A lot of flash and bang, but it's horrendously underwritten, far too serious and as a result of all this rather dull

Rating: 4/10 (3 June 2017)

Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a vampire warrior who finds herself slap bang in the middle of a war between werewolves or Lycans and vampires because she falls in love with a human host called Michael (Scott Speedman). But it isn't only Selene that is in the middle of this war it turns out that Michael is part of the war too and he is seemingly an integral part of the battle between the Lycans and the vampires....
First things first this is a stylistic triumph and it's fair to say that it's hard not to be blown away by the visuals and the whole style of the product. Whilst this has a lot of the Matrix style choreography and impressive visuals what it doesn't have is a particularly impressive story or engaging narrative....
There is a war brewing between the Lycans and the vampires and Michael (a human) is unfortunately caught up between the two rivalling factions. Ordinarily, the idea of two warring factions and one man/person being caught in the middle can present itself as being an interesting idea, but with Underworld the whole concept is so poorly conceived and developed that it gets to the point where you find yourself rather indifferent to everything.
The film's true shining glory is in its style and presentation; it's clear that director Len Wiseman has watched the Matrix and other Wachowski films as his approach here feels very similar; eye-popping visuals and impressive choreography, but the narrative feels hollow and underwritten and as a story it never really engages.
The performances are a mixed bag and whilst Kate Beckinsale is absolutely gorgeous she is very bland in the lead role (and it really pains me to say this as I was a big fan of her late father when he was in Porridge). Her supporting cast do fare better with the likes of Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly and Bill Nighy all of whom put in solid supporting performances.
One other thing working against the film (other than Beckinsale's performance) is the unrelentingly drab and gloomy tone. The whole tone of the film is way too dark and coupled with a weak and underwritten narrative it also feels quite boring and it's fair to say that the two hour running time feels at least 50% longer than the actual run time.
Underworld will undoubtedly impress younger viewers who may get taken in by the garish visuals, but for mature audiences or for anyone with half a brain the dreary tone and weak story are going to serve more as an annoyance and make one wish that they'd left the Underworld well alone.