One of the best looking releases and a great sounding one, “Underworld: Evolution” is likely the best overall Blu-Ray release yet.
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Vampires and werewolves are cool. Just admit it. You like them. I like them. Everybody likes them. Creatures of the night. Icons of the horror genre. Fangs. Odd eating habits. How can somebody possibly not enjoy either a vampire or werewolf movie? Hell, even Jack Nicholson starred as a werewolf. Since we are all in agreement that we love fanged bloodsuckers and furry fanged folk, wouldn´t it be sweet if there would be more movies involving these two cursed critters? What if said movies placed the creatures in question in a war? Wouldn´t that be sweet? Okay, perhaps I only think so, but the "Underworld" franchise has peaked my interest every since I first saw the teaser trailer for the first movie. Do you know what makes a film series that involves a war between lycanthropes and nosferatu even cooler? Kate Beckinsale.
Alright, so maybe "Underworld" and "Underworld: Evolution" aren´t exactly the end-all films I try to make them out to be in the first paragraph. The concept is great, but we´ve all seen great concepts flushed down the proverbial toilet. "Alien Vs. Predator" certainly comes to mind there. "Underworld" is a good idea for a film series. It covers the horror genre and the action genre. The film is heavily inspired by comic books and other commonplace of horror fiction. The excellent White Wolf series of games though enough about the first film to file a lawsuit claiming that "Underworld" was copyright infringement. For anybody clapping their hands and cheering in agreement of my opening paragraph will agree, "Underworld" is a great entry in the vampire and werewolf sub-genres. The big question still remains – Is "Underworld: Evolution" a good sequel and a good film for the mass market. And since this is an early Blu-Ray title, is "Underworld: Evolution" a good purchase for Sony´s new technology?
In a word, "Underworld: Evolution" can be called ´Entertainment.´ The movie is a visual treat and full of action and has lots of vampires and werewolves. It is a good movie to break out the air-popped popcorn machine and sit back and enjoy. As long as minor plot holes and a bit of cheese doesn´t affect your enjoyment of your popcorn and your movies, "Underworld: Evolution" will entertain you. It is not intended to frighten you or necessarily gross you out. It was also not meant to be the kind of film that is built for award season. Aside from an "MTV Movie Awards" nomination, it was barely noticed. Nope. You are not going to sit back and comment on the wonderfully engaging drama and stupendous performances. You are going to be able to sit back, cheer and enjoy yourself.
The story of "Underworld: Evolution" finds our lovely werewolf slayer Selene in hiding with the half werewolf, half vampire Michael (Scott Speedman) that she saved in the first film. She is on the run for their protection and her strong feelings from him have bound her to his safety. Unfortunately, they fall under the vengeful eye of the vampire Marcus Corvinus (Tony Curran) who is looking to awaken his werewolf brother William (Brian Steele). They are also being followed by the powerful vampire Viktor (Bill Nighy). They must stop Marcus before he frees his brother and all hell breaks loose. The adventure the two partake uncovers the history and the secrets of both the vampire and the werewolf bloodlines.
One of the strong points of "Underworld: Evolution" are its wonderfully dark and gothic look. I swear that most the film was some shade of blue, black or dark green in hue. The film had an expensive and polished look to it. The sets are good and even though "Underworld: Evolution" isn´t exactly "Bram Stoker´s Dracula," it is a visually impressive film. Yes, the costume design of Viktor looks like wet rubber at times (Do you think Bill Nighy likes wet rubber? He looked great in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man´s Chest."), the dark, seedy and violent world in which "Underworld: Evolution" takes place looks wonderful.
Another strong point is Kate Beckinsale. If you put Carrie-Anne Moss right beside Kate and have them dress up in their cute little leather outfits. My pick is Kate. She looks incredible. But, Ms. Beckinsale is much more than a tight body and a pretty face. She is able to bring validation to the character as a solid female hero. Not since Sigourney Weaver slaughtered a few misunderstood aliens has anybody really played a badass heroine. She looks very comfortable with firearms and fists. I´d have to say that I would not want to be on her character´s bad side. Kate´s character Selene is all about business and meeting the end goal. No wisecracks. No chewing gum. No bull. She looks good and she plays a wonderful part in the film.
The weakness of the film is its general lack of humor. Films that toss aside substance for entertainment typically try to tickle the funny bone or inject a bit of humor. Kate keeps a stoic face and doesn´t have time for a witty one-liner. Yes, it is a horror-action film, but one or two jokes wouldn´t hurt. At the least it would perhaps place the viewer in a false sense of comfort. Aside from Selene asking a near victim "Mind if I drive?," I cannot remember anything else funny in the movie. I still had a good time, but even the simply awesome "Aliens" had time for a joke or two. "Underworld: Evolution" takes itself too seriously at times and I feel that is the only real knock I have against this entertaining picture.
The film is, of course, a sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed the first "Underworld." If you dig around this site, you can see I scored it an ´8´ for Film value. I felt it was a great entry that wasn´t quite up to par with the first "Blade," but far better than that film´s sequels. Well, "Underworld: Evolution" rises above the sequels for "Blade" and sits nicely as its own picture. "Underworld: Evolution" is a better ride if you have seen the first picture, but it is still quite entertaining if it is your first voyage with Kate on the journey to eradicate werewolves. I can´t see the series continue much further after this picture, as I feel these vampires may get a bit long in the tooth. There are rumors of a third film as a prequel. There are rumors that Kate won´t be in a third film if it were given the greenlight. Let us hope they stay rumors and the series won´t go down the horrid path that poor Blade was sent on. Of course, it gets worse for "Blade." He has to become a TV-Series.
Video:
Thus far in its early life, Blu-Ray has been anything but visually stellar. It has been inconsistent and marred with flaws. For all of its darkness, "Underworld: Evolution" is one of the best of the early titles. It is very likely the best of the launch day titles. The 2.40:1 widescreen transfer features a consistently hi-resolution image and no apparent flaws except for the infamous ´blackouts´ that Sony´s initial offerings have suffered from. There are still a couple of scenes where the image is not as sharp as others, but for a large majority of the picture, the detail is astounding. Textures come alive. Floors, walls, leather, Kate´s skin and lycan fur all look incredibly vivid and sharp. I almost want to try and touch it, they look that good.
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[release]19061[/release]