TITLE: UNDERWORLD AWAKENING
After a 3 year hiatus, UNDERWORLD is back for a fourth round!!! With Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as the vampire Selene after taking a break from the 3rd installment, things are looking to get hot and exciting again! Being a huge fan of the storyline behind the Vampire and Lycan races, as well as the super hot kick ass Kate Beckinsale, I was really excited about the movie and went to catch it within a few days of its release.
OVERVIEW: Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene who wakes up from a 12 year cryogenic state and finds herself in an unfamiliar existence. The world has discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans and are out to eradicate both immortal species, resulting in an all-out war ensuing.
MY RANT: I must say that Beckinsale looks hotter than ever in that skin tight suit, and she delivers the punches and sassy lines with her signature deadpan tenor that reminds us so much of the Selene we love (although I must add that I wished there had been more witty lines added to give more sass and humour to the movie). The story moves away from the crux that makes up the first three installments, which revolved around the history of the two immortal clans as well as the ongoing feud between them. All previous installments took place in a world where the humans were oblivious to the clans’ existence.
This fourth installment instead focuses on the not so distance future, where Selene wakes up from a 12 year cryogenic imprisonment state and finds herself in a world where Vampires and Lycans are being hunted and eradicated. After escaping from the facility in which she was imprisoned, Selene struggles to keep up to date with the changes of the times, while also searching frantically for the whereabouts of her lost hybrid lover Michael. Along the way she encounters a detective, a new vampire ally, as well as a young hybrid girl who has also escaped from the same facility.
For those who came for the action they won’t be disappointed. There is still the much loved scenes of blood and gore, and for once you even see Selene up against humans for a change; and of course they don’t stand a chance against her. The parts where Selene does come up against a human and annihilates them leaves a little uneasy taste in my mouth. This is because I am used to seeing her fight off the baddies, who most of the time are evenly matched with her if not more powerful. Seeing my hero Vampire warrior tear through defenseless humans kind of reaches a level of lowness for me. But anyway moving along, Selene does take part in some mean chase/action sequence and the CGI effects are pretty decent. The overall fight scenes are also entertaining especially one where a grenade is involved.
At the end, the movie closes with a cliffhanger, a sure sign that a fifth one should be coming along pretty soon – YAY! Though some people have criticized the show as having a weak storyline and the same old fighting scenes comprising of Selene slaying the baddies in her smoking hot leather suit, I would say SCREW IT. Most of the audience are (I presume) fans of the franchise, and I am pretty sure that they are not here expecting a deep and sophisticated storyline, they are here to have a ROCKING GOOD TIME! For me what sealed it was the fun factor and the excitement of watching my favourite Vampire Warrior return to kick some mean Lycan ass, and with some awesome CGI to boot! 🙂
I Read, I Watch, I Rant 