Interesting racial undertones evoking the Civil War era, some good special effects, and some OK fight sequences make "Underworld" a decent Friday night matinee...

Rating: 6/10 (27 January 2004)

It was only a matter of time before a film like this was made. Unfortunately, the end result isn't quite as amazing as everyone had hoped it would be.
Nevertheless, if you like werewolves and vampires, then "Underworld" will probably wet your teeth. For the most part, I found the film an enjoyable enough experience to recommend--although there are some scenes that seem to slow the film down and add nothing to the story. I was also disappointed in the way that the film pays more attention on keeping its vampires and werewolves in human form, talking for the duration of the film, rarely fighting and evolving into beasts of the night. As Homer Simpson once said, "Less yakkin'; more zappin'!"
"Underworld" is about a vampire named Selene (Kate Beckinsale) who lives in a scary mansion in Europe with dozens of other gothic beasts like herself. They're so busy fighting werewolves, it made me wonder where they all get their stylish leather attire--it's like a "Grease" reunion or something.
Selene is a "hunter"--she seeks out werewolves and slaughters them, and this happens in the opening sequence which is pretty "Matrix"-esque. The vampires fight them with silver bullets, and the werewolves fight vampires with big teeth. Not much of a challenge for the vampires, eh? You'd be surprised. With the help of CGI, Selene has trouble fighting the animals. (They are apparently pretty strong, and apparently a big rip-off of the creatures from "An American Werewolf in Europe" and "Paris.")
Werewolves, we learn, used to be slaves to the vampire species, before Lucius--the head of the werewolves--fell in love with the vampire "lord's" daughter. The latter was killed, and the former escaped, only to form a pack of followers that would battle with vampires over the ages.
Now Lucius has targeted a young doctor who has the capability of forming a hybrid between vampires and werewolves. I didn't understand everything regarding how, exactly, this is possible, since I think the explanation is purposefully quick and slurred so that audiences can't stop to evaluate any implausabilities.
Selene falls in love with the man and tries to stop Viktor, the lord of the vampires, from killing him. He tells her that the doctor is an abomination--that vampires and werewolves cannot be mixed together. She doesn't believe him.
The film is basically politically-correct. Werewolves used to be slaves, freed themselves, and were still faced with racism until a lone vampire decided that the two species could unite. Doesn't that sound a bit like truth? Regardless of any implied backdrops, the film will probably satisfy any action fan who is looking for some neat battle sequences and cool special effects.
My only problem with the film is probably the fact that the vampires and werewolves never really evolve into vampires or werewolves. We do see some large dogs occasionally, but for the most part it's just people with glowing eyes battling big muscular people who sometimes rip off their clothes and turn into big hairy beasts.
But the film is an enjoyable Friday night matineee; a good movie if you're in the mood for something light and enjoyable. It rips of "The Matrix" a bit with its style, but what gothic action film hasn't since 1999? Kate Beckinsale is gorgeous here, and worth the price of admission alone. The film isn't too original, and it's not nearly as great as it could have been (chances are ruined here), but it works as a dumb, fun movie.
3/5 stars.

John Ulmer