Underworld

[Chris_Sanders]

A slick and stylized movie that has multiple plot twists. It was better than I expected to be honest.

I was impressed that it was made on a paltry (by today's standards) 22 million dollars and was the directors first movie.

Oh and Kate Beckinsale in skin hugging latex...drool.

 

[Stronso]

Originally posted by Chris_Sanders
A slick and stylized movie that has multiple plot twists. It was better than I expected to be honest.

I was impressed that it was made on a paltry (by today's standards) 22 million dollars and was the directors first movie.

Oh and Kate Beckinsale in skin hugging latex...drool.

I saw this movie on Saturday and to be honest I didn't expect much. This was a better film with more dimensions than I thought just based on the previews.

Besides, like you said, Kate Beckinsale in latex - WOW

 

[mdamien13]

I liked the story quite a bit but the movie just felt too much like a wannabe The Matrix meets The Crow. Too much gunplay for a movie about werewolves and vampires for my taste but overall it was a lot of fun. Kate Beckinsdale in tight leather is worth the price of admission.

 

[FischerKing]

Caught it on Friday with the wife. We both liked it. She's a huge Crow fan so this movie was up against tough competition from her. I don't care for the Crow all that much, however I do like the movie, but I like this movie far better.

I was judging this movie off of their trailer and I went into it with low expectations. It was much better than I anticipated. I had been waiting to see this movie for awhile, but I honestly didn't think it would be as good as it was.

The transformations from the humans to werewolves was really convincing. They were totally scary and the action sequences were really good. The head vampire was excellent casting as well - he had good on-screen presence and he really commanded with his performance. That's probably one of the first lead vampire's that I was truely scarred of.

Shawn

 

[Chaplin]

***********SPOILERS POSSIBLE********************

Well, I saw it last night, and suffice to say, it was full of problems. The entire second act was a snoozefest. Even though the last 15 minutes or so redeemed it a little bit, the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Who were the good guys? The bad guys? Who do you root for? The last half hour of the movie I was rooting for Lucien, but even that might not have been right.

The acting was ok with some of the actors, horrendous with others. The guy playing Kraven was hands down the worst acting performance I've seen all year. I laughed every time he spoke, he was THAT bad.

The effects were seemless though, but I had a problem with the fact that the director decided not to give a very clear shot of the werewolves. My guess is it had to do with the makeup jobs--they must not have had very high confidence in the realism of the creatures. Plus, the vampires didn't do ANYTHING bad except in flashbacks. I'm not sure whether that was intentional because the vamps seemed to leave the humans alone (why??), but the end throws out the "Vampires living in peace with Humans" theory. Their motives were unclear throughout the entire movie.

All in all, I like the style, but it lacked substance, and while that's good in some movies, it isn't in this one. Not really recommended, at least not until it comes out on video.

 

[mdamien13]

Originally posted by Chaplin
The guy playing Kraven was hands down the worst acting performance I've seen all year. I laughed every time he spoke, he was THAT bad.

Was I the only one thinking this guy was the very poor man's Christian Bale? When Scott Speedman outacts you, it's time to just throw in the towel.

For those of you who loved it - the sequel is already in the works. Three words - direct to video.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by mdamien13

For those of you who loved it - the sequel is already in the works. Three words - direct to video.

Well, you are definitely mistaken. THe movie made enough in its first weekend to allow for a theatrical release for the sequel.

 

[mdamien13]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Well, you are definitely mistaken. THe movie made enough in its first weekend to allow for a theatrical release for the sequel.

Actually, I meant that the sequel will probably be on par with such blockbusters as the soon to be released to video store shelves Starship Troopers sequel.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by mdamien13
Actually, I meant that the sequel will probably be on par with such blockbusters as the soon to be released to video store shelves Starship Troopers sequel.

Oh, sorry, that probably is true.

 

[PDXChris]

I was really into this movie. The only thing I did not like is at the end when they hybrid werewold vampire looked more like the Hulk from the 80's TV show.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Chaplin,

It's Vampires versus Werewolves at war.

There were no good guys. There were just different motivations:

Vengenance, power, racial purity...

That's one of the things that I liked about it. A world with such supernatural and immortal creatures would be shades of grey with very little black and white.

If you are looking for a "good guy" though, that would be Micheal.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Chris_Sanders


If you are looking for a "good guy" though, that would be Micheal.

Seriously?

His whole point in the movie is to run away, act scared and complain every 10 minutes. The "good guy" is definitely supposed to be Kate Beckinsale, but she seemed on her own most of the time, and it was illogical that she continued to fight on "Victor's" side all the time. Frankly, she was nice to look at, but I didn't really care about her. The romance between the two was forced and nonexistant, and the chemistry certainly wasn't there. It doesn't help Kate that the guy who played Kraven totally ruined every scene he was in with that gawd-awful acting.

Sure, Vampires vs. Werewolves. But where's the substance? Did you really even care who won the "war"? And did it really need to be Vampires? I mean, other than establishing ancient history and unable to really "die", the fact that they were vampires meant nothing.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Chris_Sanders
Chaplin,



That's one of the things that I liked about it. A world with such supernatural and immortal creatures would be shades of grey with very little black and white.

The problem was that although there was no black and white, there certainly wasn't multiple shades of grey either.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Ah I disagree.


SPOILERS FOLLOW:












Kate Beckinsale has killed hundreds of lupines all based on lies. Not exactly good guy material.

Micheal is the innocent in the movie. He starts the movie off by running into a gunfight to save a woman who is shot. He runs more from the horror of what he is seeing around him than any true cowardice. He is the reason that Kate is redeemed. He also stands up to the true bad guy at the end.

He isn't your stereotypical hero, but again you aren't going to find one in this movie. Both sides committ atrocities in the name of vengenance and power...how muh more grey do you need?

