UNDERWORLD
UK / Germany / Hungary / USA, 2003
Director: Len Wiseman
7/10
The characters are all fascinating (mainly because of their backstories and their terrific-looking clothes) and most of the actors deliver superb performances, especially Bill Nighy as one of the most kick-ass vampires in history, and the uber-gorgeous Kate Beckinsale as uber-awesome werewolf killer (guess who fell in love with her...).
UK / Germany / Hungary / USA, 2003
Director: Len Wiseman
7/10
The "Underworld" franchise is for werewolves and vampires what the "Resident Evil" franchise is for zombies: a cool and epic Horror-Action-Saga that knows how to entertain genre-buffs.
Part 1 is a prime example of a good Screen Gems film: from the "Matrix"-looking opening to the kick-ass climax, "Underworld" is thrilling, action-packed and quite fast-paced, thanx to Wiseman's neat direction, a well-written script and a very interesting, very complex plot.
The characters are all fascinating (mainly because of their backstories and their terrific-looking clothes) and most of the actors deliver superb performances, especially Bill Nighy as one of the most kick-ass vampires in history, and the uber-gorgeous Kate Beckinsale as uber-awesome werewolf killer (guess who fell in love with her...).
Soundtrack and cinematography are great, the settings are all super-stylish and most of the computer effects look pretty good (considering the not-so-high budget).
Apart from a few lengths, some mediocre acting and many silly dialogue, this is simply a great and highly enjoyable popcorn movie!
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION
USA, 2006
Director: Len Wiseman
8/10
USA, 2006
Director: Len Wiseman
8/10
Yay for "Underworld: Evolution", an absolutely amazing sequel, IMO even better and more enjoyable than the first part!
Nothing lengthy in here, just loads of excellent action-scenes, cool fight scenes, explosions and super-thrilling car chases. There's also loads of beautiful gore and brutal kills (all the gruesome wing-tip stabbings, beheadings, chewed off faces etc.), many awesome-looking settings and some interesting 'new' characters (the heinous Marcus or the mesmerizing Alexander Corvinus).
Kate Beckinsale is again absolutely badass and looks just stunning. Marco Beltrami's soundtrack is fabulous, the "Puscifer" song is a long-time favorite of mine, the sex-scenes are cool, the opening is impressive and the Helicopter-climax is just mindblowing.
Apart from one mini-flaw (not enough Bill Nighy!), "Underworld: Evolution" is a brilliantly made and super-satisfying sequel. I love it!
Apart from one mini-flaw (not enough Bill Nighy!), "Underworld: Evolution" is a brilliantly made and super-satisfying sequel. I love it!
UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS
German Title:
Underworld - Aufstand der Lykaner
USA, 2009
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
6,5/10
The acting is terrific: Bill Nighy is back and he's once again absolutely excellent, and the rest of the cast is also pretty good (Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen). It's full of great-looking and very well-made action/fight scenes, full of touching and emotional scenes, full of wonderful dialogue.
German Title:
Underworld - Aufstand der Lykaner
USA, 2009
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
6,5/10
The 3rd entry in the "Underworld"-franchise is an interesting and pretty well-made prequel, but unfortunately not as good as I expected, not as great as it could have been.
The acting is terrific: Bill Nighy is back and he's once again absolutely excellent, and the rest of the cast is also pretty good (Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen). It's full of great-looking and very well-made action/fight scenes, full of touching and emotional scenes, full of wonderful dialogue.
The cinematography is beautiful, the soundtrack is stunning and the make-up effects look just awesome.
Sadly, there are quite a lot scenes in the first half which are pretty tedious and boring, many of the settings look meh (the scenes in the woods look like outtakes from some "Xena" episode) and Rhona Mitra... as gorgeous as she is but she's no replacement for Kate Beckinsale.
Not perfect but still a good and watchable film.
Not perfect but still a good and watchable film.
UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING
Alternate Title:
Underworld: Awakening in 3D
USA, 2012
Directors: Björn Stein & Måns Mårlind
4/10
"Underworld: Awakening" is a bland, highly disappointing and completely unnecessary 3D sequel which hopefully is NOT the start of a new trilogy.
The bad:
Alternate Title:
Underworld: Awakening in 3D
USA, 2012
Directors: Björn Stein & Måns Mårlind
4/10
"Underworld: Awakening" is a bland, highly disappointing and completely unnecessary 3D sequel which hopefully is NOT the start of a new trilogy.
The good:
It's full of cool and action-packed chase / car-chase scenes, visually fabulous CGI effects and pretty stylish settings. Kate Beckinsale looks incredibly hot, the cinematography is just wonderful, the score is rousing and it never gets boring.
The bad:
The plot is unoriginal, predictable and thinner than air. The acting is bleh and every single character is completely unlikable, even Selene was totally unsympathetic to me here.
The wonderful gothic style of the first 3 parts was replaced with futuristic hi-tech nothingness, the uber-werewolves look silly and reminded me of the trolls in "Trollhunter", it's full of stupid and redundant scenes / moments / things (the horrible elevator scene, the ridiculous-looking vampire girl...) and the 3D is lame and not worth the money (imagine the 3D from "Captain America" and you get the idea).
