Why did Kate come back for this?

Rating: 1/10 (28 February 2012)

There is an old saying that "money is the root of all evil". This statement is usually reserved for people involved with bribery, corruption, banking, and politics. Well, I am taking that statement and applying it to everyone involved in the making of this film. This movie was made to suck money from our pockets by people who don't care about a once worthy movie property. They destroy it.
The original "Underworld" was a fresh take on the centuries old rivalry between vampires and werewolves (called "lycans" here). It wasn't game changing cinema, but a movie with interesting characters, worthy performances, and slick action sequences. This movie, clocking in at a incredibly short 73 minutes, not only destroys, but turns its back on what once was a promising series. The second film was as good as the first. I did not see the third, but heard it was good. When people rip on "Twilight" for the terrible acting, the teenage girls now have a film to use as evidence to show it ain't that bad in Stephanie Meyer's universe. Everyone in this film is terrible; even Kate Beckinsale. Beckinsale, who was so good in the first two, is sleep walks though this film. I must give her some credit, at least she is better than the films terrible villains. The characters are lame, as are the actors playing them. They come off as laughable, not frightening or horrifying in anyway. The once cool designs of the Lycans have been replaced by rubber looking coyotes. Worst of all, there is not a single memorable action scene in the movie. It is just extremely boring to watch, considering all the gunfire going on.
Former director, now writer, Len Wiseman, tries to inject some emotion into the movie by creating a relationship between Beckinsale's character and a hybrid child created from her DNA. There is only so much you can do in the movie's short time span and given the amount the screen time these two have together, it doesn't work. It doesn't feel natural, only a cheap ploy to create some type of humanity in this action snooze fest.
Michael Sheen, who played a Lycon in the first three movies, wisely bowed out of this one. Beckinsale, I have no idea why she came back after walking away from the third one. My only guess is she got a pretty good amount of cash to reprise her role. The film does establish something; it is like its main character: empty, soul less and dead on arrival.