Underworld: Evolution

Review By: Dan Portnoy
DanPortnoy@TheCinemaSource.com

Vampires and Werewolves and humans, oh my! I saw this sequel coming a mile away. With the unanticipated success of its predecessor in 2003 which grossed over 21 million on the first weekend, who didn’t see an Underworld 2 on the horizon? As an aficionado of the monster movies of old, I was surprised when I warmed up to the first Underworld, an unconventional monster flick that pitted werewolves (known in the film as lycans) and vampires against one another. Add an unsuspecting human with the potential of merging the two species and you’ve got my attention at least until I see what the creature looks like. Underworld surprised me and although it didn’t add up to the classic films which forever have my favor, I was entertained. So for those of you who hated the first Underworld or have no interest in the gory battle between vampires and lycans, I suggest you stop reading.

Still with me? Underworld: Evolution picks up right where its forerunner left off. We open in a time some 1000 years ago during a battle between the lycans and vampires. Victor, leader of the Vampire coven in the company of Marcus, the first and only pure vampire take on a town recently ravaged by the lycans. Marcus’s twin brother is ironically the first pure lycan causing all the trouble. After the commotion settles we fast forward a couple hundred decades to the night Victor is slain by his beautiful young protégé Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Meanwhile back at the vampire lair a dead body from earlier in the night (the first Underworld) bleeds itself dry and seeps its way into the tomb of Marcus, who awakes pissed as hell looking for answers. From this point the story unfolds and Selene and Michael (Scott Speedman) the lycan/vampire must flee from all they know and attempt to uncover the truth that has been hidden for so many years.

Plenty of action and plenty of gratuitous violence for all those gore-junkies out there. Like all sequels, Underworld: Evolution attempts to outdo the one before and glue you to your seats with mind blowing special effects, new and improved characters and in the case of this film, much more brutality. For a sequel, this film did a good job in keeping my interest and not losing me after the first couple scenes. Minus the unavoidable cheesy dialogue and obscure plot twists that are bound to arise in a movie like this I can’t say Underworld: Evolution is that bad.

Still maintaining its cold dark atmosphere that made the first film unique and interesting, this film is merely an extension of the first Underworld. Just about all the unanswered questions from the first film are given some explanation and all the lose ends tie themselves together. ...