Review: Underworld: Evolution
Saturday, April 7th, 2007Vampires and Lycans (werewolves) have been at war with each other for centuries. That war came to a head in Underworld. Both sides ended the movie under a world of hurt, with Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and the human/lycan/vampire hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) uncovering a lot of duplicity and backstabbing, and pretty much cleaning house. Viktor, the leader of the vampires, was dead (permanently) as was Lucian, the leader of the Lycans, and very few of either of the bloodlines seemed to survive them.
Underworld: Evolution picks up right where the first movie ends. The heroes, Selene and Michael, go to a safehouse to load up on ammo so Selene can go back to the mansion and try to awaken and deal with the true original vampire, Marcus. Before she can do that, though, the few remaining vampires from the first movie get to the mansion and get slaughtered by Marcus, who learns what happened in the first movie by sucking their blood (and giving the audience a nice review in the process). That scene also set the tone for the violence and gore factor in the movie: high.
Marcus has a brother, William, who is the original Lycan. Their father, Alexander Corvinus (the excellent Sir Derek Jacobi), is the first immortal. William, driven to mayhem by uncontrollable rage, was imprisoned centuries ago. Marcus has a soft spot for him, though, and wants to free him so they can rule the world as brothers — but he needs the key, which Michael unwittingly has, and the location of the prison, which Selene unwittingly knows.
While the first movie is mostly about the undoing of the vampire aristocracy and Selene’s role in it, the second movie is much more about Selene learning the full truth about the past - her personal past and the origins of the two bloodlines - and how both she and the story evolve as a result of that knowledge.
The story is good, if slightly confusing at times. The Lycans seemed virtually incidental in this one. There was a lot more hand-to-hand combat, and a lot more gore this time around (though one should really expect that with a vampire/werewolf movie, it was a bit much for my taste). Despite the stepped up action and first-rate effects, though, I don’t think this movie was as exciting as the original. I enjoyed the first movie more than I expected. I enjoyed Evolution in that I got to learn more of the story, but I wasn’t nearly as engaged.
I will say that I think I would have liked it better if I had watched it immediately after seeing the original. But I didn’t.
Three stars.
Technorati Tags: Derek Jacobi, Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Bill Nighy, vampires, werewolves, immortals, fantasy
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