Rating: 
Summary: All I ever needed to know about assembling a vampire coven..
Review: ...I learned from Underworld.
It has been a most educational experience, watching Underworld. Until now I was walking around with some very laughable ideas about the Creatures of the Night that we all so take for granted as the pedestrian kind of beings that populate folklore. From here on out I am enlightened; no longer a gullible moviegoer, or naive reader. I can rely on the sophistication I have gleaned from this movie to move forward with confidence among the Undead. Underworld set me straight.For example, not just anybody has what it takes to become a vampire. The first requirement for immortality is a European accent. In fact, British and French accented vampires seem to be the most prolific, regardless of residence. It would be considered extremely gauche for, say, a Texan accent to show up at one of the black tie coven soirees even if he sported the hippest Versace lace cravat. Next, one must be a model. This means high cheekbones, gauntly thin, and with a nose constantly in the air as one's lips form a slight pout in resting state. Only the alpha females are allowed to have larger bustlines; this is so that those black leather designer fashions will drape nicely. But above all, a vampire must have that cultivated air of aloof that can be obtained by constantly imagining an offensive odor. Now werewolves have to be selected from an entirely different lot. The master werewolf of Underworld must have scoured every biker bar in LA for swarthy males that with the proper ear hair. Sideburns and a pointy unibrow will gain you extra points for consideration as well. Blondes need not apply, as the lupine fashion seems to favor the swarthy look. Fortunately for Americans, there is less discrimination here with regards to accent. But make no mistake, the world of werewolves is a male dominated culture - women are for snacking only. If your taste runs to the slaying side of things you should know that wooden stakes are passé. Please. Nowadays you will need automatic weaponry and explosive munitions. Also, be aware that vampires and werewolves alike must have kept up on action flicks because now they have advanced martial art skills upon conversion and can unload seven clips worth of ammo into their foes without reloading. And did you think vamps were the only ones who could run on walls and ceilings? It's not just for Eurofrogs anymore. Some further rules to keep in mind when cavorting with Underworld denizens are:
No athletic shoes. No pastel or white clothing.
When in doubt, leather
Waterford crystal is the vessel of choice for blood-tasting parties.
Bottom line, this is an entertaining action flick that should appeal to those who like movies like Blade. You can enjoy it if you keep that in mind.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle
Rating: 
Summary: Great... if you know what you are in for.
Review: Those of you that liked "Blade" and "Commando" would love this movie. Not just because of the obvious vampire similarities with "Blade" or the action of "Commando" but because I think the directors made this movie stupid and cheesy like those on purpose. Yes, the action and violence is gratuitious, and yes, the acting is pretty bad at parts. However- if you can look past this and laugh, albeit tongue-in-cheek, you will really enjoy this movie. There are those who would criticize and call this a "Blade meets Matrix ripoff" but there are scenes/effects that rival the best that Hollywood has yet to offer. The fight scenes and action moments are very entertaining as well. In summary: If you want to go out and see a very entertaining movie that doesn't really make you think (unlike the "English Patient" or "Schindler's List") go see this one. But keep in mind... it is for cheap, easy fun only. Dont take it seriously, and you will enjoy it a lot more. Oh yeah... and Kate Beckinsale is SOOO hot!
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Movie
Review: Sweet movie if you like werewolves and vampires. Thing is people don't see this movie for what it is. It's not a movie about them sucking people's blood and stuff. This is about a war between the 2 different bloodlines or whatever you would like to call it. I think half these people...where expecting to see a vampire / werewold horror movie. But I likes it. Great movie and pretty interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Underwhelming
Review: In UNDERWORLD, vampires and werewolves wage never-ending war on each other in and beneath a city perpetually cloaked in night. Now the wolves are stalking humans, in search of...something. The trailer for this looked amazing. Even the film itself looked great. The lighting, the design, the actors and their clothes are all gorgeous. There's just no substance beneath it all. The characters are flat and there is not nearly enough story to fill out the two hour running time. Some of the acting is quite poor as well; Shane Brolly, who plays the current vampire lord, is particularly bad. I would have liked to have seen more of Sophia Myles as his hopeful first lady. Not only did she seem competent, but it would have added a much-needed subplot. What there was of a story didn't make sense to me, although I can't say why without giving away what happens later in the film. UNDERWORLD is less a horror film (it isn't ever scary) than a stylish action movie in horror dressing. People are executing incredible acrobatic displays all over the place and bullets are constantly flying. It is as if John Woo had decided to shift into the supernatural genre. Nor is it a "Romeo & Juliet" story. If there is any romance, it involves a triangle among three of the vampires, but it is left by the wayside. It is a hybrid film with serious genetic defects, and it is boring. Avoid this stale, unsatisfying piece of eye candy.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the bad acting.....
