Underworld finished under my expectations.

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 2004)

Rating: ** out of ****
As an introductory film to hopefully a larger, more epic and expansive series, Underworld fulfills its requirements adequately. There's enough action, blood, and tight latex outfits to satisfy a genre fan's thirst and the execution is decent enough that I look forward to the sequels, but there's the unmistakable sense of promise left unfulfilled.
Set in an unnamed city, the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, a "Death Dealer," a vampire whose job is to hunt down the remaining Lycans, aka Werewolves. According to vampire history, most of the werewolves should have been wiped out in past wars, but a subway venture reveals there is still a formidable-sized population of werewolves. Against the wishes of her master, Kraven (Shane Brolly), Selene investigates further and discovers that the werewolves are particularly interested in a human named Michael (Scott Speedman).
After an encounter with head werewolf Lucian (Michael Sheen), Michael is bitten but saved by Selene, who grows infatuated with this human. Why, is never made clear, other than the fact that he "saves" her life. As Selene pries deeper into the mystery surrounding Michael, she uncovers a conspiracy involving both vampires and werewolves that could tip the balance of the war.
As most people have already said, by far the movie's most memorable image is the sight of Kate Beckinsale in tight latex. For those who find her a hot babe (like me), Underworld might just be worth watching for her alone. Hell, if she'd shown some nudity, I would have even bumped my rating up 1/2. Alas, she's still great eye-candy.
The picture itself is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, there's lots of shootouts and fight scenes that are well-staged and filmed and reasonably exciting. The werewolf effects are excellent and the transformation scenes are some of the slickest, most convincing I've seen on-screen, certainly better than anything seen in The Howling or An American Werewolf in London. Beckinsale, in addition to being a delectable hottie, makes for a kick-ass, first-rate female action hero.
But on the other hand, Underworld is a grim, joyless picture, accentuated by its deadly serious performances and occasionally laughably earnest dialogue. Much like the Blade films, a lot of what the characters have to say is hard to take seriously, the mythology hampered by the fact that it's being juxtaposed with CGI-infested action scenes (though, admittedly, any five minutes of Blade has a much worse problem with this than all of Underworld).
Underworld is neither scary nor suspenseful. Selene never really gets herself into any combative situation she can't get herself out of, usually because most of the opponents she fights aren't nearly as skilled as her. Though there are plentiful werewolf effects, I think I would have preferred more scenes of Lycans skulking around in their hulking bodies rather than watching them in human form.
Undoubtedly, Scott Speedman must be one of the worst examples of a romantic leading man I've seen. He and Beckinsale have no chemistry, and considering it's her affection for him that spurs her to "betray" her own kind, this is a pretty damning flaw. It's also during her scenes with Speedman that Beckinsale is at her least convincing; she won me over as a kick-ass vampiress, but I had a hard time believing she was in love with this bland nobody named Michael.
Directed by first-timer Len Wiseman (who apparently stole Beckinsale's heart on-set, enough that she left Michael Sheen for him), Underworld is slickly-crafted and boasts a strong, pervasive atmosphere. Maybe with more passionate performances, more well-orchestrated thrills, and some bare skin from Kate, the sequel will be an unqualified success.