They took initiative and made the bad sequel FIRST!

Rating: 5/10 (22 September 2003)

I was already hesitant to see this movie, but the user rating here was just too high to pass it up. Unfortunately I didn't have time to read the reviews, as we had decided to go see it quite suddenly. The choice was betwixt this and Secondhand Lions. I wish we had seen the latter.

I know, I know... vampires can see in the dark, and sunlight is, um, "unpleasant" for them. And I know that werewolves can see in the dark as well. But, we are merely humans, and we CAN'T see in the dark! If there were any immortals in the audience I am sure they had no trouble, but I did. If I had been able to tell who was who in the initial sequences I might have been a bit more interested, but they lost me right there. Mood can be conveyed with good dialog and acting, not just with dim (dare I say DARK?) lighting and a blaring score which tried to force my attention upon a scene. I don't like being forced along by music... I like for it to accompany the action in a way that feels smooth. The music in this film seemed overly dramatic with its tolling bells and crashing crescendos. The little bit of rock music they used actually worked far better, in the two scenes in which they employed it. It seemed more fitting to the film than music which was so very serious.
And you know what? There is only so much back-and-forth superfast gunplay I can stomach... it gets very redundant and I definitely have gotten my fill elsewhere. At least the werewolves took the initiative at times and kicked some proverbial arse the old-fashioned way. I was also pleased when a sword was FINALLY brought into play. It was about time, and could have been employed more.
Also, if I had cared the least bit about any of the characters, I might have enjoyed it more. But I didn't, no matter how many times they showed Selene looking thoughtful and pensive and pained... even during her contrived-sounding speech which detailed the night she became a vampire. No offense to the actress (she has done some fine work), but she just does not seem "Death Dealer" material. Her seriousness bordered on being laughable, especially when she had to deliver some of those stiff lines. The only characters I was even interested in were Michael and the lycanthrope Lucien (Lucian?)... and only because I could identify with Michael because he was human (and confused as I was at being thrust headlong into the chaos of this war), and I knew there would be more to Lucien than met the eye. He was actually a fairly believable character. I was rooting for the werewolves, actually, the poor sewer-dwelling fellows. Talk about the short end o' the stick! But I was hoping they'd win only mildly... I found myself not caring in the end and just waiting, hoping, wishing, that this movie would end.

My husband fell asleep at the climax and when I woke him he replied he didn't care and would rather get the sleep than see the ending. Not a good sign, especially since he really enjoys role-playing games (which this seemed to be based upon). As do I. And we usually like the dark genera (we have Blade #1, The Crow #1, and The Matrix #1 on DVD), and I read horror and also specifically vampire novels. This movie felt as if they had just jumped ahead and made the bad sequel (like the sequels to the afore-mentioned films, which were all unpleasant).
This movie was nothing special, and not worth our admission price and time. My husband mentioned that he had worked for one hour to earn the admission price, and then worked two hours to sit through it. He invested three hours then, plus driving time. This was something I might have watched on television if I was bored, but it was a poor choice to see in the theater. It felt as if I had just read a long but poorly penned book... a little cheated and wistful that I could have been doing something else, like taking a nap. Not that it was awful... it wasn't quite that bad. And many will surely love it, and good for them. The sad thing is that it could have been far better, given some good writing, better lighting (ANY lighting!), and a better delivery by the majority of actors. Too bad.