pretty.....but not beautiful.

Rating: 4/10 (4 November 2006)

I wanted to like this film the minute I heard it was in production. A story set in the present, smack-dab in the middle of a war between vampires and werewolves. OK, what's not to like about that idea? Well, nothing really. Underworld delivers a huge slice of supernatural warfare with amazing style  from guns that use ultraviolet bullets, to of course, Kate Beckinsale dealing death with two huge guns whilst slinking about in a black leather cat suit. So admittedly, the movie looks amazing. But that's really about it
During the latest skirmish, Seline (Kate Beckinsale), one of the vampire coven's elite Deathdealers discovers that the Lycans are trying to capture a human (Scott Speedman). Seline sets out to find him before the Lycans do, and discover their purpose.
To be fair, this movie has many good points. It looks amazing, the sets are ipeccably atmospheric and the action scenes are short enough to keep your attention. There are also some good performances here. Kate Beckinsale, if you can get past her constant frowning is very watchable as Seline, although she does adopt a rather annoying monolithic pout as soon as she gets a gun in her hand. (She's almost like 'The Matrix's' Trinity. Except with longer hair, bigger guns andwell, fangs.) Bill Nighy does quite a menacing turn as the vampire coven's Elder, Viktor. He's almost fatherlike in some ways, and his scenes with his vampire daughter Seline are reminiscent of a Father rebuking a wayward child. But other times he's sinister as hell. Shane Brolly's Kraven, although slick and sophisticated, begins to grate on the nerves. (By the end, his whining and foot stamping make one want to administer a few swift kicks to his face) Disappointingly, Lucien and Michael seem to fade into the background a bit, despite being central to the movie's plot.
The whole movie though, is as slick as it gets; kind of an ultra-modern film noir. The exterior shots are made up of imposing buildings, moody back streets and perpetual downpour (Not a good advertisement for Hungary where the movie was filmed, eh?) and the whole movie is stylishly faded and muted. For a vampire vs. werewolf film though, the gore factor was (sadly) rather understated, and although the battle scenes are quite good, the whole pace seems to stagger about a bit, almost as if there's too much story to try and cram into the time available. The story is a good idea, but by the end I'd lost interest; mainly because the movie looks good, but there isn't that much else to it. Which is a shame as the plot could make for an amazing movie. But alas, it seems to rely too heavily on it's looks and it's main starafter all, gorgeous as Kate Beckinsale is, there's only so long one can wear a leather catsuit without looking silly.