Underworld follows Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire who's been alive for 600 years. Lycans (werewolves) and Vampires have been in a war for almost 1000 years, so when the Lycans show a lot of interest in human Michael (Scott Speedman), Selene must get to him first to find out why. After Michael is bitten by a Lycan, Selene must decide whether to do her duty and kill him or go against her clan and save him.
This isn't everyone's cup of tea, with critics calling it overacted and lacking in character development, but I have no idea what they're talking about as far as acting's concerned, Beckinsale is sexy and sleek and proves her ability to beat the boys up with ease and charm. I've always loved Kate Beckinsale and she's perfect for this role, giving a more human and honest performance that without it, Selene would be an unlikable lead. The Lycans weren't very believable but the story is so good you can easily forgive this, however werewolves aren't real and if they did exist how can we say "no, this is what they look like." I really liked the relationship between the two leads, I thought they had that awkward nervousness when around each other making it believable. I do agree about the character development, I think you could have seen more of a back story for both Michael and Selene and the film does feel a bit half-done, like they thought "we'll figure out the rest in the sequel."
This film proves to be a hit with the audience but it also proves that sometimes critics don't know what the hell they're talking about. I really enjoyed this gothic tale of war and revenge.
Underworld: Evolution picks up right where the first left off but to be honest maybe they should have left it alone and done a generic unoriginal rom-com because chances are that would have been more enjoyable. Selene and Michael are in trouble again - with both Vampires and Lycans - and must try to uncover the secret about Michaels bloodline and the horrors that come with it. So I still love Beckinsale and she does give a good performance but with a script that seems to lack just about everything even she couldn't save it. I like the fact that we saw Selene's past and she's connected to things a lot more than the audience was originally led to believe and I like the darker tone Evolution took on with the introduction of Marcus and his brother William - the original Vampire and Lycan - but apart from that I was extremely dissapointed with this one, don't get me wrong I'll still watch after seeing the first one but that's only because of the questions it answers.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is a prequel to the first two and focuses on Lucian (the head of the Lycan clan from the first film) and Sonja (the vampire daughter of the powerful Viktor). It shows the events that lead to the war between the species.
So again I liked that more things were explained in this one, how the war began and what happened between Viktor and Lucian. I also enjoyed the return of Michael Sheen who plays Lucian but the departure of Kate Beckinsale makes this third installment not as good as the first. Still a nice addition to the franchise with more depth to the script with an emotional core.
Underworld: Awakening sees Selene captured by humans, twelve years later the vampire species is nearly extinct and Selene is freed and must lead the battle against humans. I liked the introduction of humans into the series because we've hardly ever seen them apart from when they're being eaten and I like that they were the main threat as opposed to Lycans. However (again), this really lacked in its story and build up. I liked the new characters but I wanted more, its like the writers were trying to piss people off by not delivering a decent enough script. The film's only about an hour twenty and another 40 minutes of worthwhile scenes to polish the seriously rough edges that is Awakening might just have saved this film from being Razzie worthy. The ending was stupid and surprise surprise, opened up a whole page of questions, The only thing I loved about this film were the fight sequences and how easily Beckinsale makes them look. So if they make another one I WILL go see it just to see if they could screw up this franchise anymore or maybe just maybe, redeem it.
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