Underworld: Evolution Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
January 28th, 2006
"Underworld - Evolution"
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006

I remember watching the first "Underworld," which
came out in 2003. I decided to revisit that
write-up. In that review, I believed that for a
movie about vampires and werewolves, I was
surprised how lifeless that film actually was.
It was so lifeless in fact, that was why I needed
to go over that review again to refresh my
memory.

I never would have thought that there would be a
large following for films that feature werewolves
and vampires. But with this sequel, I am
obviously mistaken. And, while this sequel has evolved somewhat, it has only taken a few steps forward. Yes, there are some improvements. But,
this is not like comparing a car with no air conditioning to a car with air conditioning.
It's more like comparing a car with windows that
go half-way down to a car that now has windows
that go all the way down! I guess it's just a
matter of your personal perspective.

The story about the origins of werewolves (known
as 'lycans') and vampires, as explained, is quite convoluted. The first film almost drowned in its exposition. In fact, trying to cohesively
explain all of that practically paralyzed the
first film. Here, explanations are also given.
But, it's more or less left as an afterthought.
There is about seven minutes of dialogue devoted
to how vampires and lycans came to be and who
their leaders are and the conspiracy that is
brewing between traitorous elements among the two sects. But, for me to really understand how everything was interconnected, I would need a
notepad and TiVo so that I could continually
rewind and jot notes. No doubt, I would have
needed to hear that explanation at least 3 times before being able to say: "Oh, now I truly get
what's going on."

"Underworld: Evolution" ultimately settles on
being a stylish but familiar plot. Returning
from the original are Selene (Kate Beckinsdale)
and Michael (Scott Speedman) who form an alliance
to protect humanity from overzealous and
tyrannical elements within the vampire and
werewolf nation. These two are the good guys
trying to fight there way through evil minions to reach the big, bad mastermind. And the
mastermind is a beautifully visualized creature
of the night whose thirst for power is only
matched by his penchant to spill blood. Now, one might think that this is a gory movie. And, I
suppose it is to a certain extent. For example,
much of the action sequences involve
bloodsucking, clawing, morphing, and impaling.
The amount of blood would almost be appalling if
the film itself wasn't so campy.

It is a beautiful-looking, gothic presentation.
And, there's always something sexy about watching
a killer babe in body-hugging leather confidently cocking a pump-action shotgun. But, if it only
had half as much drama as it did leather, then
we'd have something. I find it hard to rally
behind a character when they seem perpetually
stoic. No laughter. No excitement. No fear.
The thing is, the audience will absorb the same emotions that are being projected on the big
screen. So, without any of these human emotion present, we are just left sitting in our seats
hoping to see more leather-clad models.

Grade: C+

S: 3 out of 3
L: 2 out of 3
V: 3 out of 3

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