Review: Underworld

Directed by: Len Wiseman

Written by: Danny McBride

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Erwin Leder

Rating: [3.5/5]

Stories of vampires and werewolves have existed in fictional storytelling for decades in the way they take two mythical creatures that can make life difficult for humans but at times have their sights set on each other as rivals. Seeing them face off makes for entertaining discussions of who would win these face-offs, but none approach this concept through a more intriguing lens than Underworld as it brings something ancient into the modern world. 

For centuries there has been a bloody dispute between the vampires and Lycans, a type of werewolf, and after some recent dealings, the vampires have gained the upper hand. Now, a covert group of vampires named Death Dealers where Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a member hunt down the final remnants of these Lycans, she encounters a man named Michael who has become a hybrid of both vampire and Lycan. 

Underworld and its subsequent films never fail to fascinate me in the world crafted as we have this longstanding battle going back to when they used swords to now the Death Dealers brandishing handguns filled with silver bullets to eliminate the Lycans. Quite the juxtaposition of what one would believe this war would play out but they have to adapt to the times. Therefore, we have modern life happening around them yet they continue to fight out this war with many casualities involved and the way this film explored the inner workings on how the society of these two creatures work makes for all of the fun offered here. 

With Selene serving as our protagonist we spend the majority of the time learning about how this vampire society operates and it presents them as one would expect: a very ancient way of running their circle while also having this very punk 2000s look. One cannot help but view the way these vampires dress and not pick up on how much influence it took from The Matrix seeing as the all-black mostly leather look commands much of the wardrobe here. Outside of the look, we see how the politics work when it comes to the elders and what approvals must happen in order to get things done. As a character, Selene learns a lot more about the Lycans and vampire history and it does not always paint a rosy picture for her people. 

This hatred between the Lycans and vampires goes deep but what Selene and others in a similar position hear from the elders versus the reality and bloodshed spilled tell a completely different story. It’s hard not to watch some of these scenes and think about the corollaries we can make to our world regarding race and the anger that transpires if mixing comes into play but we can leave that for another day seeing as Underworld did not have the intention of going in that direction. 

Introducing Michael, the hybrid of both vampire and Lycan presents an intriguing wild card into the narrative seeing as this comes as an unprecedented situation where the film reveals his genetic bloodline goes back far longer and presents a different challenge the elder vampires want to eliminate permanently, which then leads to all of the action. While not helming the best action sequences, especially in this era, Underworld provides just enough in this area to make for some riveting sequences where we see these Lycans face off with the vampires. We see their two different approaches to battle making this race to get to Michael ever-important. Mixing that in with the blue aesthetic choice the film employs gives this feature a definitive visual presentation that may get old after a while looking at the later films but certainly proves to be its own, which we can always respect. 

Strong world-building with the introduction of more to come, Underworld provides the baseline entertainment anyone would want from looking at this vampire-werewolf rivalry through this lens. It certainly comes across as unique in its approach and it kept me engaged and wanting to come back for more. Kate Beckinsale does what she needs to do in this leading role and it’s always fun to see Bill Nighy as one of the vampire elders, Viktor, out there having some fun with this material.