By
John Green "Darkwriter" (Brooklyn, NY USA) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Underworld: Awakening, starring Kate Beckinsale, India Eisley, Stephen Rea, Charles Dance, Michael Ealy, Sandrine Holt and Kris Holden-Reid, finally arrives in theaters today, but is it worth the wait and will it bring a floundering franchise back to life? Yeah, it does.*Mini-Spoilers Alert* Humans have learned of the existence of vamps and lycans, and reacted predictably badly to the news. Selene gets captured while she and Michael trying to escape the carnage and she awakens twelve years later in a specimen lab at a company called AntiGen and e scapes, vaguely aware that someone called Specimen 2 (India Eisley) aided her. Contacted by David (Theo James), a member of a ragtag coven of surviving vamps, she discovers the truth of her situation: Specimen 2 is her biological daughter and they were being experimented upon for reasons both obvious and not so much. Dr. Jacob Lane (Stephen Rea), head of AntiGen, who claims to be working on a vaccine for the lycan/vampire strains, has a different endgame in mind. Thwarted by AntiGen's stonewalling after Selene's escape, Detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy) is also hot on her trail, having his own reasons for tracking her down. *End Spoilers*Much like Resident Evil, this is a franchise that's starting to run on fumes and needs a new jolt. U:A does so, but like other flicks in the genre, the fault lies more in the execution. Humans learning about lycans and vamps is just what was needed here, but letting us see the downfall of the two groups as it happened would've made a better story than catching up after the fact.Cinematography and art design remain the same: oversaturated blue palettes for everything, all the time. Plus lots of rain-washed city streets in the night, sterile lab rooms, dank & cold caverns and tunnels- all lovingly rendered in a gothic shade of blue. Even the sunshine.Blood and gore are ok, but inconsistent. Half the time everyone, including the central cast, looked like they took shooting lessons at Mook Central: too many times a person is standing stock still yet the bullet holes keep decorating the walls and surroundings (think Pulp Fiction when the guy tried to shoot Jules and Vincent). But it's got eviscerations, lacerations and gougings galore- it'll sate your blood lust, don't you worry.Dialogue gets utterly cheesy at times but it was never supposed to be Shakespeare, was it? I'm just finding it hard to believe that J. Michael Straczynski had a hand in the script. The cast is interesting for it's selection, but let's face it- all they're being called upon to do is snarl, growl, sneer, angst, and in some cases, die in a CGI rendering. Nice work if you can get it. :) Notably absent is Scott Speedman, who has declined to reprise his role in the series (as yet), but his character gets a cameo to support the story.Only real question I have is the soundtrack. None of the songs even appear until after the credits start rolling, so what's the point of having Lacuna Coil & Evanscence around if you don't use them?U:A is the kick start the series needed. It's a popcorn flick with enough chops to hold down a spot in both the urban fantasy genre and the franchise itself. Now all it needs is to lose the overpriced 3D effects and use the extra time to flesh out the story some more and everything'll be fine.
By
Shawn Kovacich "Shawn Ko vacich" (The Greatest Little City in the World) (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
Okay, I just got back from the midnight showing of this movie, which by the way is technically the fourth movie in the Underworld series and arguably the second best one in the series after of course the first one. This movie takes place 12 years after the second film in the series, Underworld: Evolution although we do see a brief scene that takes place just a few months to maybe a year after the end of the second film.Now I am not one to post spoilers, but I will set the premise of this film up for you, which by the way comes from the first couple of minutes of the movie.Shortly after the end of the se cond movie, humans find out about the actual existence of both lycans and vampires. So obviously the humans go on a rampage and hunt down and destroy all lycans and vampires, which is eventually referred to as, "The Purge." It is during this time period that both Michael and Selene attempt to get out of the area and our instead ambushed and captured by the humans. Flash forward twelve years and this is where the story starts to unfold.Now like I said earlier, I am not going to reveal any real spoilers, but I will throw you a couple of appetizers such as the chief villain in the movie being played by Stephen Rea, whom you might recall from such movies as; Citizen X and Michael Collins. He plays a government sanctioned scientist leading the way in creating a "cure" or vaccine to combat against vampirism. You are also introduced to two new characters, one of which can best be described as a unique combination of lycan and The Incredible Hulk from Marvel Comics fame, while the o ther reminded me of a cross between the scary little girl played in the classic horror movie The Exorcist and the freaky little ghost girl in the newer horror movie based on the original Japanese version of The Ring. Another really cool part of the movie was a couple of unique, although not entirely surprising, plot twists that really grabbed my attention and made the movie all that more entertaining.One thing that really stood out for me in this movie was what a really vicious and totally un-remorseful vampire Selene has become since the first two installments of the Underworld series. She is much meaner and grittier in this movie than the first two, and of course just as beautiful if not even more so than before. If you are a fan at all of good action vampire/werewolf movies, and especially the Underworld series, you will not be disappointed at all by this latest installment. Well, maybe a little because you will be disappointed when it ends although it does leave an openi ng for another installment in the series, which I am quite sure they are already in various stages of producing it as you read this. At least I hope so!Shawn Kovacich Author and Creator of numerous books and DVD's.
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