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Underworld
2003
In UNDERWORLD, a dark and Gothic monster action movie, vampires and lycans--an ancient form of werewolf--are at war. While the vampires inhabit a gigantic castle that houses their ancestors' tombs, the lycans live underground in a dilapidated sewer cave. Both teams are equipped with big guns, and they are constantly innovating .. Read more
| Starring | Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen |
|---|---|
| Director | Len Wiseman |
| Genres | Horror |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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It's quite a feat to have sucked the life out of an attractive comic book-style vampire versus werewolf premise, but debut director Len Wiseman has crafted the most stylistically derivative and monotonously plotted horror film possible. The casting is equally defective, with Kate Beckinsale unconvincing as sullen bloodsucker Selene, a sort of waif-like female version of Blade, and Michael Sheen lacking stature as her “Lycan” enemy. Set against a hackneyed melancholy gothic backdrop, the story piles on scene after scene of portentous, humourless exposition, only stopping occasionally for these centuries-old rival gangs to fire off rounds of ammo. Why such rich potential for teeth-baring conflict is abandoned in favour of sub-Matrix gunplay is one of many questions posed before the film's faintly enjoyable final battle. Only Bill Nighy, as a fearsome ancient vampire, really makes any sort of fanged impression on this dreary disappointment.
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Absurdly posturing movie in which the acting is the only horror.
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
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53 out of 57 people found this review helpful
Deeper than you might expect.
'Vampires Vs Werewolves'
Sounds at best like a comic book, at worst like a cheesy low budget, laughably bad piece of horror.
If youre prepared to look beyond this you will be rewarded by a well written gothic thriller that is quite a treat.
Take ideas from blade, the matrix, mix with traditional gothic ideals, and even a pinch of classic period drama (I cannot really explain the period drama references without giving away large pieces of the plot but on so many levels this could have easily been rich vs poor, black vs white, the families of romeo and juliet you name it, I kid you not) but its all bought back down to earth with some matrix style action which actually works better and is more convincing in this film.
In short its a well written story which steals ideas from all over the place but works with them to make them better and more convincing than those films the ideas were stolen from.
Screams for a sequel. Watch with an open mind and be rewarded.
Id also like to point out this film also raises the bar with some excellent acting, particularly from Kate. -
16 out of 19 people found this review helpful
Could have been great
This film has enormous style with a sexy cast and a nice storyline, however I feel it's let down in the action department which can only be described as 'Matrix-lite'. Kate Beckinsale is supremely sexy as the heroine Celine but is maybe a tad too serious and I think Bill Nighy steals the show as the centuries-old vampire Victor. It's a shame because with some improved (and more frequent) set-piece action this film could have been fang-tastic.
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13 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Underestimated
A suprise film that was really great. Good plot, Kate B. looks fabulous in black. Not just a run of the mill horror.
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
DEAD GOOD......
BEST VAMP FILM IV SEEN FOR AGES,SO IF YOUR IN TO YOUR ACTION FILMS,WELL WORTH A LOOK BIG TIME...
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6 out of 11 people found this review helpful
vampires & werewolves
Vampire movies aren't what they used to be. Gone are the days when a cape, fangs, a cocked eyebrow, and a menacing glare were enough. By today's standards, those things are quaint. Underworld, from first time director Len Wiseman, is an example of a vampire movie for the new century - stylish, gothic, gory, and loud. The plot may not be irrelevant (in fact, this movie requires too much exposition to clarify the situation), but character development is. And, as a bonus, not only do we have vampires, but werewolves as well. In fact, they're at war with each other, and have been for about 1000 years.
Looking forward to the sequel!
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53 out of 57 people found this review helpful
Deeper than you might expect.
'Vampires Vs Werewolves'
Sounds at best like a comic book, at worst like a cheesy low budget, laughably bad piece of horror.
If youre prepared to look beyond this you will be rewarded by a well written gothic thriller that is quite a treat.
Take ideas from blade, the matrix, mix with traditional gothic ideals, and even a pinch of classic period drama (I cannot really explain the period drama references without giving away large pieces of the plot but on so many levels this could have easily been rich vs poor, black vs white, the families of romeo and juliet you name it, I kid you not) but its all bought back down to earth with some matrix style action which actually works better and is more convincing in this film.
In short its a well written story which steals ideas from all over the place but works with them to make them better and more convincing than those films the ideas were stolen from.
Screams for a sequel. Watch with an open mind and be rewarded.
Id also like to point out this film also raises the bar with some excellent acting, particularly from Kate. -
16 out of 19 people found this review helpful
Could have been great
This film has enormous style with a sexy cast and a nice storyline, however I feel it's let down in the action department which can only be described as 'Matrix-lite'. Kate Beckinsale is supremely sexy as the heroine Celine but is maybe a tad too serious and I think Bill Nighy steals the show as the centuries-old vampire Victor. It's a shame because with some improved (and more frequent) set-piece action this film could have been fang-tastic.
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13 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Underestimated
A suprise film that was really great. Good plot, Kate B. looks fabulous in black. Not just a run of the mill horror.
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13 out of 20 people found this review helpful
Blade 2.5
More of the same isn’t? Well yes, but there are far worse ways to spend an evening in front of the TV. Certainly in the gendered horror film stakes, director Salva provides a needed contribution, filling the screen with half naked young men which make a welcome change to the abused women in countless other slasher movies.
