Past Entertainment Articles.

Article for the week of 5/7/06

Really Pathetic Movie Review

Underworld: Evolution

By, Cozmic

After the evening of rather cataclysmic events in Underworld, the sequel starts where that one left off, almost immediately. Meanwhile, those who liked the first movie have been jonesing for more vampire and werewolf action, and when the movie finally arrives, those people unlucky enough to be born in the north have to wait another four months-.. Well, let us see.

First of all, yes, I enjoyed the first Underworld movie immensely. The action, the stylish colour choice and the general atmosphere provided a movie that was far underrated by many in my opinion. I even bought the game when I found it cheap, regardless of being certain it would suck (it's actually a decent idea, it's just really repetitive and very low budget, but that's a subject for another day). And the second one starts even better than the first, with Viktor (Bill Nighy) asking Marcus (Tony Curran), what his brother has done, while standing in front of the remnants of a village. And then all hell breaks loose in scenes that, in my honest opinion, while not as grand as Lord of the Rings, quite frankly put those movies to shame. Director Len Wiseman manages unleash total chaos on screen as the slaughtered villagers turn and the vampires have to fight back. This one scene also manages to show a rather big difference from the first movie. The special effects budget for ultra-violence has gone up. There is a lot of decapitation going on in this film.

After this short intro, we end up back in present time, where Selene (played by the far too stunning Kate Beckinsale) and Michael (Scott Speedman) are dealing with the aftermath of their actions in the previous film. Their main issue now is that Marcus, the last remaining elder, has awoken. And judging by the slaughter Marcus commits at the mansion, it seems like he is not in the best mood. Nor does it seem like he is a big fan of vampires in general.

Evolution builds on the previous movie, and adds to the world that Wiseman, Grievoux and McBride have created. And it does it really well. The story is, while not absolutely spectacular, still very interesting, the characters have a sense of style that makes them all enjoyable (Steven Mackintosh as the vampire historian Tanis, a complete and utter coward, is the oddball of the movie, and quite amusing), and the gadgets used are also really enjoyable. Particularly there's a sort of explosive that works by releasing gas and then creating a powerful spark to blow things up that felt like just the sort of thing you would find in an Underworld movie. It would work in real life, but it's been exaggerated to gigantic proportions.

About the only thing that I really miss is the sense of gang warfare and the urban scenery of the first film. Evolution moves the action out to the countryside, small villages, and ruins. And, while the action is incredibly cool, there was something special about the environments in the first one. Nevertheless, Underworld: Evolution will leave all the people who enjoyed the original happy, and wanting yet another sequel.