For fans of Gun Fu actioneering & Gothic setpiecing, but a massive disappointment for vampyrism/lycanthropy lore purists

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2020)

If you like your cinematography dark and Gothic like an Alex Proyas(sp?) film ala The Crow/Dark City, Underworld will most likely enthrall and hypnotize you with its gorgeous direction of photography, crafted set pieces and location shots. However, lore and mythology purists/for hards will be sorely disappointed as Underworld's creative screenplay leaves a hell of a lot to be desired when it comes to the established historicity revolving around vampyrism and lycanthropic legends: Neither species behaves or functions within their common frameworks in the Underworld cinematic universe, but instead follow their own physical laws/principles that are largely alien to established norms. Daylight doesn't exist here, regenerative powers are nonexistent or skewed or swapped entirely, lycans were actually slaves and day wardens of slumbering vampires (in spite of a total seeming lack of sunlight in the world), and everyone moves like spider-man caught in wire fu rendering of crouching tiger hidden dragon.
Fans of slow motion Gun play and black leather gothism will have no problems enjoying Underworld. It's an easy to follow story with enough originality to separate it from other genre Mainstays and the actors do a great job bringing their respective species to life on screen. But this is no Blade trilogy, or the likes of The Howling or Silver Bullet or American Werewolf--mythos purists will probably cry outright at the complete disconnect from the troves of established vampyric/lycanthropic lore in the literary and cinematic spheres (although the future Underworld sequels remedy some of these more glaring faults), and watching alongside one of your nerdy purists friends will most likely result in a ruined viewing experience when they bake nonstop at all the inconsistencies they'll recognize after failing to suspend their disbelief when you warm then at the film's start that this ain't their typical vampyr/lycan flick.
I think underworld deserves to be seen alongside the Blade trilogy so if you're fans of everyone's favorite marvel daywalking katana weilding demigod, you'll definitely acclimate to Serene and her Gothic romps though the lands of perpetual nightfall.
Excellent midnight blood romp for any Gothic action fan of Blade/The Crow/Dark City. Just don't expect the film to do your deep understanding of mythos and lore any kind of respectably satisfactory justice.