One of the coolest and stylish films of the 2000s so far!

Rating: Null/10 (19 January 2006)

As much as I love vampire and werewolf movies, I had my doubts about seeing UNDERWORLD upon its release in the Fall of 2003. It had a first time director, a writer whose only credit was an episode of "The Outer Limits", and Kate Beckinsale in the lead role, who hadn't exactly won me over with her performance in PEARL HARBOR. It certainly seemed like it could end up being a total stinker. To my surprise, I found myself loving UNDERWORLD when I got around to seeing it on DVD. I had been wrong about everything. Director Len Wiseman proved to be an excellent director, bringing a strong visual and kick-ass style to the picture that made it seem like a spin-off of BLADE. Danny McBride's screenplay is smart and extremely interesting. But what I was really wrong about was Kate Beckinsale. Wow! Here she proves not only is she sexy, she can actually act as well! Some of the other performances aren't up to par. Scott Speedman is okay, though didn't seem particularly right for the role he was playing while the less said about Shane Brolly's performance, the better. The other main flaw of the film is that it runs too long. What should have been a fast and exciting 90 to 100 minute seems padded and is dull in spaces. Thankfully, these flaws don't completely ruin UNDERWORLD. It remains one of the coolest and stylish films of the 2000s so far! Hopefully the upcoming sequel will be ever better. 8/10