By J.T. Johnson
Director: Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Michael Ealy, India Eisley, Stephen Rea, Kris Holden-Ried
Photo courtesy of Screen Gems
The “Underworld” series is not exactly the best action series to ever come around. The first movie was okay while the second film did improve on some of the original film’s problems. Then came “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans,” the absolutely abysmal prequel that just decided to retread over story elements that the audience already knew about.
Now, original star Kate Beckinsale returns as the sexy Death Dealer Selene in a fourth movie that decides to take the series in a more action-driven direction. Believe it or not, it actually works better than expected. It still has problems, but it is pure escapist fun.
This time out, the humans have discovered the existence of the vampires and the lycans. Selene and a noticeably absent Michael (except for a stand-in during one scene) try to escape and go into hiding. Unfortunately, they are stopped and Selene is frozen in time by Dr. Jacob Lane (Stephen Rea), a human who lost his son and is the lead crusader against the vampires and lycans.
Twelve years later, Selene is thawed out by a mysterious prisoner with whom she can share visions with. She then discovers that the person she is psychically connected to is Eve, a hybrid girl who was also being held prisoner by Jacob. Selene makes a promise to protect Eve no matter the cost.
It goes without saying that this film is already an improvement over the third film simply due to the fact that Beckinsale is back as Selene. No matter how average the “Underworld” movies can be, this is one actress who can kick a lot of butt and always helps elevate the status of the series. Here, the action is better than ever and Beckinsale is definitely up to the task.
One of the biggest problems with the first film of the series was some rather anti-climatic action sequences. Here, there are full-blown battles. First, it’s between mostly vampires and humans. Of course, no one can keep a good lycan down and there are some impressive battles between the immortal enemies as well that far surpass anything done in the previous films.
Still, it would not be an “Underworld” film if it did not have some problems to go along with the positive notes. One of the bigger problems here is that the film was shot and promoted as a 3D film. That means there is plenty of crap arbitrarily thrown towards the audience. It once again shows that most filmmakers do not know how to appropriately use the technology.
Then, there is another problem that has plagued the series since the first movie. That, of course, is very shoddy CGI work. If someone was looking for “Avatar” level effects, then he/she will be sorely disappointed. This is mostly aimed towards the effects used to create the lycans. They just are not real enough to be all that convincing except in a few shots.
Finally, the story feels incomplete. This goes back to Scott Speedman’s absence from the film as Michael. It is a loose end that is never truly wrapped up and it blatantly leaves the series open for another entry. It also does not feel complete due to a rather rushed running time of only 88 minutes.
Still, the film should be enjoyed for pure action entertainment and the successful return of Beckinsale as one of her signature characters. While the film does not aim too high, Beckinsale once again makes it better than it ought to be. The average audience member may not want to spend their hard earned money at the local theater, but it would definitely be worth it once it gets out on Red Box or Netflix.
PROS:
- Kate Beckinsale still looks good, kicks a lot of butt and looks good kicking a lot of butt.
- There are several great action films that really help the film’s light plot.
- The rest of the cast also turn in decent performances.
CONS:
- Those horrible shots that were obviously made for the 3D market.
- The shoddy CGI work (especially on the lycans) is back again.
- The story feels incomplete and simply sets up the series for another entry.
GRADE: C
