‘Underworld’ evolves into a sloppy, gory sequel
After seeing this film I’m guessing that Kate Beckinsale (“Pearl Harbor”) was either coerced into doing this film by her husband, Director Len Wiseman (“Underworld”) or she just had nothing else to do with her time. Reprising her role as Selene, the limber, murderous vampire, Beckinsale leads a cast of monsters and mortals in this sequel to the 2003 film, “Underworld.”
While the first “Underworld” film introduced us to the dangerous network of dueling vampires and werewolves, this sequel takes us further into their history and their complex relations. New breeds of werewolves and vampires evolve (just like the title says) and it is up to Selene, once again, to stop the evil ones from ravaging across the globe. With the help of her cunning, werewolf lover (Scott Speedman, “Duets”) and a plummeting helicopter, Selene ensures that all the bad guys are literally squashed, sliced, and skewered in nearly every second of the film.
“Underworld: Evolution” is pretty much the same as its preceding film, except for the fact that there is more blood, more dead bodies and more sex. Having such a powerful surge of consistent action is fun for a little while but it gives the audience little time to relax between the combat scenes. Particularly, it gave me little time to relax my face, since I was scrunching it so often in response to the gory violence.
In order to surpass the first film, “Underworld: Evolution” also boasts a more intricate plotline, which fails to contribute to its greatness. There are times when I didn’t have the slightest clue about what was going on because the story progressed so rapidly with lots of convoluted character developments and flashbacks. The beginning of this sequel seamlessly summarizes the first film and connects the two together with considerable ease and clarity. Soon after, however, everyone involved becomes so enveloped in the bloody fighting that the film’s quality and believability goes downward.
Although this film will only be remembered by a small cult of devoted fans, it does have some enjoyable elements. The sound editing proves to be flawless and adds a great sense of power and excitement to the action. And like the first film, the atmospheric qualities are sustained nicely through the impressive lighting and set designs, expressing a dark, old-world feel mixed with bits of contemporary technology. All visual effects and costumes do well to stay away from the cheesy side, contributing further to the film’s authenticity and gothic look.
Because there is such a dominant thickness in the film’s action sequences and technical elements, all performances from the actors remain totally overshadowed. Beckinsale earns praise for her high energy but nothing more. She manages to carry out the physically demanding action scenes while still looking like a model for bondage attire in her taut, black, leather suit and combat boots. Her icy, blue eyes are consistently penetrating in every close-up but nothing else about her performance is strong enough to penetrate viewers (except, of course, her weapons of murder).
Casey T. Allen is a movie critic for the Utah
Statesman. Comments can be sent to
caseyal@cc.usu.edu.