Underworld: Evolution
Underworld: Evolution isn’t so much a sequel to Underworld, but more of a direct continuation. The original ended with an obvious setup to the next movie and as such, Evolution picks up almost immediately after the events of the first film.
I wouldn’t say the film really breaks new ground in the storyline as much as it goes back and explains details that were glossed over in the first movie. This means that despite his character being killed in the first Underworld, Bill Nighy is back with a fairly large part. This also means that if you didn’t like the first movie, you probably won’t like this movie. If however, you did enjoy the first movie, this fills in many of those little gaps in the storyline while providing more gunplay, werewolf vs. vampire battles, and of course vinyl clad Kate Beckinsale.
The focus of the film is the awakening of Markus following the deaths of the other two vampire elders. Markus is the original vampire son of Alexander Corvinus that was mentioned in the first film. As such, his brother William is the original lycan whose inability to control himself basically started the war between vampires and lycans. Through several flashbacks we learn that while Markus was technically the leader of the vampires, Viktor (played by Bill Nighy) was in control. Following the death of Viktor, Markus now begins to run amok in the search for his imprisoned brother.
In addition to explaining more of the origins of vampires and lycans, the film also explores Selene’s (Kate Beckinsale) background and the importance of her family being slaughtered. As they started hinting that the act was not random I became hesitant that they were suddenly going to turn her into some kind of chosen one or something. Quite frankly I’m tired of sequels where they take a hesitant hero from the first film and, following the first film’s success, create a back story in the second film that somehow turns him into some chosen one. Of course now that I’m actually trying to come up with one, I can’t, but I still say it’s an overused sequel plot point (I just blocked all those crappy sequels from memory apparently). Anyway, rest assured, they don’t turn Selene into any form of chosen one in this movie. In fact, Michael, the hybrid from the first movie who could be considered a “chosen one,” is downplayed into Selene’s sidekick.
As I said, this movie is very similar to the first. I was happy to see that they didn’t think they needed to go overboard with the fights and effects in an attempt to outdo the first as action sequels often do (I’m looking at you Matrix Reloaded and your completely useless 10 minute long battle/CGI extravaganza). The only noticeable change is that the gore factor has definitely been stepped up. While the first movie only had a guy’s head cut in half, this one has plenty of bodies being blown up or cut apart in addition to replaying the head coming apart from the first film.
If you’ve seen the first film and enjoyed it, I recommend this film (if you didn’t like the first film, don’t bother seeing this one). If you haven’t seen the first film, while you may enjoy the film, you may end of fairly confused. The flashbacks that review the first film’s events are enough to remind those who saw the first film, but not enough to explain events for those that did not see the first film. As a vampire/horror movie, I give this four stars. Enjoyment is also four stars and I’d venture to say I enjoyed this almost as much as the original if not as much as the original.
Vampire Horror: ****
Enjoyment: ****
I wouldn’t say the film really breaks new ground in the storyline as much as it goes back and explains details that were glossed over in the first movie. This means that despite his character being killed in the first Underworld, Bill Nighy is back with a fairly large part. This also means that if you didn’t like the first movie, you probably won’t like this movie. If however, you did enjoy the first movie, this fills in many of those little gaps in the storyline while providing more gunplay, werewolf vs. vampire battles, and of course vinyl clad Kate Beckinsale.
The focus of the film is the awakening of Markus following the deaths of the other two vampire elders. Markus is the original vampire son of Alexander Corvinus that was mentioned in the first film. As such, his brother William is the original lycan whose inability to control himself basically started the war between vampires and lycans. Through several flashbacks we learn that while Markus was technically the leader of the vampires, Viktor (played by Bill Nighy) was in control. Following the death of Viktor, Markus now begins to run amok in the search for his imprisoned brother.
In addition to explaining more of the origins of vampires and lycans, the film also explores Selene’s (Kate Beckinsale) background and the importance of her family being slaughtered. As they started hinting that the act was not random I became hesitant that they were suddenly going to turn her into some kind of chosen one or something. Quite frankly I’m tired of sequels where they take a hesitant hero from the first film and, following the first film’s success, create a back story in the second film that somehow turns him into some chosen one. Of course now that I’m actually trying to come up with one, I can’t, but I still say it’s an overused sequel plot point (I just blocked all those crappy sequels from memory apparently). Anyway, rest assured, they don’t turn Selene into any form of chosen one in this movie. In fact, Michael, the hybrid from the first movie who could be considered a “chosen one,” is downplayed into Selene’s sidekick.
As I said, this movie is very similar to the first. I was happy to see that they didn’t think they needed to go overboard with the fights and effects in an attempt to outdo the first as action sequels often do (I’m looking at you Matrix Reloaded and your completely useless 10 minute long battle/CGI extravaganza). The only noticeable change is that the gore factor has definitely been stepped up. While the first movie only had a guy’s head cut in half, this one has plenty of bodies being blown up or cut apart in addition to replaying the head coming apart from the first film.
If you’ve seen the first film and enjoyed it, I recommend this film (if you didn’t like the first film, don’t bother seeing this one). If you haven’t seen the first film, while you may enjoy the film, you may end of fairly confused. The flashbacks that review the first film’s events are enough to remind those who saw the first film, but not enough to explain events for those that did not see the first film. As a vampire/horror movie, I give this four stars. Enjoyment is also four stars and I’d venture to say I enjoyed this almost as much as the original if not as much as the original.
Vampire Horror: ****
Enjoyment: ****
posted by DJ | 2:17 PM
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