. I just liked it a lot, and it is so worth your time to see.
Rating: 
Summary: The world unseen by human eyes...
Review: The day I got back from seeing Matrix: Reloaded, I was itching to see another action film, hopefully one even better than Reloaded. On the edge of my seat, biting my nails as I eagerly waited to hear news about the third Matrix movie, or maybe the second Resident Evil, I saw a trailer for Underworld.I kept going back to the website, watching the trailer over and over, until the day came it was in theatres. I rushed off to see it. The story focuses on a war thats been raging for about one thousand years between vampires, and the Lycans (werewolves). The vampires no longer hunt to feed, and instead drink cloned blood from their own company. The Lycans are, apparently, brutal, man-slaughtering beasts, and now, the full moon no longer having control over them, can transform at will from human to werewolf and vice versa. Caught in the middle is a man named Michal. After rescuing Selene, a Death Dealer who makes it her duty to help her fellow vampires hunt down the Lycans, he is taken back to the other vampires. They discover he's a Lycan, and he has to escape. Selene is ordered to kill Michal. Struggling with her emotions, she must also solve a mystery that seems to be making the purpose of the war a whole lot clearer... All in all, this is an amazing movie. Worth your time, I assure you. A great story, amazing special effects (I adore the werewolf transformations -- and the werewolves themselves!), and plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seat and begging for more. I plan to get this on DVD the second I get the chance!
Rating:
Summary: Prepare to be entertained
Review: I did not go to this movie with especially high expectations. In fact, I read plenty of professional reviews trashing this film prior to seeing it. I was just looking forward to a fun movie to forget about the stresses of life for about 2 hours. And to that effect, "Underworld" succeeds extraordinarily. It's true that oscar material it ain't, but damn was it entertaining. Underworld is the quintessential "guilty pleasure" movie. I walked out of the theatre with a big smile and feeling not a little guilty for being so entertained by such a "stupid" movie.
Regardless, Underworld sports some of the most stylish cinematography I have ever seen in any movie. Every action and backdrop is meticulously crafted for maximum suaveness. The film depicts an alternate, dark world just slightly out of kilter with ours, so that we get to see something different from everyday life without the "world" being too farfetched. The action sequences are all taut and well done.
The movie provides some good new ideas for the vampire and werewolf mythologies. I especially loved the idea of vampires using laptops, cell phones, and automatic weapons to keep up wtih times. I mean, we would expect them to, no? Unfortunately, some old favourites of vampire lore were not presented in the film. Apparently vampires have reflections in mirrors, and breathe according to this movie. And not enough emphasis was put on the blood-drinking nature of vampires in general, which was so central to films like "Interview with the Vampire" (the greatest vampire flick of all time).
The werewolf effects were not spectacular, but they were sufficient. The director had to good sense of relegating our canine friends mostly to the dark, knowing that in full light, CGI characters look absurdly fake.
Yes, I went to see Underworld primarily for Kate Beckinsale, and I was not disappointed. She was hella, hella hot in this movie. Well, she's just beautfiul in general, but there's something about the blue vampire-eyes and ultra-chic costumes that makes her a delight to watch. This is certainly a whole other side to Kate compared with Serendipity. She makes a very satisfying action hero. I think Kate Beckinsale's Selene is the first of those independent female "girl-power" action heros that I actually like. I'll take her over any of those Charlie's Angels any day, that's for sure.
Plot holes? Yes, Underworld is overflowing with them. But who cares? The plot is indeed woefully convoluted, but includes many clever twists to keep the audience guessing and amused. All in all, if you're in the mood for a "turn-off-your-brain" supernatural rollarcoaster, Underworld is a pretty good bet.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting for a sequel
Review: I like monster movies. I watch alot of them. and underworld is a very good example of the genre.
The Special effects were used very effectivly to support the plot not overwhem it. As I have seen the movie twice there are lots of little details that made the movie even more enjoyable the second time.
PLEASE note this is an action movie not a romance. there is a very light undertone of attraction but rather than push it they stayed true to their characters and kept it low key. There maybe more love interest in the sequel. There is definatly enough depth to this world and enough loose threads to make it worthwhile.
The only reason I rated it 4 instead of 5 is I want to see the extras on the dvd. there is more to this story and I can't wait to see it.
Bottom line- Go see the movie but don't expect epic romance expect a heroine who's world is about to turn upsidedown
Rating:
Summary: Underworld is Crazy
Review: If you think this looks cool, go see it. I'm not going to give this away, but the movie does get better as it unfolds. In fact, it's ... a political power play which keeps you guessing. The characters of Viktor by Bill Nighy and Erika by Sophia Myles are the better vampire performances in a decade. Viktor is a true badass and Erika is a cunning goddess. The story twists and turns; the ending was left open. Most of the actors and actresses are British, so it has a different flavor than say Blade or Queen of the Damned.