The wonderful gothic style of the first 3 parts was replaced with futuristic hi-tech nothingness, the uber-werewolves look silly and reminded me of the trolls in "Trollhunter", it's full of stupid and redundant scenes / moments / things (the horrible elevator scene, the ridiculous-looking vampire girl...) and the 3D is lame and not worth the money (imagine the 3D from "Captain America" and you get the idea).
Posts
I've skipped these, but someone gave me the first one, so I'll check them out, probably all during a Crazy Movie Weekend. Great overview, MM!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually working on a post just like this. When Underworld first came out it flew under my radar until I bought the 2-Disc Unrated Extended Cut DVD and saw the second in the Cinema. Still they never really stood out to me as something I really loved, other than I thought the films kicked some major ass and Kate Beckinsale was hot as fuck.
ReplyDeleteThe third one I actually put off seeing because no Kate. But to my surprise it was pretty damn good! As for the fourth, it's probably the strangest gem of them all. It doesn't have the same heart as the previous films, even the third. It seems rushed and the script totally sucks. But it's fun, fast, cool and Kate is back looking mad hot!
I'm still hoping for an extended cut of the 4th. Despite how ridiculous the daughter looks vamped out. The fourth film lacked patience and care. But there was tons of blood and badassness. Hopefully a longer version will be presented along side the theatrical and give some more characterization.
Couldn't really get into these films...I'll pass thank you.
ReplyDelete@Craig:
ReplyDeletewatched the first 3 in a row last weekend. I recommend you to do the same thing, it's fun! :)
@Erik:
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Underworld didn't flew under my radar either. Saw all 3 parts last weekend for the very first time.
Part 3 turned out to be way better than expected, though I'm sure it could have been way better if Beckinsale would've been in.
Part 4 is bad and I'm sure it has something to do with the directors who weren't able to create something unique.
Gawd, this movie would kick ass if directed by Wiseman, W.S. Anderson or Patrick Lussier.
@quatermass:
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome :)
Great reviews. My problem with the first two films was Scott Speedman. What a dope in these! He's talented, sure, but his character really had no place because they never did a blessed thing with his mixed Corvinus blood except a couple of cool kills. Plus he was just a little too California surfer for me.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was Rise of the Lycans because werewolves are my fave monster. They are so much better than vampires and I couldn't help but wish Kate had been a werewolf. But, sexy women don't get to be wolves because then the slavering teen fanboys wouldn't get to admire their T&A in ridiculous catsuits. ;)
Underworld is one of my guilty pleasures. Love the first one, the second is cool but not enough Bill Nighy as you say. As everyone has agreed Kate Beckinsale is just gorgeous as Selene. I don't actually think she's that attractive normally when you see her all dolled up, but as a Vampire it's a whole different ball game!
ReplyDeleteThe thing that makes the series (though I haven't seen Awakening yet), is the supporting cast. Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Derek Jacobi, Tony Curran; all fantastic and add credibility to this war between Vampires and Werewolves.
I will check out Awakening at some point but I think I've missed it the cinema so I'll wait for DVD. Come to think of it I haven't seen any of them in the cinema! Mmmm wonder if the local Picturehouse would be up for a Quadrilogy night in the future.
@Mel:
ReplyDeleteSpeedman is not an uber-actor, but I think his performances in 1 & 2 are pretty solid.
As much as I love werewolves, but I was always a vampire-guy and I also love the vampires here more than the wolves.
Nevertheless, none of them can hold a candle to Maxie briscoe :)
@Russ:
ReplyDeleteYeah you're right. She's not that attractive in reality, but as a vampire... holy fang, she's definitely one of the hottest vamps in horror history!
Agreed - and that's exactly why Part 4 fails so much: the supporting cast is weak and unimpressive, compared to all the awesome actors in the first 3 parts.
No need to watch Awakening in theater. Wait for the DVD / VOD.
So, where do I start....
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the first one... I fuckin' love it! :) The story, the visuals, the style, the action, the characters... pretty much everything, except for Scott Speedman. Unlike Melissa, I think he possesses ZERO acting talent, and his shallow, uninteresting character let down the film a bit.
I disagree that the second film is better. It just can not be :).. but it was something of a guilty pleasure to me. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Also unlike my dear Melissa, I was extremely disappointed by Rise of Lycans. Here, in Bulgaria, we have an expression that sounds like: "Black people fighting in the dark." (Not sure if it does make sense, but...) and this expressions describes the film quite perfectly... it was a huge dark mess, the medieval setting didn't work for me at all, the lighting was poor and Kate was missing.
I disagree about the forth one as well. It was like the second one - a superficial, but hugely entertaining entry.
"The wonderful gothic style of the first 3 parts was replaced with futuristic hi-tech nothingness" - that's what I wrote in my review as well.
Although I missed the gothic style, I found the new tone of the film quite refreshing.
Love the action, the gigantic werewolf and the visual and didn't really care about the plot.
Yes, you were maybe a bit too harsh on this one. Unnecessarily harsh I must say. It's not half as bad!:)
Whoops, another Speedman hater. Is he really that bad? I think not.
ReplyDeletePart 1 hast its tedious moments, Part 2 not - that's why enjoyed it more than the first one.
Yep, Kate was missing. Still, #3 turned out to be better than I expected, especialy because of Nighy.
Haha, I'm never 'unnecessarily' harsh :) Part 4 was a huge letdown. I walked into the theater completely pumped - and left the theater completely disappointed.