UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION

"He is what started it all"

After killing Viktor (Nighy), Selene (Beckinsale) and Michael (Speedman) are on the run as the Vampire clans bay for their blood after the death of their leader. This all changes when Marcus (Curran) awakens. He is the original Vampire from which everyone single one of the clans is descended and now after over half a millennia of imposed hibernation he plans to usher in a new era bringing Lycan and Vampire together. To achieve this he will have to release the original werewolf, his brother William.

While enjoyable, the first Underworld movie didn't set a new standard in the action horror genre, so can its sequel evolve it into something ground breaking?

Len Wiseman's tale of the eternal battle between vampires and werewolves continues from where we left it. The leader of the vampire clans Viktor has been killed by Selene and as Kraven and the rest of the vampire hierarchy tussle for power, Marcus is awakened and changes the balance of power. The first ever vampire and one of the original immortal Alexander Corvinus' two sons, he plans to create a new breed by freeing his werewolf brother William from his imposed vampire prison. All of this happens between the action sequences and this is the film's major problem.

The premise for the Underworld is a good one there is no denying that. The idea of vampires and werewolves fighting an eternal war sparks the imagination and will have horror fans salivating but both the first and the second movies suffer from having too much to say and not having the time to say it. It is obvious that Len Wiseman and fellow writer Danny McBride have mapped out the story, the characters and the conclusion they want to end up at but both of the movies don't do the premise justice. Character development suffers and the quite inventive storyline is fed to you in dribs and drabs, never following because of the need for the next action sequence.

The action itself is extremely good. Backed by some outstanding makeup and visual effects, the action sequences are exhilarating but do suffer from a certain amount of repetitiveness because you can only see a werewolf die in so many ways and Marcus is not very inventive with his killing. The creature effects are first rate however and a showcase for those advocating that makeup effects are still far better than anything created by a computer. Just compare this movie to Van Helsing, which has three times the budget.

Kate Beckinsale dons the PVC and leather again as death dealing vampire Selene. She has never looked more stunning on film and again handles the action with extreme skill. The character herself again has the most development, as you might expect but you would still like to know more about her past. Scott Speedman's character vampire/werewolf hybrid Michael doesn't really evolve as much as fans would like him to, as his powers still continue to grow. Derek Jacobi makes a welcome addition to the cast as Alexander Corvinus and Tony Curran gets his teeth into the role of Marcus.

'Underworld: Evolution', like the first film, is a big story on a very small canvas. After watching the two movies you can't help but think that the story would have been better served as a high concept TV show that would allow character and story development with the constant hindering of movie orientated action sequences. Restrictions aside, this is still an enjoyable horror action movie and one that fans of the original will really like to take a bite out of.

Underworld

Van Helsing

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2006