Review: First, I'd just like to shout out a sarcastic "thank you" to Shane Brolly, the actor who played the vampire Kraven for nearly RUINING this otherwise awesome film with his horrible acting. Seriously, I've seen better acting in porn. Shane, my good man, I sincerely hope your poetry is better than your acting. Really, I mean that. As for the rest of the film-it's excellent. I've read what the beret-wearing, latte-sipping Cannes snobs have written, and they're all morons. If you're a regular person (meaning not an indie film twit) who enjoys a good horror / gothic / action flick, this is the best one of the year. The costumes are incredible, Kate Beckinsdale is delicious-looking, the stage armory is flawless (except for the endless-firing-without-reloading thing, but I can forgive one friggin' oversight), the gothy cinematography is superb even if it does resemble a cologne commercial at times, and I absolutely love how they managed to give the city in this film that whole "generic dark gothic city in Europe" feel. It works and works well. And the mansion the vampires are living in.... I have a thing for gothic mansions, and that's one of the best ones I've ever seen in a movie. I love this film despite the could-be-better acting. I think the story is great, and I highly recommend it. Any goth or vampire or werewolf afficionado has probably already seen it at least twice-but if there's one out there who hasn't seen it yet, SEE IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN. It's really good. It's up there with The Matrix, Dark City, The Crow, City of Lost Children, and Blade on the "classic movies for goths" list. Sure, it's derivative as all hell, but SO WHAT. It may not be original, but it is enjoyable. If you see it and hate it, you can join a class-action lawsuit against me with all the other indie culture jerks. Get bent.
Rating:
Summary: Underpar?
Review: Well, I went into this movie with really high hopes, to be honest. For a while now we've been hyping it up. The adverts made it look like it was going to be a pretty fast paced movie that would satisfy my inner goth, but I left feeling a little hungry still. The Good: Action sequences - this movie wasn't toted as some deep Virgina Woolf penning, it was a guns and girls movie. As far as guns go, it certainly did well. The gun fighting looked smooth and didn't remind me of the Matrix at all (no bullet time, hurrah). The silver nitrate and 'daylight' bullets looked pretty nifty when they were being hurled about. You would have thought that seeing vampires with guns would just belittle the vampires abilities, but once the wolves transformed into their Crinos form you could understand why they wanted (needed) guns. Girls - the second part of the important combo! Kate Beckinsale + leather = the win. As a tie in to this, the costumes were pretty cool. I liked the corset over cat suit that Selene wore and the vampire masters cloak was awesome. Vampires know all the best places to shop, where as it seems Werewolves are damned to an eternity of wearing scabby dusters. The Werewolves - they were well done! They didn't look at all cheesy (see: Dog Soldiers) and the transformation stages looked neat. You really got the idea that they were bad muthas, especially when you found out they were forcing the bullets out of their bodies before the silver was able to kill them. The Bad: Under-use of characters - I don't even know why Amilia was in the film. The adverts made her look like she was going to be a key player, yet she wasn't on screen long enough to get a single line off. Tied in with this is the fact that, if the whole vampire council was coming to meet with a coven, I think they would have a little more security. There was only a small pack of garou sent to attack the train - surely they could have fought them off? The Vampires - they did nothing. All day and night. It seemed it was just eternal coffee morning at Casa Vampyr. Bela Lugosi is probably rolling over in his grave. They were all so [whimpy] too! Psh. They needed to take a leaf from the Werewolves book and buck up. I'm not saying they were terrible, just that they could have been made to seem a little less weak. Give them claws and telekinetic powers or something. I mean, the only ability that I could discern Selene had was strength and being able to jump from great heights. Not all that impressive. Kraven - he just sucked, period. He was a terrible actor, IMO. In Conclusion: I enjoyed it. I didn't pick at it too much. I probably enjoyed it more than the average person would since I'm a fangirl, but if you just go in looking for guns and pretty people, you won't be disappointed. Here's hoping the sequel will be better (I think it will!) If you usually like this type of mindless horror/action flick, you will gobble Underworld up. If not, give this one a miss.
