Time: 121 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – contains horror scenes and violence
Cast:
Kate Beckinsale as Selene
Scott Speedman as Michael Corvin
Bill Nighy as Viktor
Michael Sheen as Lucian
Shane Brolly as Kraven
Erwin Leder as Singe
Director: Len Wiseman

I watched the first three Underworld movies many years ago and I remember liking them quite a lot. Recently I decided to watch them again, with the hope of also getting around to the fourth and fifth movies, which I hadn’t watched yet. The original Underworld initially received mixed reviews but became something of a cult classic, and after rewatching, I can certainly see why.

Underworld is entertaining for what it is. What makes these movies stand out for me is the world that the filmmakers established. There are definitely better vampire and werewolf movies, but Underworld’s mythology is surprisingly well thought out, and most importantly, the movie is very committed to it. Despite an interesting enough setup with vampires and Lycans being at war, the story itself is just fine, and it perhaps spends a little more time on its own style and aesthetics than the characters and there’s not much in character development here. Still, it is nonetheless well plotted, easy to follow and moves at a good pace. Much like other big action blockbusters movies made around this time, Underworld takes itself very seriously while being very silly. I kind of have a soft spot for schlocky 2000s action movies, so it’s no surprise that Underworld really worked for me. Much of the silliness really does come from the fact that it has powerful vampires and Lycans actually using guns to fight each other instead of just using their own supernatural powers. At the same time it is so 100% committed to this idea and approach that it’s easy enough to accept and follow along with, and very much subscribes to the “Rule of Cool” (including its sequels).

Kate Beckinsale does well in her first performance of probably her most iconic character, Selene. She commits to her part and particularly sells the action. Meanwhile, Scott Speedman is just fine as the second major character, but isn’t that interesting. Considering how significant he is to the plot, he needed to be a lot better than he was. The romantic subplot between these two characters is also just very difficult to buy. Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy were for me the standouts of the movie, hamming up their performances while providing a lot of gravitas, and it certainly helps that they were the most interesting characters of the movie.

Len Wiseman’s direction really helped the movie work as well as it did. It was very much a movie of its time, one of the most aggressively 2000s blockbusters I’ve seen, going a the dark and brooding feel while also visibly being inspired by The Matrix. And yet, that really worked for the movie. I really liked the gothic and stylistic visuals, helped by the blue tinted and shadowy cinematography, as well as the solid production design. Honestly with the way much of it was filmed, you could easily mistake it as an adaptation of a comic book or graphic novel. The action is one of the highlights of the movie, those sequences are very over the top and exciting to watch. Yes, it’s inspired by The Matrix to an honestly hilarious degree with the use of slow motion and extended gunfight sequences (it probably has even more leather and trenchcoats on screen) but is more fun to watch because of it. It also has quite a good mix of practical effects and CGI. The practical effects are impressive, mainly with the use of hair, makeup and body-suits for the Lycans, and even some of the dated CGI ends up being somewhat endearing. Finally,  Paul Haslinger’s grungy metal score fits the vibe of the whole movie perfectly.

Underworld is a flawed and derivative vampire action film, but is still very entertaining, especially with its worldbuilding, stylish visuals, and exciting action sequences.