Emotional dead zone

Rating: 5/10 (11 October 2003)

One part The Matrix, one part Blade, Underworld is yet another modern take on vampires that bypasses the traditions of the genre (black cloaks, castles, striking male vampires with Eastern European accents) by embracing what are quickly becoming a new set of traditions of the genre (black leather, spandex, low lighting, lots and lots of automatic weapons) and failing to make any of it the least bit compelling. Underworld is just dead space, a well-polished engine that goes nowhere fast.
The initial premise sounds very promising: Vampires and werewolves have been engaging in a secret war for thousands of years, with the aristocratic vampires holding the upper hand. That upper hand are "Death Dealers," elite werewolf-killing assassins, who approach their job without remorse. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is one the best Death Dealers, living for the thrill of the kill. Now, however, her world is threatened by a new element: a human named Michael (Scott Speedman) who the werewolves, referred to in the film as Lycans, have their eye towards, for unknown reasons. Eager to find the answers, she defies the leader of her coven, Kraven (Shane Brolly), and begins conducting an investigation, finding herself falling in love with Michael.
Despite the possibilities the setting provides, Underworld does very little with it. The film is basically one long set of shoot outs and fight scenes, all well-choreographed and photographed, but there is no real substance to anything. It doesn't help that the main characters, Selene and Michael, are completely empty of any development. They have seemingly less dialogue than the supporting characters, and neither is well-developed by the screenplay at all. We get a hint of background for Selene, but it is too little too late, and Michael is a cypher, lacking any significant backstory to his character, and barely a handful of scenes, it seems. The romance of these characters is supposed to draw us in, but I couldn't have cared less. The romance is without an semblance of interest or emotion, leaving the film without an emotional core to hang our interest on.
The supporting cast, especially Michael Sheen as a lead werewolf, are far more interesting than the leads, but the script proves rather thin. The plot seems rather half-explained, not to mention underdeveloped. When the big "surprises" of the film are revealed, it elicits a "So? That's it?" response. The film is also hampered by Shane Brolly as Kraven, the only character who could classify as a villain. His performance plays as if he is reading his lines off a teleprompter, and his melodramatics remind you of a high school play.
Director Len Wiseman is a former art director for several major films, including Stargate, and a director of music videos. His film does indeed look gorgeous, but that is all there is to it. The meat is missing, it's just the fancy packaging that is left.