Rating: 
Summary: Shakespeare strikes again
Review: It's gratifying to know that the Bard continues to be relevant even in some gothic future of vampires and werewolves. This is Romeo and Juliet writ in blood and gore. Good for the action and special effects, a little flat on the storyline. Nothing like the original - read R&J (even West Side Story would be richer).
Rating:
Summary: vampires rule the world
Review: I have read most of the reviews written about this movie and i would just like to say i think that this movie rules! it was well filmed and the acting was okay. the effects were amazing and i think the director did a wonderful job. as for the script, i found it very interesting. the topic of the death dealers vs. the lyken was a unique topic. The scenery was like the crow in that it was mostly dark. on the other hand it was like Blade because it had a lot of similar weaponry choices. i highly approve because it held stuck to most of the truths about vampires. all in all i thought it was an excently movie that will be added to my growing dvd collection and i highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Decent Vampire Movie. Just not the best.
Review: When I first discovered of Underworld (via commercial previews etc.) I was quite iffy about seeing it. That's up until two friends of mine (who had seen the film a week prior to it's release in movie houses) stated that the film was a marvelous classic. Seeing the movie for myself, I was quite impressed with how well the developers managed creating the lykens/warewolves images, and the surroundings and screenplay of the film were gorgeous (especially for the film being low-budget developed) indeed a gothic feel. What flaws I found in the movie were it's dry storyline and repetitive battle sequences. The battles aren't anything to cry home about. Just the standard shoot, duck behind walls, and shoot some more sequences. There was a point in the film when the movie's heroine, Selene, get's chased down a hall by a ferocious lyken. To escape it's grasp, she shoots numerous bullet holes into the ground where she stood in a circle, with two handguns as, the floor collapsed. It's amazing how she at that point never needed to reload (hint.hint). There just wasn't enough hand-to-hand fighting (with exceptions of near the end of the movie). There was a scene near the movie's end where Selene sneaks up behind an enemy, kick them in the leg, then snaps their neck. It was an awesome scene, and it would have been a glory to see more of that type of hand-to-hand fighting implemented (Fans of hardcore hand-to-hand fighting Vampire flicks such as Blade may be disappointed). The ending also left the viewer clueless and wanting more. However, with all that said, Underworld is by no means a failure (especially not for a film that developed on a low-buget) the main problem I experienced was people trying to place the movie in the ranks of such classics as Blade and The Matrix. It's no Blade or Matrix, not even close, but it's still a film worth watching, especially on the big screen. I suppose Blade will hold me until this great vampire movie gets released on dvd and vhs.
Rating:
Summary: UNDERWORLD WAS NO DISAPPOINTMENT!
Review: UNDERWORLD was a fun and fast-paced movie. And that by itself in this day and age, is saying something. As long as I'm not staring at my watch during a movie - that's a good thing!
I think Len Wiseman did a commendable job for a first-time movie director.
This movie was full of action and eye-poping special effects. The cinematography and overall look and feel of the movie was awesome. Sure there could have been a myriad of things done better, but look for that in the sequel!
I knew right off that this movie was going to be enjoyable. The idea alone was a great concept. I for one will be going to see the next movie and read the next book.
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