Not bad, not great either

Rating: 6/10 (20 April 2005)

UNDERWORLD is a hybrid horror movie, a cross-pollination of genres containing elements of action, fantasy drama, and good-old-fashioned chills and thrills. It tells the tale of a war amongst the supernatural underbelly of a city, in which a clan of Vampires is pitted against that of the Werewolves in a savage guerilla war sparked by an archaic feud between the two races. While this rather interesting concept sets the stage for what looked like a decent horror film, the ungainly, confused script, overdone visual effects and a few rather grating performances let the entire movie down into the depths of mediocrity.
The basic thematic premise of the film - that is, that the viewer must ultimately choose which side, the Vampires or the Lycans, is in the right- is very interesting, but unfortunately, the poorly-planned and unbalanced plot doesn't give us much room to manoeuvre. For starters, the central character, Selene (an aesthetically appealing but often emotionless Kate Beckinsale), is a Vampire; as a result, we are given a fairly one-sided view of the action for at least the first half of the film. The plot would have been much more balanced if the key protagonist had therefore been Michael Corvin, Scott Speedman's character, a human with the potential to resolve the conflict. Through his perspective, this film would have unfolded much more coherently - however, with Selene dominating the film, the result is that the Vampires have much more screen time.
Then again, this may not matter, for another flaw in the plot is that, in the end, we aren't given any scope for a moral choice between the two sides - and one is much more appealing than the other anyway. The Lycans are excellently presented, well-acted, and the scariest and most interesting characters in the film;while they don't exactly turn out to be in the right, so to speak, they come off with the moral high ground. The Vampires, on the other hand, are mostly boring and poorly acted, too similar to ordinary humans to be remotely frightening or interesting,and come through as a bunch of hedonistic toffs in Matrix-style leather; furthermore, their leader, Viktor (played by Bill Nighy) turns out to be a fascist old viper who instigated the war between the races in the first place. As for the war itself, while the action scenes are well-planned and blisteringly kinetic(particularly the fight in the subway), it simply doesn't try hard enough to frighten you. It may say "Horror" on the video case, but don't expect nightmares from UNDERWORLD.
Presenting this interesting but half-baked plot is a mostly skillful cast, who have been held back, if at all, by their overdone and unconvincing dialogue. Only Michael Sheen and Scott Speedman shine, putting on masterful and appropriately Gothic performances, and respectively providing some of the rare, genuinely frightening moments in the film. Bill Nighy is too brilliant an actor to ever come off badly, but he doesn't seem to be exerting much effort in this characterisation; Shane Brolly is stomach-churningly woeful, with his "acting" consisting primarily of scowling and muttering through clenched teeth; and Robbie Gee, while his delivery is good, is failed by his ridiculously corny dialogue.
The visuals in this film are its major saving grace. The cinematography is fluid, atmospheric and energetic; the sets are intensely Gothic and hauntingly beautiful; and, while the graphically-depicted blood and gore gets a little tiresome towards the end of the film, the special effects are otherwise dazzling, particularly the transformation sequences, which are the best I've seen in a long time. While the Vampires' leather and the martial-arts antics of the Lycans remind us, not fondly or amusingly, of THE MATRIX and THE TERMINATOR, they fit in surprisingly well with the strong Gothic ambiance.
UNDERWORLD is a brilliant concept that was failed by its script; it is a beautiful piece of film-making that doesn't quite have the substance to fill its beautiful sets. Lakeshore have doomed this one to mediocrity- but it's worth a look if you stumble across it as you rummage in the bargain bin. 6/10.