Although a visual debt to The Matrix can be seen here, the phenomenon of the living dead wearing leather and kicking ass can be traced back to The Crow and Blade. The sub-genre of action / horror is a relatively new one and it is ironic these two forbearers are based on comics yet have better characterisation and less labyrinthine plotting than on offer here. The idea of different kinds of monsters pitted against each other is not a new one, with Monster Club (1980) positing what might happen if vampires and werewolves mated and the RPG World of Darkness developing the same (Stephen Sommers forthcoming Van Helsing which reimagines 1940s monster films in the action genre can be seen as the logical conclusion to the trend). However this is the first populist action film to tackle the idea and Underworld is nothing if not action packed and a relatively fast paced ride.
However the film is so desperate to envision a rich mythology for the long battle between the Lycan (thrope)s and the Vampires that a tedious and indecipherable back story is shoe-horned into the dialogue and the weak Romeo & Juliet plot seems over familiar. Beckinsale looks the part but gives a wooden performance that matches her pale makeup. At least Bill Nighy is great (as usual) in his small part as the Vampire king, so overall, while this is entertaining and relatively mindless gun-fu fun, the prospect of sequels is a mixed blessing. -
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful
Watered down - Disappointing
Vampires vs. Warewolves locked together in an ancient battle for supremacy? With Kate Beckinsale as the top vampire assassin? Sounds the ideal recipe for an all-action thrill ride of excitement. But it's not. Beckinsale doesn't do much, except shoot some automatic pistols, which tend to miss whatever she's aiming for. She doesn't do much in the way of acting either, although she does look rather minxy. The story is promising, but the action is a bit rubbish and you're left at the end feeling disappointed that it could have been sooo much better. It's really not as good as I thought it might be, even though I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
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10 out of 12 people found this review helpful
What?
Hell fire. You ready? I'm going to save you the trouble of watching this. Here we go... Blackness. Rain. Running about. Guns. More running about. Kate Beckinsale pouting a lot. More guns. Oooh, there's a bloke who looks confused. He must be the hero- either that or he's rented this silly film and accidentally got trapped inside the telly. No time to stop and think- more guns. Cars. Dark. Rain. Running about. Poor CGI. Driving very fast. Guns. Rain. Scruffy blokes with beards. Lank-haired fops with fangs. Fighting. And everyone taking it SO SERIOUSLY. A double cross anyone who's ever watched any film ever can see coming a mile off. Ooh, Bill Nighy's turned up. He looks like a peachstone with a face. Fighting. Running. Blood. A BIG IMPORTANT fight. Voiceover. End. Tripe.
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8 out of 10 people found this review helpful
Tosh, bish-Bosh, worth a watch!
Kate Beckinsale is one of those actresses I love to hate. I rented this hoping that it would add weight to the side of my reasoning which wants to dismiss her as... who am I kidding I watched it 'cos she's good looking.
And her costume in this certainly afforded appreciation of the female form. Michelle Pfeiffer's cat suit has been demoted to #2 in my movie lech top 10.
Oh yeah the film, vampires v werewolves with Bill Nighy surprisingly popping up, giving an hilariously camp performance as king of the vamps. They should have got John Inman to play king, or should that be queen, of the wolfmen.
Thought it would be a howler, but it was watchable and moreover you won't be able to take your eyes off of our Kate. -
9 out of 14 people found this review helpful
The Film Blade 2 & 3 should have been!
This film is not just a action packed blood fest, it has you guessing till the end. The quality of the cast really shines through and makes this far better than you would think.
Moody and dark, a cross between Blade an the Matrix.
Watch it! -
9 out of 14 people found this review helpful
hype can sell anything
this is unwatchable rubbish
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6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Under-Done
A promising idea (so obvious now that it's been made that one can only wonder why no-one has exploited it sooner) which unfortunately fails to deliver on lots of levels. The action sequences, although rather Matrix-lite, are passable, the performances might as well have been 'phoned in, and the atmosphere, whilst striving for an air of threat and decaying decadence, comes across more as bored indifference... On the plus side, I have to say it looks lovely. Costume and set design, lighting and art direction are all spot-on. At the end of the day, though, another excercise in style over substance.
Critics' reviews (2)
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It's quite a feat to have sucked the life out of an attractive comic book-style vampire versus werewolf premise, but debut director Len Wiseman has crafted the most stylistically derivative and monotonously plotted horror film possible. The casting is equally defective, with Kate Beckinsale unconvincing as sullen bloodsucker Selene, a sort of waif-like female version of Blade, and Michael Sheen lacking stature as her “Lycan” enemy. Set against a hackneyed melancholy gothic backdrop, the story piles on scene after scene of portentous, humourless exposition, only stopping occasionally for these centuries-old rival gangs to fire off rounds of ammo. Why such rich potential for teeth-baring conflict is abandoned in favour of sub-Matrix gunplay is one of many questions posed before the film's faintly enjoyable final battle. Only Bill Nighy, as a fearsome ancient vampire, really makes any sort of fanged impression on this dreary disappointment.
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Absurdly posturing movie in which the acting is the only horror.
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
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- Underworld - BLU-RAY Version
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In UNDERWORLD, a dark and Gothic monster action movie, vampires and lycans--an ancient form of werewolf--are at war. While the vampires inhabit a gigantic castle that houses their ancestor's tombs, ... -
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Underworld
In UNDERWORLD, a dark and Gothic monster action movie, vampires and lycans--an ancient form of werewolf--are at war. While the vampires inhabit a gigantic castle that houses their ancestors' tombs, the lycans live underground in a dilapidated sewer cave. Both teams are equipped with big guns, and ...
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