A gothic city that never sees the light of day. Heavily-armed
vampires. Powerful shape-shifting werewolves. A war that’s been
raging for centuries. This, in a nutshell, is “Underworld”.
Although this movie can be summed up in such a nutshell, it is by
no means a pointless film.
If you are looking for a movie that will give you a new
perspective on life, or reveal to you complexities of society of
which you were completely unaware, go see something else, perhaps
“Thirteen”. If you are, however, looking for some good special
effects, Matrix-like costumes and high-action entertainment, go see
“Underworld”.
To make this more than a simple bad guy vs. good guy film, we
have a bit of a Romeo and Juliet syndrome working in this movie.
Celine (Kate Beckinsale) is a vampire and Michael Corvin (Scott
Speedman) is a man/werewolf (you will figure out the ambiguous “/”
when you watch it). Werewolves and vampires are like Catholics and
Lutherans – they are born enemies and are not supposed to mix.
Celine and Michael, however, cannot help but attach themselves to
each other and soon find themselves at the heart of the war, a war
that they are only just beginning to understand, and which they
were never meant to understand.
The most intriguing aspect of this movie, I felt, was that it
managed to surprise me in a few places along the way, which is
always refreshing. “Underworld” does not try to be like “Matrix
Reloaded”, sacrificing story for schnazzy sets to look at.
It gives you a story, and a good one. It is complicated, but
comprehensible (even to someone who is not a sci-fi
enthusiast).
It is also unexpected in some places, bringing in elements of
universal human emotion to give the plot real depth and meaning – a
truly surprising quality in a sci-fi action flick. Love, betrayal,
lies, and terrible secrets all form a tangled web that may just
ensnare you.
If you are, however, a pure sci-fi lover, then you will have
plenty to satiate your appetite. Beckinsale is a tough chick who
kicks some werewolf butt with a pair of deadly Berettas and a tight
black leather outfit that can’t be comfortable.
Speedman shows off his muscles and reels Beckinsale (and perhaps
some of the audience members) in with his ‘hair over the eyes’
look.
The artillery is fun to watch in action. And, most important of
all, the imagination lets loose on the vampire and werewolf world,
fully and believably creating an alternate reality iconoclastic of
science fiction.
In short, this movie was good fun. See it if you like that sort
of thing.
