Underworld (DVD)

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Underworld

I first saw the film when I rented it from the local video shop and thought it was brilliant. The eerie pictures and captivating cover instantly drew me toward it. I had seen adverts and trailers when it arrived at the cinema and waited until it was released as everyone knows the price of cinema tickets are quite steep so I don?t tend to go much unless I really want to see something. The plot sounded good ...
...Blood Diamond and the other Underworld films where his part grows.

Viktor- Bill Nighly

Viktor is the Lord of the vampires who is raised by Selene to help win this war. After being woken early and not being impressed with her behaviour he seeks to rule the vampires into victory. He is a strong minded leader who is hard-heartened but seems to have a soft spot for Selene. Bill Nighly is a well known actor and I didn?t ... more

~ An Immortal Battle for Supremacy ~

Underworld

I first saw the film when I rented it from the local video shop and thought it was brilliant. The eerie pictures and captivating cover instantly drew me toward it. I had seen adverts and trailers when it arrived at the cinema and waited until it was released as everyone knows the price of cinema tickets are quite steep so I don?t tend to go much unless I really want to see something. The plot sounded good and I love vampire movies so thought id give it a go. I have properly seen the film about four more times after renting it that first time and found I enjoyed it every time. I didn?t know any of the actors included and Len Wiseman was a new director to me. As the film as been played on television a number of times now I try to avoid seeing it too many times as it would properly get really annoying.

~ INFO ~

Director- Len Wiseman
Writers- Kevin Grevioux and Len Wiseman
Distributed- Screen Gems (Sony)
Release date- 19 September 2003 (UK)
Runtime- 121 Mins
Certificate- 15

~ PLOT ~

There is an ongoing secret war between vampires and a werewolf creature known as the Lycans. Selene is a powerful, sassy vampire who is a Lycan hunter and is known for her brutal and ruthless killings for the hated species.
After a usual night on the streets hunting the werewolves she comes across a human who is being attacked called Michael which she finds instantly attracted too. She helps him recover form his injuries but discovers he has a future ahead of him that she should not be apart of and she has to choose what to do. Secrets about her kind are revelled and Selene has important choices to make.

~ MAIN CHARACTERS ~

Selene- Kate Beckinsale

Selene is a young, powerful vampire who is indeed one of the best fighters. She likes to hunt alone and has a pure hatred for the Lycans. She is independent, strong and intelligent and most vampires are wary of her.
Selene makes a great protagonist and attracts both the females for liking her power and skill and the men for her sassy and sexy look. Kate Beckinsale has played many parts in several successful films including Vacancy (2007) and a lead role in Pearl harbour (2001).

Michael Corvin- Scott Speedman

Michael plays a human who is dramatically introduced to the life of vampires and Lycans. He is saved by a vampire Selene who he finds a bond with and gains trust from her. He is lost in a dangerous world and needs all the help he can get. When finding his way Michael is pretty strong and is shown to be an excellent fighter. Scott Speedman has mainly been in televison which is why I hadn?t heard of him before but has appeared in several films after his role in this.

Lucian- Michael Sheen

Lucian is a Lycan Overlord who was thought to have been dead. He is dangerous, merciless and wants his revenge on the vampire species. He has had a terrible past which is to be paid for when he gets hold of the vampire lord. Michael Sheen although has done more television than films has appeared in Blood Diamond and the other Underworld films where his part grows.

Viktor- Bill Nighly

Viktor is the Lord of the vampires who is raised by Selene to help win this war. After being woken early and not being impressed with her behaviour he seeks to rule the vampires into victory. He is a strong minded leader who is hard-heartened but seems to have a soft spot for Selene. Bill Nighly is a well known actor and I didn?t know he was in it until I saw him. He has starred in films such as- Pirates of the Caribbean, Hot Fuzz and Love Actually.

