A Great Spiritual Movie and Sequel

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2006)

These two films measure up with the great epics like The Mahabharata, The Ramayana, or The Odyssey, where victims slay the demons released into the world. In defense of the violence in both Underworld I and II, even the ancient classic epics were filled with violence -- and for a good reason: Good must overcome evil. Then there are the heroes. Selene is only superficially a monster. As a child, she is victimized by Viktor. After his resurrection, she follows him, idolizes him, seeks his help, and after learning the truth, that he killed her parents and turned her into a vampire, kills him. Michael is also victimized when he is bitten, and though they are monsters, this victimization allows us to sympathize with them.
Both Underworld and its sequel take place entirely at night, where the dark forces thrive. In the end, after the main characters kill the most powerful of the demons (both vampire and werewolf), the rising sun, the first light seen in either film, illuminates the world as the heroes celebrate their eternal life and love, and we are left to wonder how they will spend their eternity together. The Light has finally overcome the darkness. I am astonished that Underworld is Len Wiseman's directorial debut. To accomplish these two great works of art so young in life is a testament to his genius.
Now for the bad news. The Extended Cut version ties for first place with Three Burials of Marquiades Estrada for worst DVD commentary of all time. The director and his lovely wife crack jokes and throw popcorn during the entire flick. The boredom is occasionally punctuated by Scott Speedman popping up with "I did not!", squealing like a girl. I learned nothing from it, and neither will you. Don't spend the extra money for the Extended Cut. Even the other features are not very good.
Three Burials? The commentary is given by two Joneses and a Yoakum. The movie was C- and the DVD commentary was unbearable. Tommy Lee Jones, January Jones, and Dwight Yoakum sat in near silence during the entire movie and made inane comments now and then. One example: After another period of about five minutes of silence, I snapped out of my nap when January Jones popped up with, "Tommy, wasn't that your barn?" Tommy: "Yeah, that was my barn." Good to know! And Dwight, I love you, but stick with music.