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Chris_Sanders
Ah I disagree.


Kate Beckinsale has killed hundreds of lupines all based on lies. Not exactly good guy material.

Micheal is the innocent in the movie. He starts the movie off by running into a gunfight to save a woman who is shot. He runs more from the horror of what he is seeing around him than any true cowardice. He is the reason that Kate is redeemed. He also stands up to the true bad guy at the end.

He isn't your stereotypical hero, but again you aren't going to find one in this movie. Both sides committ atrocities in the name of vengenance and power...how muh more grey do you need?

How many shades do you think there are? I've said that there is a shade of grey, but only one. Again, Michael doesn't do anything worthy until the end, and at that time it's just like watching Lou Ferrigno (and as I ALSO said, it is this ending that redeemed the movie for me--a little).

You say he runs into a gunfight to help a woman. Sure, that happened for 2 seconds (because he's a doctor, I'd guess), but that's it. He was the cause of that gun battle, and was trying to get away from his lycan pursuers before the battle even started.

I can't believe I'm arguing this with you. This movie was horrid.

 

[FischerKing]

Originally posted by Chaplin
This movie was horrid.

Horrid is a bit strong Chap. It was at least enjoyable.

Shawn

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by FischerKing
It was at least enjoyable.

Shawn

Not to me. Like I said, for the middle hour of the movie I almost fell asleep. Hardly any action for an "action" movie.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Well, you are definitely mistaken. The movie made enough in its first weekend to allow for a theatrical release for the sequel.

From VARIETY:

Underworld is set to become a trilogy for Lakeshore Entertainment and Screen Gems. Screen Gems has made a deal for Danny McBride and Len Wiseman to write a sequel to the vampire and werewolf thriller, which Wiseman has said he would again direct.

Screen Gems and Lakeshore hope to put the second film into production as soon as possible. A third film, a prequel, could follow. No deal is in place for star Kate Beckinsale, though she has expressed interest in reprising her part.

The first film earned $21.8 million last weekend, Screen Gems' best opening for a film ever.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Originally posted by Chaplin
for the middle hour of the movie I almost fell asleep.

You're just lucky that Weird Al was there, sitting next to you, to nudge you and keep you awake.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Not to me. Like I said, for the middle hour of the movie I almost fell asleep. Hardly any action for an "action" movie.

Well, falling asleep in a movie like this is pretty crazy, I was for the most part glued to my seat.

I liked it a lot, however I agree that the Kraven character was a joke. He was just a pathetic actor.

But how can you say Michael just whined every 10 minutes? I didn't hear whining at all despite the fact that the dude was just bitten by a werewolf...I'm sure you'd take that like a man, lol.

How can you fault Michael for not doing anything worthy until the end? He had no choice, he was still human. He's almost like Neo in the Matrix....no choice but to run for the most part, until he's able to stand up for himself.

I liked the plot, liked the back story, the stuff about bringing vampires back, etc. Some of it was really cool.

Now, the ONE thing I had a problem with: Supposedly this new mix breed was supposed to be stronger than any vampire or lupine. So why did it take Kate to whack his head off? How was he about to die at the hands of a creature supposedly weaker than him?

That's my only real question, maybe someone can give me a good answer.

Mike

 

[Dback Jon]

Just saw this movie on DVD - and I have to say I liked it. Wasn't expecting a whole lot, but enjoyed it.

I thought the story was good overall - the idea of secret races of werewolves and vampires co-existing with humans is fascinating to me.

And why wouldn't they use the latest technology? Vampires, etc have hundreds of years to accumulate wealth and knowledge - why wouldn't they develop and use the best available weaponry?

Mike - as to your question as to why Michael could not defeat Viktor - you have to remember that Michael was still undergoing his transformation (Selene had just bitten him) so likely was not at full strength yet. Plus, I think the director wanted the cinematic affect of Selene freeing herself from the lies/love of her former master.

 

[mdamien13]

This movie gets worse with each viewing. I watched it again (2nd time) with my cousin and I couldn't believe I had enjoyed it the first time out. Made me thankful I'd rented Tremors 4 to ease the pain

 

[Beaver]

I actually fell asleep watching this movie. I woke up with a makover given to me by friends. So now I officially hate it. Kate Beckinsale is hot, but she just didn't do it for me in this one. I dunno.

 

[jf-08]

Beckinsale was hot in the movie.

Kraven was terrible - he seriously acted like he needed a high colonic.

The tranformation at the end of Michael indeed reminded me of Lou's Hulk.

Just some questions - I thought vampires couldn't see their reflectins in mirrors and how were they killed by werewolves. I know Amelia was killed by losing all of her blood.

Why did Seline pass out from a knife wound? Doesn't she regenrate? She couldn't have drowned either, I don't think.

And lastly, why did Victor "die" from the sword wound. I know it hacked off most of his head, but shouldn't he regen also?

Other than that - soundtrack was good.

 

[FischerKing]

Originally posted by jkf296
Beckinsale was hot in the movie.

Kraven was terrible - he seriously acted like he needed a high colonic.

The tranformation at the end of Michael indeed reminded me of Lou's Hulk.

Just some questions - I thought vampires couldn't see their reflectins in mirrors and how were they killed by werewolves. I know Amelia was killed by losing all of her blood.

Why did Seline pass out from a knife wound? Doesn't she regenrate? She couldn't have drowned either, I don't think.

And lastly, why did Victor "die" from the sword wound. I know it hacked off most of his head, but shouldn't he regen also?

Other than that - soundtrack was good.

Not sure on some of the other myths - but Viktor was killed because when a vampire loses their head or part of it is displaced from their spinal cord it causes instant death to the vampire.

Shawn