Rating: 
Summary: unbelievely stupid
Review: This movie, while it had some promise, failed miserably to deliver. The story of vampires fighting werewolves was resonable enough, even though werewolves do seem to have the advantage of daylight. This is the first movie that I have seen that have made werewolves thinking creatures. In vampire mythology, they have no reflection, do not cast a shadow, have superior hearing and sight and incredible strength. Not in this version.
It turned out to be a love story. Part one of a love story.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but not exactly what I expected
Review: I had been looking forward to the release of this movie all summer long, and it was a great movie! It was just a little different from what I had thought it would be. The movie, as most of you probably know, is about a war that has been going on between werewolves and vampires. And it is THIS that is the primary focus of the plot (as opposed to the vampires and werewolves themselves). The werewolves have been researching their bloodlines and discovered a human who shares a common ancestor with both the werewolves and the vampires. The werewolves seek out this human, and this is noted by Selene (Kate Beckinsale), who decides to make it her mission to discover the importance of this particular human. Unfortunately, the writers decided not to delve too deeply into vampire and werewolf lore. I was pretty disappointed by the fact that the supernatural abilities of these supernatural beings were not really emphasized. Instead, the writers chose to merely stick guns in the hands of the vampires and werewolves. In addition, the mythology was slightly different from what I've read and seen before in previous vampire and werewolf books and movies. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but if you are going to change things from what people are used to, then it should be explained in slightly more detail. Another thing that was a little disappointing were the effects. The previews led me to believe that the movie would be comparable to the "Matrix" in that department. Unfortunately, the best effects (with the one exception of the werewolf transformations) were all shown in the previews. All of this aside, the movie was still pretty incredible. The plot was exceptional, which is not necessarily always the case with most action movies, and the action kept me entertained throughout the movie's entirety. The make-up and costumes were also outstanding, as was the acting. I actually saw this movie twice, and the second time around (once I got over the intial let-down of it being slightly different from what I expected) it was MUCH better. I anxiously await the sequel (and based on how the movie ended, there WILL be a sequel) as well as the DVD release!
Rating:
Summary: Very dark and a great story line - the two hours flew by!!
Review: This is a great movie. I'm not sure it is one of the best movies of this type ever made, but it is VERY good. It starts out by prefacing the war between the Lycans and Vampires over the centuries and brings you into the modern day world. There appears to be some hope in combining the blood lines of each species to create a super species, stronger together than each alone. This movie also explores, very nicely I might add, how the "war" unfolded and kind of reminded me of the "Seventh Sign" where the flashbacks deal with what is happening in the current day. This movie is filled with deceptions, decadence and subplots galore. There is a power struggle between the two leading Vampire females for control of the coven. There is struggle between the Lycan warriors. There is a power struggle between Craven, the current vampire coven leader and Victor, the resurrected ancient vampire leader. There is enough action to keep it moving along nicely. The music was very dark, brutal and a true showing of what goth music is all about. Although the theatre I was in had it almost too loud, a pair of light plugs might have been in order. All in all, I don't see why people are knocking this film. Maybe they got them selves overhyped. Some critics have also compared this to the Matrix: Reloaded. They couldn't be more wrong. This movie stands on its own and it's well worth the two hours and you'll leave wishing you had either of the powers shown in the movie. I guess that's what the director's had intended. :)
Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: Ok, to start off, I'm not going to bag on this movie for not having better developed characters, nor will I complain about the changes in the "monster mythology". Intead, I'd like to focus on its high points. I must admit, for a low-budget movie, $22 million if I remember correctly, this was definately a quality movie. I came into the theater expecting it to be a Romeo and Juliette, let's kill some werewolves, slapped together movie, but I came out impressed with how there was so much more to this well thought out plotline than met the eye. And, for it's budget, it had some really well done special effects. Granted, some people may complain about the acting, but I really didn't find that much of a problem with it. I do wish it would have explained more of the background, but it was definately left open for sequels, so maybe they'll cover that in those. So before you decide to just wait for it to come out on DVD, give it a chance and see it in the theaters, and even though it isn't the greatest movie of all time, it's been better than most movies I've seen in the past few months, and it makes for an enjoyable experience.
Rating:
Summary: Whoa!
Review: Where do I sign up to be bitten? Interesting movie--great, GREAT cinematography and costumes. If Kate Beckinsale didn't own you before she will now. Judging from the ending, a sequel is inevitable. Hopefully the plot holes (and there were many) will be ironed out for the sequel. Good clean Gothic fun.
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