|
There
are now four
Underworlds-
count them FOUR
Underworlds.
You can say that the
Vampire craze is
dying down all you
want, the fact
remains that there
are four of these
movies and after the
events inside and
outside of the
latest film,
Underworld Awakening,
the franchise shows
no signs of slowing
down.
Underworld Awaking
isn’t the best film
in the franchise but
it’s far better than
Underworld: Rise of
the Lycans
and that’s all it
really needed to
top. Selene the
death-dealing
vampire came back to
the franchise
wielding some crazy
silver-spitting oozy
pistols and the sum
of all it’s parts
has
Underworld Awakening
being good-to-decent
and that’s more than
good enough for
there to be another
sequel in the
not-so-distant
future.
Selene and Michael
Corvin established
their star-crossed
lovers relationship
in the second movie
of the franchise.
He’s a
vampire/werewolf
hybrid, and she’s a
death-dealing
vampire huntress
that kills with
efficiency and
style. In
Underworld Awakening,
human-kind has
become aware of the
existence of
vampires and lycans
and this gives the
humans the perfect
opportunity to focus
on an enemy other
than other humans.
Normal people are
set out to eradicate
the vampires and the
lycans and that
includes Selene and
Corvin. When the two
are set up to leave
at a dock and
assaulted by a large
force that even
they can’t
extinguish, they get
sent into captivity.
In captivity they’re
frozen for a few
years, Selene wakes
up, unable to find
Corvin and she gets
pissed off. In
Awakening we get
to see what Selene
does when she’s been
imprisoned by people
who have no idea
what they’re dealing
with. She’s out to
find her lost love
and not much is
going to stand in
her way on the way
of finding him.
Of course Kate
Beckinsale is
Underworld.
Without her in
Rise of the Lycans,
even though it was a
prequel, it just
never felt right.
Having her in
Underworld:
Awakening
already makes it a
better movie than
it’s predecessor.
Beckinsale is
awesome here. The
rest of the movie is
filled with new
characters. That
includes Theo James
as the young
inspired vampire
David that craves
revolution. It
includes the young
India Eisley as Eve
who is a beast all
in her own and
includes baddies
Stephen Rae as Dr.
Jacob Lane and Kris
Holden-Reid as Quint.
Overall it’s a nice
roundup of talent
for the franchise
and it’s best since
the original movie.
The cast is a win
for
Underworld:
Awakening,
but the story kind
of misses it’s mark
this time around. To
get what I’m saying,
let’s rehash what
there is with the
four
Underworlds.
There are two that
were in the
‘present’ one that’s
in the past, and now
one that’s set in
the future. That’s a
very odd time window
for any movie
franchise to have,
let alone this one.
Is the next
Underworld movie
Underworld 2099?
Probably not, but
it’s not that
far-fetched to where
that’s not a
completely
ridiculous
statement. The time
period that this
takes place in isn’t
the biggest downer
of the story, it’s
how things are
implemented and how
characters are
.introduced. The
beginning of the
movie explains
everything that’s
going on via
newscast style,
we’ve seen that in
I Am Legend.
When characters are
introduced they’re
never introduced
with a cool
introduction of any
kind either. It's
a subtle nod,
then the
introduction. That
applies to David,
Eve, and the
vampire-sympathizing
cop Detective
Sebastian (Michael
Ealy).
There’s a nod
to who he is or
showing the
character on the
screen- then we get
the intro. It’s a
repetitive style to
introduce new
characters.
Give Sony some
credit with this blu-ray
release, they didn’t
skimp on the extra
features. There’s a
solid few hours to
go through here
including intros to
new characters,
welcoming back
Beckinsale, a
commentary, a
special effects
piece, and a couple
of other goodies to
go through. If
you’re a fan of the
franchise you’ll
love what’s here. If
you’re not, you’ll
still find it
entertaining.
Underworld Awakening
doesn’t have as much
oomph as the first
two movies in the
series did but then
again it really
didn’t have to. It
just needed to top
the last movie in
the franchise, and
really, it did that.
It could have had a
better story and
let’s be honest the
time setting is a
little ridiculous,
but it’s still
entertaining as hell
to see Selene jump
and shoot her way
through hoarding
lycans.
|