This is a game, with cartoon characters, all ficticious, in ficticious settings and in ficticious situations. Some other reviews here have mentioned concerns over what they see as stereotypes of some of the characters in the game, which I will address here as well, but minus the fog of "wokeness" some seemed to be under the influence of when providing their reviews.
Underworld was followed by Underworld: Evolution (2006) which continues the story, but a third film Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) is a prequel to this film.The name of this game is Mafia City, so parents should already know to expect the content to include elements of crime, vice, violence and mayhem along side of the more mundane organized crime tasks of investing, building properties, collecing resources and training crews. With the easy “give-me” nature of the movie, it was able to find a real audience and start a franchise. I wanted to like Underworld when I went to see it, but I instead found the movie dull. Plus, those CGI werewolves are not very good. The movie’s backstory is told through these hard to watch flashback memories absorbed by the characters and this just adds to the confusion.
However, the editing is confusing and the movie switches unnecessarily to slo-mo all the time…a la Peter Jackson…but at least Peter Jackson has better control over the images and story. If you took stills from this movie it would be stunning…like a Tim Burton style Batman look. Visually is where Underworld really sinks. It surpasses being stylized and ends up being rather cheesy…combined with the pompous speeches of the script, it isn’t a good thing. Along with the other actors however, the movie is way over-the-top, and though it works for her, everyone else takes it too far. Kate Beckinsale’s cool and icy demeanor in the film matches her leather outfit and her cold eyes. The acting in the film does work in many aspects. I feel that it was attempting to be something like the first Star Wars where you feel there is more backstory than you know…but the reveal of the backstory is clunky and a movie that should be an hour and a half is stretched too long. I give the writer Danny McBride (no, not that Danny McBride…but the stuntman) credit for trying to create something that wasn’t simply “vampire versus werewolves”, but the attempt to make you feel like you have been thrust into an age old war just leads to more confusion than anything. The story of Underworld is very convoluted. I like the set-up and the different styles, but the meeting of these elements ends up being a mess. The movie has so much to work with in blending the genres of action-adventure and gothic horror to tell an original werewolf/vampire story.
There is a lot in the movie I want to like.
The best part of a werewolf/vampire movie is…the gunfights?
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