Rated
R (Pervasive Strong Violence and Gore, some Sexuality/Nudity and Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 46 Minutes
Cast-
Kate
Beckinsale-Selene
Scott
Speedman-Michael Corvin
Tony
Curran-Markus Corvinus
Derek
Jacobi-Lorenz Macaro
Steven
Mackintosh-Andreas Tanis
Shane
Brolly-Kraven
Bill
Nighy-Viktor
Zita
Görög-Amelia
Michael
Sheen-Lucian
Brian
Steele-William Corvinus
Directed
by Len Wiseman
 |
| Kate Beckinsale with a gun--every man's fantasy. |
Note: Part of the "Underworld Trilogy: The Essential Collection" Blu-Ray set.
After
working as a property assistant (someone who acquires and manufactures props in
addition to maintaining the physical appearance of a set as reflected by the
director’s aesthetic vision) on a number of films from Roland Emmerich during
the 1990’s, Len Wiseman made his directorial debut in 2003 with “Underworld,”
an action/horror flick starring his future wife Kate Beckinsale. Unfortunately,
critical reception was largely negative and many wrote it off as all style and
no substance. However, I quite enjoyed the film despite its numerous flaws such
as its flat characterization and a story that leaned too heavily on exposition
but it introduced audiences to a sexy kick-ass action heroine in a compelling
world where unbeknownst to humans, vampires have been raging a secret war with
werewolves (called lycans in the film) for centuries. Shot under a modest
budget of approximately $22 million, “Underworld” went on to become a mild box
office success, earning $96 million worldwide but although a sequel was always
intended, it was the strong DVD sales that finally spurred Wiseman to direct a
follow-up three years later. “Underworld Evolution” certainly benefits from its
increased budget with bigger and bolder action set-pieces but the paper-thin
story jettisons much of what made the original so good in favor of characters
running from one location to another and pausing only occasionally to sprout
even more exposition. Kate Beckinsale
remains a credible female action star but not even her presence can save this
film from mediocrity.
During a prologue set in 1202 AD, Vampire Elders Viktor
(Bill Nighy), Amelia (Zita Görög), and Markus Corvinus (Tony Curran) arrive at
a Lycan-ravaged village in an attempt to capture William (Brian Steele), the first
and most powerful werewolf who also happens to be the twin brother of Markus.
Although their troops sustain heavy losses, the Elders manage to subdue the
now-mindless William but despite Markus’ protests that he was not to be harmed,
Viktor decrees that his brother be imprisoned in a secret location for all
eternity. Fast forward to the present and picking up immediately after the
chaotic events of the first film, former Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale)
takes her hybrid lover Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) to a safe house before
returning to the vampire coven’s mansion to confront the traitorous Kraven (Shane
Brolly), who intends to kill the still-hibernating Markus. However, Singe’s
blood had unknowingly seeped into his coffin, awakening and transforming him
into a monstrous Vampire-dominant hybrid. Markus brutally wipes out Kraven and
his men before destroying the mansion to hunt for Selene. Meanwhile, an elderly
man named Lorenz Macaro (Derek Jacobi) arrives with a contingent of soldiers to
recover the bodies left behind in the aftermath of the battle at the Lycans’
underground lair. He examines Viktor’s beheaded corpse and finds a metal disk
attached to his rib-cage. Back at the safe house, Michael struggles to suppress
his urge to feed by consuming human food at a nearby restaurant but this fails
and he ends up drawing attention to himself from a number of local police
officers. Selene manages to rescue him but the two are immediately attacked by
Markus, who attempts to steal the gold pendant that was found on Lucien’s
(Michael Sheen) body. This pendant is revealed to be the key to William’s
prison but Markus is unable to locate it until he feeds on Selene’s blood as
the secret is hidden within her memories. He intends to free his twin brother and
create a new race of hybrids in a bid for world domination.
“Underworld
Evolution” logically continues from the first film and is best viewed
back-to-back as both form one contiguous storyline. However, many of the
problems have not been rectified and are carried over in a magnified state as
Wiseman tries too hard to top the original with its bigger, louder action
set-pieces. The extensive mythos mapped out by the writers was one of the
elements that set “Underworld” apart from other genre films, which usually
featured throwaway plots, but this ultimately proves to be a detriment in
“Evolution” as every character is reduced to being nothing more than
mouth-pieces to convey all the details of its overly convoluted backstory. Andreas
Tanis (Steven Mackintosh) and Derek Jacobi’s Lorenz Macaro are particularly
guilty of this as they are quickly killed off after serving their purposes in
the film. Audiences will find it difficult to form any emotional connection as the Shakespearean romance that was so central in the original comes
dangerously close to being forgotten in the midst of all the loud action
scenes. If one were to take away all the time-inflating exposition, what is
left can barely support its one hour-and-forty six minute running time as it is
essentially one nonstop chase between various non-descript locations.