~ OTHER CHARACTERS ~

Kraven- Shane Brolly
Singe- Erwin Leder
Erika- Sophia Myles
Raze- Kevin Grevioux
Dr Adam ? Wentworth Miller
~ OPINIONS ~

MISE EN SCENE

I loved the look and atmosphere in the film throughout. It is very gloomy and has a Blanc Noir affect like films such as Sin City. The dark images and dim lighting really gives it a revulsion look about it. The settings of the dark alleys and leather clothing make it a definite success in finding the right tension for the film. Everything adds to this feeling, the dark clothing, narrative, settings and the choices of dim lighting. The cast choice of Kate Beckinsale was a great choice and she adds to the dark and sinister mood. Having the film set always at night obviously as vampires can?t go out in the day created a symbolic horror film. The film has a very vivid look about it and I think Wiseman achieved the target atmosphere.

EDITING, CAMERA SHOTS and SP/FX

I loved the different shots that were evident in the film as it made it a lot more interesting and gave the action scenes a fast pace to keep the audience excited.
Even though I think the special effects could have been a little better they were believable and not over the top. The fight scenes were interesting and had a lot to them. Each scene I think was shot well and it all fitted well to give it a fast, action film. The use of close ups were good especially to show the bond between Michael and Selene. The emotions are seen and you really feel for them. Also there were many establishing shots which really helped the movement of the narrative. The long shots of each scene showed where the character was without having to say it and having a lot of different locations this was easily the right way to show this. It gave nice shots of the surrounding country of Hungary. The effects of the werewolves were standard but a lot better than in other movies. They did look pretty decent and I was happy with the way they portrayed them.

OVERALL

I really enjoyed the film and thought it was a brilliant vampire film with a difference. Having a female protagonist was good especially being a strong, vampire warrior it reminded me of Blade but having a female lead. Selene?s character is great; she is sexy, sarcastic and can over power many other males.
Her outfit is stunning (properly more for the male gaze) and really gives her a gothic, sassy look. Although this is a great element, I think the film?s success had a lot to do with Kate?s look and performance. This attracts both male and females to watch the film. All of the actors were well suited and did a good performance. Although I did think the character developments could have progressed a little more.

The narrative is pretty good quality. It is interesting and can potentially have a lot come out of it and it does contain a few twists which are good. It also had some interesting views on vampires and werewolves which I liked as most films include the same factors when it comes to what vampires and werewolves are and do. There are new ideas being unfolded and there are new rules and weapons like ultraviolet bullets which I thought were fab. I liked the love story between the two rival creatures like a different version of Romeo and Juliet. As well as this I liked how we found out about the history of some characters including Viktor and Lucian. Even though we know there is a war going on it is good to know the rival between certain characters and why they have such hatred toward one another. The thing I found abit confusing is with both sides being creatures of the night it was hard to see who was actually right or if you like which side was good and which was evil as you sympathise with a few characters from each side.

The action scenes were not spectacular but very well done. The gunfights were really good to watch and when they got up close and personal the martial art combat is shown slightly. The violence in the film was in proportion to the action and seeing how savage these creatures are there has to be gory deaths included or it wouldn?t be right.

REACTIONS

Underworld was received more negatively than good when it was released and I think it is a very under rated film. There are many that say the film is too much like The Matrix and Blade which I don?t think is true. Even though having the same elements of dark settings and eerie mood the movies are totally different. The narrative of underworld is one that hasn?t been done by a successful movie and the way it is filmed gives it a unique factor. I am a huge fan of both Blade and The Matrix and think all three films have their own brilliant ways about them. The film was given a rotten tomato rating of just 29% which is quite low as many said there should have been more special effects and the narrative was bad. Another criticism is that it is unrealistic which is funny seeing as the film is about vampires and werewolves which aren?t real anyways.

~ EXTRAS ~

DVD

Can be brought from play.com for £4.99. 2 disc special edition.

Special Features

? Director and writer commentary
? Technical effects
? Creature features
? Stunts featurette
? Sights and sounds of Underworld
? The making of Underworld
? Finch 'Worms Of The Earth'
? Storyboard comparison
? TV spots
? Trailers
? Interactive menus
? Scene selection

~ RECOMMEND ~

I would defiantly recommend underworld to anyone who likes these kinds of films, if you like Blade and the matrix you will like this film. It has great action, brilliant scenery and good characters to like. For a copy at £4.99 I think this is really good quality and it is worth buying a copy.

~ Thanks for reading Blackmagicstar4 ~ FEB 09~ published on Ciao and Dooyoo~

 

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