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Member since:22.01.2001
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I like vampire movies, in fact I think its pretty safe to say that they easily rank as my favourite kind of movie, so imagine my delight when the trailers for Underworld started running - Vampires.... fighting Werewolves.......... and Kate Beckinsale in leather! Well it looked like bliss, though after watching it I'm not sure if I could say it actually is, I'm not saying its bad just....... well read on!
** The Story-line **
Vampires and Lycans (Werewolves) have fought since before anyone can remember, and by and large the Vampires have kicked the Lycans asses, though there are still the odd few here and there - this is where the 'death-dealers' come into it all - a group of Vampires trained to hunt out and kill any remaining Lycan's on the planet, zoom to the start of the film, on A standard hunt Selene (Kate Beckinsale) spots a small pack of Lycan's and proceeds to go into battle, though sadly we're talking guns here, not fighting fist to fist, after losing her partner to a new type of bullet, she retreats taking the video-capture her partner had got and a sample of the new type of bullet with her.
Once back home she hands the bullets into the experts, and surveys the footage
she retrieved, where it becomes apparent that the Lycans were possibly tracking a human, Selene decides to investigate and opens up a tale where there may be conspiracies, lies, deceit and the truth all waiting to be found.
Thats pretty much the best biopsys I can give the film without ruining it for everyone else, the story itself is a good one, but at times you do wonder if parts have been put in to pad out the storyline a bit and the part that really bites is that they disregard some age-old facts of the tales of Vampires and Werewolves - the Lycans can change at will, that never happens!, Also the Vampires quite openly have a reflection! Once again that should not be happening either, and its small things like this that at times spoil the film for me.
But don't let that take away the fun that there is to be had watching the movie, take it for what it is (a 'fantasy horror') and it still does ok.
** Cast **
I'm not going to do my standard which used to be a paragraph on each character, rather I'm going to go into it in general. Firstly at times the acting is a little hammy, the Lycan's don't seem nearly as fearful of Vampires as they should be (come on - in the movie the Lycan's are nearly all but dead), and the Vampires at times a little too cocky.
Taking that away there are good performances in here, Kate Beckinsale is fantastic as the 'Death-dealer' Selene, and Scott Speedman seems to do a pretty god job as the Human being Tracked - Michael Corvin, the final one I want to single out for praise would be Michael Sheen who plays Lucian - the leader of the Lycans - hes creepy, and then at times powerful enough and convincing enough to make the whole storyline work.
However there are a couple of performances that I didn't like writer Kevin Grevioux's part of the Lycan Raze left a lot to be desired for me, it just seems that he put himself in the story because he could do rather than because he'd be a good addition to the cast. Also Shane Brolly's performance as Kraven has more ham in it than a pig-farm, he's un-convincing as a vampire leader and frankly I don't put the blame at his feet - I don't know why but it just seems that he's a good actor in a part that is so obviously not for him.
Supporting cast wise, well keep your eye out for Sophia Myles of Thunderbirds fame (she played Lady Penelope) who does well enough with the bit-part that she's been given, however apart from Bill Nighy who plays Viktor one of the elders of the Vampires brilliantly (whos neither a bit-parter or really a main character) no-one else truly seems to stand out as that good or bad to be honest.
** Location/Soundtrack **
Well if its a movie about Vampires vs Werewolves it has to be dark doesn't it? Well it is set and filmed in Budapest (they don't actually tell you in the film that its Budapest but in one scene you can see Michaels address - which is in Budapest) and the set designers and camera-men have done a great job in making it look like the dark and gothic city that it always needed to be, watching the movie as innocent humans walk around unaware that they are surrounded by Vampires and Werewolves gives a slight uneasy feel to it, but in a good way - not a bad way.
The soundtrack is of course going to be right up my alley as well - its Heavy Rock all the way through with a couple of guest appearances in the vocals by the luscious Amy Lee of Evanescence and most of the soundtrack wrote by Danny Lohner who has worked with bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Metallica, so you get an idea what to expect, all heavy, all loud as well and all of it is in the right place as well - never do you feel a song has been played when it shouldn't have been and again never do you feel a song should be played when it isn't being, it just fits.
** Over-all **
Underworld is a good movie, and take away the hammy acting and glaring mistakes it'd be a great movie, but its definitely one I'd watch again, what I would recommend is if you buy the DVD - get the 2 disc version, where you'll find proof that Kevin Grevioux (Raze in the film)'s voice is really as deep as it sounds and a lot of extras - compared to the 1 disc version that has none at all.
So in ending, if you're a vampire-movie nut like I am, you'll be disappointed, but probably still want to buy a copy anyway, if you just like movies, then rent it out but perhaps its not the one for you to buy.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1973 - Horror - Director: William Friedkin - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Jack MacGowran, Kitty Winn
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vampires--imagineBlademeetsThe CrowandThe Matrix. It's a "cuisinart" movie (blend a lot of familiar ideas and hope something interesting happens) in which immortal vampire "dea...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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Sep 25th, 2004
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