Despite
the sequel clearly being inferior and leaving an unsatisfying aftertaste, I
admit that I was never actually bored
by what was happening on-screen because the action feels less derivative of
“The Matrix” this time around. Wiseman utilizes copious amounts of blood and
gore from the get-go as the now-transformed Markus makes a splashy entrance,
brutally impaling Kraven and his men using the sharp tips of his wings. In
fact, the violence makes the first film seem almost tame by comparison. There’s
an excellent highway chase scene as Selene and Michael try to escape from a
flying Markus before sunrise and the climactic battle is certainly an exciting
(and loud) one but disappointingly, its central villains end up being defeated
a little too easily even as “Evolution” goes to great lengths to build up the
threat they pose. I also preferred the original’s extensive use of practical
effects as some of the CG work is sometimes too obvious but the full-body
make-up applied on Tony Curran is exceptional given the film’s
visually-intensive focus. Cinematographer Simon Duggan maintains the
monochromatic black-and-blue palette but the shade is noticeably brighter
compared to the previous film.
Of course, the primary draw of the sequel is the
return of Kate Beckinsale and seeing her mow down a Lycan twice her size with
an assault rifle or fighting off Markus with just her fists proves to be the
highlights of the film, in addition to her perfectly shaped derriere. As such,
people viewing this film will not be focusing on her performance but she
exhibits more life this time around with a bit of a dry wit to her line
delivery. Late in the film, Selene has an emotional breakdown and Beckinsale
handles it with aplomb as it is the only
time where audiences might come close to feeling something. Scott Speedman fulfills his purpose of looking good
while shirtless. He and Beckinsale share a nude sex scene but it feels as if
Wiseman included it only to titillate the male audience as it goes on for a
little too long. Tony Curran takes a page out of Shane Brolly’s Kraven by
overacting and fails to elicit much dread as the main villain whether in human
or demonic form but the impressive make-up certainly helps. Derek Jacobi adds a
touch of class to the proceedings with an understated performance while Bill
Nighy makes the most out of his cameo with his trademark overemphasis on every
other word. Finally, there’s Steven Mackintosh as Andreas Tanis but he’s one of
those characters that do little besides provide exposition and gets tossed
aside ten minutes later.
“Underworld Evolution” arrived on Blu-Ray as a
stand-alone release in June 2006 and as part of a trilogy box set in May 2009.
This box set has been re-released to promote the upcoming fourth film
“Underworld Awakening” under the label “The Essential Collection” but there’s
nothing essential about it since it
includes absolutely nothing new besides an extra disc with three throwaway
anime shorts (collectively known as “Underworld Endless War”) and an ornate
slipcover. No sense in double-dipping if you already own all the films. That
being said, “Evolution” sports a stunning video transfer despite being one of
the earlier Blu-Ray releases. Shadows have a solid inky depth to them but never
envelop detail such as in the opening prologue where the intricate design on
the armor is quite visible even when only illuminated by nothing but torches.
The make-up effects on Markus shine in high definition but skin tones tend to
take on an overblown paleness and exhibits a faint glow. That’s a small gripe
though and overall, this is the best the film will look as a new encode will
probably not result in much of an improvement seeing as the transfer is already
in excellent shape. This is a loud
film and the audio proves itself up to the task as your ears will be hit by a
sonic barrage of effects from heavy gunfire to a helicopter crashing into the
ground in a fiery explosion. Dialogue remains sharp and is never drowned out
even during action-heavy scenes. The extras included are once again ported from
the DVD with a technical-heavy audio commentary from Wiseman, production
designer Brad Tatapolous, second unit director Brad Martin and stunt
coordinator/editor Nicolas De Toth in addition to a handful of featurettes
amounting to a forty-five minute look at the making of the film.
Released on
January 20, 2006, “Underworld Evolution” received even worst reviews compared to the original with a low 16% on Rotten
Tomatoes as critics wrote it off as ‘a visual and aural assault on the senses
[that] makes a lot of noise and features a heavy-handed, overly convoluted
story.’ Made on an estimated $50 million production budget, the sequel followed
in the footsteps of the original and went to become a mild box office success
with $111 million worldwide, enough to warrant a prequel three years later.
“Underworld Evolution” features everything a sequel should have but in this
instance, it is truly all style and no substance with its non-existent story
but despite being a thoroughly mediocre effort, the film is never boring thanks
to the intense action scenes and Kate Beckinsale’s presence. Fans of the
original will be more lenient to its flaws but it is hard not to come away
ultimately disappointed.
Final
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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