Good FX, but lacks suspension of disbelief

Rating: 6/10 (20 April 2004)

Underworld is a movie that probably should be dubbed a Matrix wannabe. The look and feel of the two movies are very similar, however where Underworld differs is that the Matrix has a very complex story underneath the action. Underworld is filmed in a gray tone which lends a creepy air to the environment, however, seeing vampires and werewolves battle it out with futuristic machine guns and other high tech weaponry makes the story seem a bit odd and distinctly unbelievable. The plotline and story are very poorly defined until nearly the end of the film and only then does some redemption come for the whole film. For the first ninety minutes of the film we are left watching basically one futuristic gun battle after another with little snippets of conversation pertaining to the ongoing thousand year war, There is hardly any attention spent giving the audience any indication of why these two species of legendary creatures are at war in the first place. The revelations of the roots of the war at the climax of the film feel out of place and seem to not really explain why the war would rage for as long as it has. You also are left switching sides as to who are the "good guys" and who are the "bad guys" in the film which I think was intentionally done by the creators of the film to keep the audience off balance. This only intensifies the confusion of the audience as to why this war is so important to these creatures and why it is taking place in the first place, and why for that matter are we as the audience witnessing it at all.
The special effects and creature creations for the movie are really exciting to watch, however there is so much human type of violence in the movie that it seems extremely hard to believe that aside from pointy teeth the vampires have throughout the movie that these creatures are really vampires and werewolves. Overall, there were alot of opportunities wasted in making this a really good horror flick, opportunities that could have elevated this movie from the modiocre, run of the mill shoot em ups it is right now. Hopefully the producers see some of the negative comments like this and make a better film for the sequel, as this one is only so so.