Underworld Evolution
If you want to refresh your memory, the first year I did theatrical release movie reviews was 2003. That year, only two movies recieved a full 10 of 10 rating. They were The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and the first Underworld. The first starred Kate Beckinsale, and featured lots of vampires killing werewolves and vice-versa. After making a decent amount of money on the first, a sequel was a sure thing.
And finally, this year, we go the sequel. Beckinsale is back, in all her vampire leather-clad glory, as well as Scott Speedman as her lover and a vamp/werewolf hybrid. The story is quite simple, and picks up soon after the first ended. The flashback to the midievil times where we see the first vampires, Marcus, Viktor and Amelia, hunting down the first werewolves. It seems that the descendant of Corvinus were the original of the two species. Marcus and William were bitten by bat and wolf respectively, and were able to mold the viruses to suit themselves. William is a mindless wolf, and it is Viktor's quest to keep the Lycans and William at bay. Marcus has convinced the rest that if you kill the originals, the whole line will die. They imprison William, and Marcus becomes second to Viktor.
Flash to the present, and we see Marcus awakening as the last elder vampire, and he wants to release William and rule the world. Selene and Micheal have to stop him, even if it means killing the two of them. After several great chase scenes and battles, they meet up with the original Corvinus, the original immortal. He gives them the tools to get to William and stop the brothers before they destroy everything.
In the end, the combined strength of Selene and Micheal triumph over the brothers, and they prove that killing the origin will not kill the bloodlines.
All right, now for the critique. The original Underworld was a breathtaking, original film experience that made me happy to be a fan of movies. And it didn't hurt that Kate Beckinsale is smoking hot and pulled off the difficult task of action in leather fairly easily. To say that I was excited for the sequel would be an understatement. This was the first movie I got excited about since Serenity.
So, was I satisfied? Yes. Very. It had all the backstory and intrigue of the first, and it amped up the action factor about three times. The best part: a nearly naked Beckinsale, having at it with Scott Speedman. From start to finish, the movie was a step up in the effects department, a step up in the plot department, and a step up overall. Its getting a ten, and I'm glad it didn't suck.
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