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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Serge" data-source="post: 1320635" data-attributes="member: 4049">LameI was among those eagerly anticipating Underworld, a flick starring Kate Beckinsale and released by Screen Gems.  Afterall, for those into comics, fantasy, sci-fi and similar fare, what could be better than a show down between two of gothic horror's greatest iconic monsters:  Vampires and Werewolves?  Of course, anyone who paid attention to the trailers, previews, and commercials would have known that a new direction was being taken with both creatures.  It was obvious that two recent fantasy/sci-fi films, Blade and The Matrix, signficantly influenced Underworld.  We had a gun-toting, leather wearing, martial arts film with blue-grey cinematography and a neo-gothic cityscape.  With such a look, and an attractive star, and great previews, all that was needed was a good story and decent acting.Well, half of something is better than nothing, I suppose...Underworld is an example of a film that captures some elements so well that it goes overboard in other elements and ultimately fails to accomplish its goals.  UW is not a bad movie... but niether is it a good movie by any stretch of the imagination.The concept of this story is there has been a war brewing between two castes of immortals for centuries:  Vampires and Lycans (werewolves).  No one knows how the war started and, over the past few centuries, Vampires have had the upper hand since the death of a major Lycan leader, Lucien.  Selene (Beckinsale), our protagonist, is a Death-Dealer, a Vampire who kills Lycans.  As such, she goes everywhere in leather oufits, wears a leather trench, wears high heels, and carries a pair of matching guns.  Oh-la-la.  Of course, she carries silver bullets.  Everyone has cool gothic names (Victor, Selene, Lucien, Craven), which clearly indicates that these are cool characters.  In the course of a botched attack on a couple of Lycans, Selene stumbles into a mystery concerning a mortal targetted by the Lycans: Michael.  Thus begins a story that ideally would revolve around why Michael's important to the Lycans.  Instead, what happens is an attempt to create an epic-style story over the course of 115 minutes and here the film fails miserably.There are a number of flaws in the film.  First, the power-relationships between Vampires and Lycans.  Vampires really got the shaft here.  Sure, they're stronger than mortals, but they're no stronger than a Lycan while the latter's in human form and certainly no match for a werewolf physically.  Hell, half the time when the two meet, the Vampire stands around, hissing and spitting like a rabid cat, while the Lycan transforms and then rips the Vampire to shreds.  What's confusing about this is that there are a few Vampires (the omnipresent Elders that we find in every modern Vampire story or game) who can take out a Werewolf effortlessly regardless of form... Oh, wait, I'm wrong; apparently only one Elder can do this.  Which begs the question, why are the vamps winning?  Well, because there are more of them.  Which leads to other problems once you learn about the backgrounds of both groups.  Powers fluctuate and some of the actions taken make no sense (like, we find out that Vampires can jump really high and stick to ceilings... but then they take the elevator or the stairs to get around).  These inconsistencies were bothersome.Another flaw is the breadth of the story.  We are introduced to a lot of information in a short period of time.  There are some interesting turns regarding motivations and goals, but these happen throughout the film at the worse times, introducing characters who end up being important but would have been better off in a sequel.  It's clear that the writer(s) have a great background story here and I was intrigued by that story, but too much was introduced too soon and it diluted the characters.  By the time I began to become interested in one character, another one was introduced who changed everything.  This became a distraction and a bad one at that.And then the obligatory love connection.  An utter waste of time.  In a trilogy, Selene and Michael would have been cool getting together.  Instead, they just are horny for each other for no good reason and the film is cold as a result.  There are other tensions that just make no sense, but it's this one that really annoys.Finally, the fight scenes are uninspired.  Towards the end of the film there's a fight between an Elder and another monster and it looks ridiculous.  It's obvious that punches aren't connecting.  In fact, in the theatre I watched the film, people laughed throughout that fight.  Pair that with the Vampires kindly giving Werewolves time to transform, and it's enough to freeze the brain.  Everyone carries a gun.  And herein lies a final problem.For whatever reason (actually, I have some suspicions), recent Vampire-type movies seem to frown upon the idea that these beings are supernatural creatures.  Since Blade, the likes of Vampires have become increasingly "human."  They don't fly, they don't change into anything, they don't control minds, they cast shadows and reflections, they don't move with preternatural speed, and they're not outrageously strong.  I suppose this is a nod to contemporary sensibilities.  Whatever.  Afterall, if the audience can accept immortal creatures that drink blood and can be killed by sunlight, why can't they accept these other elements.  In this film, which really boils down to an issue of classism and racism, it's all too human and robs Vampires and Werewolves of their supernatural overtones, the things that make them so cool.  I'm all for revamping (no pun intended), but not at the expense of many of the core elements to a character-type.  Still, Underworld is not an utter failure.  It does have some shining moments, and these come from the story if you're willing to accept that too much information is given away in one film rather than in two.  This would have done better as a maxi-series on Sci-Fi channel because it would have been far more enjoyable and sensible.  The look is slick and imposing and some of the effects (particularly the Lycans) are really cool.  Beckinsale is not bad, and most of the acting, while not spectacular (aside from the Lycan leader, who's great!), is serviceable.  This is a renter, but not a keeper unless you just like to by DVDs (like me).  Underworld is like a person with a great body covered in too much fat.  We all know too much of something can be detrimental.  This movie solidifies that notion.C-</blockquote>

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