Movie Review: Underworld – Awakening

“When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire death dealer Selene leads the battle against humankind.”

Genre : Action, Horror

Director : Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein

Writers : Len Wiseman, John Hlavin

Cast : Kate Beckinsale, Sandrine Holt, Theo James

How does the old saying go? Let sleeping vampires lie, or something like that. It’s been three years since the last Undworld film (Rise of the Lycans) and six years since we’ve seen Kate Beckinsale in the franchise (Evolution). Underworld: Awakening seeks to continue the story left off at the end of Evolution without actually having anything interesting to explore. Fans of the Underworld franchise (myself included) know that it’s always been about combining monster lore with over the top popcorn action. They’ve never been standup quality films but that isn’t to say they can’t be enjoyed. The first film being the obvious best of the lot.

If you break it down, there are really five things that make the franchise worthwhile. Those would be – Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, interesting plot development and Kate Beckinsale. Yes, she counts twice. I’m going to marry her someday; she just doesn’t know it yet. When it comes to the newest sequel, it is unfortunate that Kate is the only thing it has going for it.

The plot of the film features the vampire Selene waking up after being kept in frozen animation for 12 years (As the title suggests). She discovers that the general population is completely aware of vampires and lycans and seeks to exterminate both species. As she searches for her lost lover, Michael, she accidentally finds out her daughter and does whatever it takes to protect her. That’s…that’s pretty much the entire film. They really draw it out with nonstop action sequences.

The Underworld films have always been peppered with interesting, never before seen action moments and there’s even a few of those here. If you follow the franchise you know the action is intentionally over the top, but stylistically accomplished. This time around, the fights go far beyond by having action that isn’t grounded in the slightest bit of reality or physics; while managing to bore you at the same time. Now, if you follow the franchise, you’ll know that Selene is supposed to be much stronger this time around. The film makes that very clear but never does anything creative with it. She gets stabbed and shot dozens of times without a flinch but it’s done in such a dreary way that you have to wonder if the directors (Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein) even cared about the character at all. At least try to make her look cool. Even worse is the uneventful wirework and laughable choreography. Don’t get me wrong, Kate Beckinsale is still a total badass in this movie. Unfortunately, that’s the only positive I can give the film. Every other character in this film is instantly forgettable and the villains are as flat as …hmm it’s a 3D movie, surely there’s a joke somewhere. Nope, I got nothing. – the villains are flat, okay?

Now of course, no one watches an Underworld movie for the special effects. They’ve always been below the typical big budget standards. I’ve never had a problem with the effects and yes, that includes Rise of the Lycans. The choppy effects in Awakenings are so bad that they’re actually distracting. It took me out of the film as I saw the character models literally skipping in framerate! It’s a real shame, especially when it is one of the first ever movies to be shot using RED EPIC cameras in 3D. (A similar technique is being used to shoot the upcoming Hobbit films.)

For me, all three prior films were fun. Each one developing the lore in its own way, but this…atrocity did nothing for the series. The tone of the film doesn’t even match the previous ones. If anything, I felt like I was watching a Resident Evil movie. Complete with genetically modified twenty foot tall zombies werewolves. It hurts to say this, especially when you consider the fact that the director of the first two films, Len Wiseman, wrote the this script and saw fit to produce it.

I guess that’s everything there is to say. This review is finished already. Awakening should have stayed asleep….you see what I did there?