A nice mix of old and new styles

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2005)

In recent years there has been a boom of comic book and fantasy movies and to be honest, only a few of them was really worth my attention. On the other hand I must say that I like (good) vampire movies, so that's why I gave "Underworld" a try, even though I have to admit that I didn't expect too much about it.
This movie is more than a vampire movie, because the creators have added another mythical creature to the story: the Werewolf. The Vampires and the Lycan (that's the name of the werewolves) are in a war that has been going on for centuries, but that has never been seen by humans. Until now, because the Lycans have found a human that can bond with vampire blood and Lycans blood at the same time and they want to use him as a secret weapon to exterminate the vampires. Selene, a beautiful vampire warrior, uncovers the plot that could prove fatal for her entire race and shadows Michael, the Lycan's supposed human target. She falls in love with him, but doesn't know that he was infected by the Lycans and therefor means a thread to her and the entire convent...
What I liked most about this movie was its mix of old and new. This movie has a very Gothic setting (even though some parts of the city are modern) and the vampires still look like ancient aristocrats, but they use advanced weapons and even drive fancy sports cars. Normally I wouldn't really like the mix of those styles, but this time it did work pretty well.
Of course this movie is full of action scenes, but there has also been enough attention for details like clothing and make-up and decors. The acting was OK and the story looked a bit as if it was influenced by "The Matrix", which isn't a bad thing. All in all this is a decent modern vampire movie that will be loved most by the fans, but that is certainly worth a watch, even when you don't like the genre all that much. I give this movie a 7.5/10.