reviewed by Charity Bishop
         

There is a natural human curiosity toward death. Christians have nothing to fear, but most of the rest of the world is concerned with what lies beyond death. Perhaps this is why so many centuries ago, the notion of vampires were created, a creature able to cheat death and remain immortal, but at often a terrible price. Legends of vampires date back to ancient Rome, but modern depictions are somewhat more interesting. Underworld: Evolution is the second installment in a film series about a Death Dealer and her battle against Lycans, or werewolves.

In the early ages of time, two sons were born to the mighty warrior Alexander. One was bitten by wolf, the other by bat, and from them came two opposing races. Lycans are incapable of channeling their rage, remaining in werewolf form indefinitely, engaging in the slaughter of innocents. In order to prevent his brother from wiping out the human race, Marcus (Tony Curran) enlists the assistance of the treacherous Viktor (Bill Nighy) to halt him. Rather than relinquish the captured werewolf into Marcus' keeping, Viktor has him locked away for centuries. Thousands of years later, Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) hopes to reawaken Marcus in order to stop the evil traitor Kraven (Shane Brolly) from ruling the vampire coven. Responsible for Viktor's death and marked as an enemy of her race, Selene's only companion is Michael (Scott Speedman), the half-vampire, half-Lycan hybrid.

So much death and destruction among the vampires has commanded the attention of Corvinus (Derek Jacobi), who has a profound interest in both races. His concerns are furthered when Marcus awakens and destroys the coven. The ancient vampire now seeks Selene, which ultimately leads them to torturous discoveries surrounding the death of her family centuries earlier, and engages all those who remain in a battle for ultimate power. The story picks up where the original left off but gives viewers reminders through flashbacks to help speed the process along. It is ultimately more complex this time around and has better emotional impact. Audiences will be wowed with the combination of high sci-fi action and cool gadgets. I very much enjoy Derek Jacobi's acting and it was a joy to see him in this production. There's just something too cool about his domineering and mysterious presence, and he plays well off Kate Beckinsale in their too-few scenes together. I also appreciated that they brought back Amelia, a vampire queen from the first film.

There are so many questions left unanswered that the film series could go on indefinitely with careful planning. For action, it more than delivers but audiences are granted a hearty dose of gore in the meantime. It's not as openly gruesome as Gladiator's horrific battle sequences, but there is a lot of blood. It drips from fangs, splatters on walls, floors, and anyone standing nearby. Body limbs are severed graphically in rapid shots. Lycans slaughter vampires. An ancient vampire uses his wings to skewer people on multiple occasions; he drinks the blood of horses in order to return to human form. Heads are cut off. Characters are impaled, shot full of bullet holes (it's bloody but they never die from it) and thrown into spinning helicopter blades. The violence was gruesome but didn't bother me as much as the pointless nudity that made several brief appearances, particularly when you consider that the primary audience I screened it with was made up of young men. There is a long and graphic sex scene between Selene and Michael; only her arm blocks her breasts, but we get several long shots of their naked bodies moving together. Part of this scene is momentarily revisited in a later flashback. Selene goes to recruit the assistance of an exiled vampire. Our first introduction to him is cavorting with a topless woman; her breasts are seen several times, then and later when he dumps the bodies of his girls. The only language comes from a half dozen uses of s***t, four abuses of Jesus' name, and five f-words.

Were it not for the gratuitous sexual content, I would have loved this film more than its predecessor. It was well filmed, beautifully scored, and had some fantastic action sequences. I loved the new character of Corvinus and enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the storytelling. If they intend to film further adventures in the series, their rapt audience awaits, because we cannot get enough.