Underworld
(2003)
Our rating: 3 out of 5
Rated: R
reviewed by Charity Bishop
Mythology dates legends of vampires all the way back into ancient Rome, when the
goddess Lamia was believed to punish those unfaithful to her by robbing them of
their children in the night, and draining their blood. In the centuries since,
vampires have both been hated and feared, but in recent times, also featured as
empathetic heroes in comic books and film franchises. Underworld is the
most successful.
A war has been raging for centuries between the lycans (a particular set of
werewolves) and Vampires. Among the black-clad vampire warriors known as Death
Dealers trained to defeat the enemy is Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Driven by an
intense hatred for the werewolves that slaughtered her family in the middle
ages, and a desire to please Viktor (Bill Nighy), her mentor and one of the
three remaining elders, currently in a century-long hibernation, she
relentlessly tracks and slays the enemy one by one. The lycans have taken a
recent interest in a human, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), and the vampires
desire to know why. Soon it will be the eve of the Awakening, when the vampires
will gather to awaken Marcus, the next chosen elder meant to rule. The current
leader of the coven is power driven Kraven (Shane Brolly), who seeks to pursue
Selene as his future queen, but is jealously guarded by the equally determined
Erika (Sophia Myles).
Lucian (Michael Sheen), ruler of the Lyrons, has been rumored to be dead for
centuries, slain at Kraven's hand, but Selene becomes convinced he still lives.
Michael is forced to be taken into confidence when he is repetitively hunted by
werewolves, unraveling a dangerous train of events that lead to slaughter,
destruction, betrayal, and torment as the coven is split apart through mistrust
and rivalry. What results is an exciting two hours spent delving into the
underground and the rivalry between feuding clans. If nothing else, the film is
original and exciting. It features strong leading women, as well as memorable
male counterparts, which makes it appeal to female audiences. It also doesn't
overdo the gore factor, and is light on profane language. There are currently
two versions of this film released to the general public. The R-rated edition is
twenty minutes shy of the Unrated's full length, but the longer version gives a
much more dynamic structure to the subplot involving Kraven and Erika.
Because of this, and because the content isn't spiked too much, I am fonder of
the longer version. Both films contain a half dozen uses of s**t, three f-words,
and a couple abuses of Jesus' name. Each of them also have the same amount of
violence. There are numerous scenes of shootouts between vampires and
werewolves; both using special bullets to harm their adversaries (bullets for
lycans send lead into their bloodstream; for vampires, it contains sunlight
capsules that cause them to burn up from the inside out). Blood spatters when
lycans attack vampires on a train, and when Lucian bites graphically into
Michael's neck. Torture devises are ripped out of a man's chest; needles probe
for blood and are used to restrain werewolves. The most gruesome moments come
when Viktor slices open a man's face, and his corpse spits blood across the
floor, and when a vampire is beheaded. (His head falls into two pieces.)
Backside nudity is obscured by shadows as a werewolf in human form carries a
wounded companion through the subway tunnels. The camera rides low on two men as
they morph from lycans into humans, and barely avoids frontal nudity. In the
uncut version, there's an extended "love scene" with Kraven and Erika in which
she removes her shirt (only her bare back is shown) and they make out on the
couch (vampire lovemaking is mostly biting). Selene wears tight leather outfits.
It was an original idea presented in top form, almost too complicated to fully
understand the first time through. The second film builds on this one, but
provides a much more streamlined approach. The acting is quite good, and it is a
joy to see so many talented cast members together, built up of an International
acting base. It also moves at a milder pace than the second film, taking more
time for character development. I think only on one level did it fail to meet
its high standard, and that was its attempts to make us identify with all the
players. Lucian and his lycans were brutal and savage, in contrast with the
synthetic-blood drinking vampires, yet I sensed we were supposed to care in some
form what happened to them. The brilliance on the part of the filmmakers is not
the open ending, but the obscure references to the past history of the
characters. It could easily fuel a pre-Underworld
film series for its cluster of bloodthirsty fans.
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