Underworld (2003)

UNDERWORLD (2003) / **

Directed by Len Wiseman. Screenplay by Danny McBride, from a story by Kevin Grevioux, Wiseman and McBride. Starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen. Running time: 121 minutes. Rated R for extreme violence by the MFCB. Reviewed on September 25th, 2003.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Synopsis: For centuries, a blood feud has raged between the vampires and the werewolf Lycans. Selene (Beckinsale) is a vampire charged with hunting down and killing Lycans, but during one mission she discovers they are pursuing a human named Michael (Speedman). Against the wishes of her clan's lecherous leader, Kraven (Shane Brolly), Selene pursues Michael, and soon finds herself falling in love with him. But the cunning leader of the Lycans (Sheen) has concocted a plot involving Michael which will shake the vampires to their very core, and may turn the tide of the war in favour of the werewolves.

Review: If nothing else, "Underworld" has staked its claim as a great-looking movie. Combining the goth chic look of "The Matrix" with an old-fashioned gothic sensibility, "Underworld" genuinely looks like a supernatural experience for the twenty-first century. And despite a relatively paltry budget, the special effects generally complement the visuals -- it's an exercise in balancing ability with ambition which fails only in one grotesquely misguided, gratuitous moment at the climax. Beckinsale brings the right demeanour to "Underworld" to mirror Wiseman's directorial style: Selene is brooding, cold and detached, yet still graceful, possessing an inner drive. Unfortunately, few of Beckinsale's castmates offer anywhere near so polished a performance. "Underworld" is cluttered with scenery-chewing hacks (Brolly gnashes every overblown line of dialogue like he missed breakfast, lunch and supper that day) and bland drones -- the latter unfortunately including Speedman, leaving an artistic imbalance at the movie's core. Hardly helping matters is McBride's poorly structured script, which constantly stops to provide yet more interminable exposition, then starts up again only to go through the paces of a banal, predictable plot. There is a lot of potential in "Underworld", but sadly most of those involved were not the right ones to achieve that success.

Copyright © 2003 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html

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