Under the One

Rating: 4/10 (18 January 2012)

I can't put my finger on why I was so bored during 'Underworld' (2½/5 Stars). Sure, there's a lot going on, a lot of pretty good FX – EXCEPT for the laughable werewolves (I refuse to call them the 'L' word; call them what they are!) – and mystery aplenty, but I've always been left unsatisfied with this movie. For one, I do like Vampire stories (again, EXCEPT the faux pas vampire story in 'Twilight') but I like the werewolf lore more. This one was supposed to be a blending of both, but get real; this is a 70/30 Vampire/Werewolf story. I guess that might be a good thing considering how horrid the CGI werewolves look. Anyways, the movie's real highlight is the extremely strong character, Selene, played with an excellent performance by Kate Beckinsale. Without her, I doubt I'd have much interest in continuing with the series. The movie obviously directly steals from 'The Matrix' and that's a huge deterrent, as is the constant bending-the-rules for plot development and weighs more heavily on the "mystery" of the war between the beasts than character development. It also screams sequel – literally. Unless you name your movie "Episode #" then it shouldn't be so blatant. Barely recommended.