Underworld

Stay On The Surface!

Main Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen

Director: Len Wiseman

Vampires vs. Werewolves. I am a role-player, and I certainly could mention a certain company that puts out books that allow you to play either species. I am fondly remembering those times around the table playing as I write this review.

The story- um, well, it is a bit complicated. Apparently the vamps and wolves have been going at it for a very long time, and the vamps think they have the upper hand and have killed “all but a few” werewolves, but the movie opens when two or three vamps are hunting two or three wolves on a city street, then down in a subway station. I could mention the curious fact that they manage to do all this without a hint of police presence, but that would take away from the action scenes, which are pretty good. I have to give the movie credit for those: the action scenes are a rippin’ good time. Vamps bite necks (so do the werewolves, come to that), there is much roaring and hissing, and jumping around, and shooting guns (with silver and/or other special bullets used). At the end there is even swordplay, something required by law (I think) in all action movies in the past few years.

I guess I should introduced the characters. There is Selene (Beckinsale), a vampire assassin who kills werewolves, Michael (Speedman) a human that is rescued by her and may possess a secret, Kraven (Brolly), the leader of the vamps and appropriately named, and Lucien (Sheen), the leader of the werewolves. Oh, there is also Viktor (Bill Nighy), the real vampire leader who was asleep but awakened by Selene. There are plenty of other people, both vampire and werewolf, but at the end of the movie they all are down in the- you guessed it- underground, and all are similarly dressed (in human form, the werewolves get to turn into big creatures) and shooting each other. You lose track of who is for which side and frankly don’t care because all are simple props.

In the end, did I like it? Sort of. It has good style and the people look good in their ‘Matrix’-like clothes, and there is plenty of shooting and blood and terse, shouted commands. But there are plenty of better action movies out there. There are also some good vampire movies out there. See them instead.