The only unique Vampire/Werewolf film ever made...and brilliant at that

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2006)

Underworld is indeed a gem. It takes a deadly overused concept and finally comes out with something actually unique with an outstanding cast and concept, great story (if not a little complex) and definite future for turning it into a mega-franchise. Where to begin...Director and co-writer Len Wiseman puts everything together exactly the way a person would want to see it. Action, drama, romance, intensity and vampire and werewolves all round it out but none of it is horror...it's solid action.
Kate Beckinsale leads the cast as Selene, the vampire Death dealer who hunts Lycans (Werewolves) in an attempt to exact vengeance for the murder of her mortal family centuries ago. Selene is one of the best action movie heroes ever...period. Beckinsale is dark and beautiful and deadly all at once and she has awesome screen presence. She does an A+ job. Lead actor opposite her is Scott Speedman. I don't think he has near the screen presence of Beckinsale or any of the other cast members but he's adequate and he's fortunate enough to have the rest of the cast be so good that he sort of fits in. The plus side is there is some chemistry between him and Beckinsale, it's not quite as passionate as you would hope for but there is some. Shane Brolly plays Kraven, the villain vampire who is working with the Lycans to bring about the integration of their species basically creating an up-stoppable race of half vampire, half lycan. He's quite brutal in his role and definitely a great bad guy. He doesn't stand a chance against Selene and is put in his place more than once but he's still a good bad guy. Bill Nighy stands out as Viktor, one of the eldest vampires who is in hibernation awaiting his time to rule until Selene resurrects him to gain his support against Kraven. He's an even better bad guy, and a great vampire. Believable in his role and he goes from being weakened and sickly to being a powerful force. His death is one of the coolest...and also laughable moments in cinema history...or action films any ways. Michael Sheen as the leader of the Lycans Lucian. Lucian is almost an anti-hero and he opens up the door for much more of a back story. His role is well done and he adds class to the cast. They are of course many other actors who support the cast and they all do a great job respectfully as either Vampires or Lycans. The Special effects in Underworld are slightly minimal compared to other films of this caliber which is not a bad thing whatsoever, it simply means that the cast must actually work harder to make their roles believable and they do flawlessly. I must admit, after seeing this film again for the second time, and now I have seen the sequel, the story line to this one is a bit complex and you really have to follow it closely to figure out who is who and where the story is going. I'm thinking there is some sort of plot hole going from the first to second film but I can't say for sure and I can't think of anything off hand. If nothing else it means the film is very intelligent for a mainstream action film. I think the series will really show it's strength in a trilogy perhaps. It reminded me a lot of the Matrix series except it didn't start to suck after the first one.
Underworld is a must see film for action lovers or anyone who loves a good vampire story because it is very unique. The Vampires aren't evil...some of the usual rules apply to them...but they aren't preying on humans, in fact they have a personal pact to feed on livestock and cloned blood. It's the uncontrollable Lycans who pose a threat and the war rages with guns and hand to hand battles and coming up with new weapons to keep the other immortal team dead. Amidst this is betrayal, romance, and a history that only begins to unfold. You can't help but feel there is so much more to this story. Len Wiseman has created something very interesting here and definitely worth checking out. It's a brilliant story with a brilliant cast and it gets more brilliant with time. 7.5/10