I first saw Underworld upon it's release in 2003 and honestly upon my first viewing of the film I thought it was just another generic vampire/werewolf action movie. A few years later the sequel (Underworld Evolution) (2006) was released and again I didn't really enjoy it all that much. Over the years more sequels were made that I didn't even bother watching after the first two. Since it's been almost eighteen years since I first watched Underworld. I decided to give the movie a second chance and watch the extended special edition on Blu Ray.
Underworld tells the story of a modern coven of Vampires who after over one thousand years of war with their arch enemies the Lycan (Werewolves). The Vampires have hunted the Lycan to the brink of extinction. A vampire named Selena (Kate Beckinsale) uncovers a secret nest of Lycans hiding in the sewer lead by a powerful Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen) who was thought to be long dead. Selena brings the news to the Vampire leader who doesn't believe her leading to Selena breaking the rules and going solo so she can uncover the truth behind how Lucian survived and how he plans to end the war between the Vampires and the Lycan.
Underworld is filled great looking action scenes of Vampires and Werewolves fighting with fangs and claws. Instead of using old fashioned weapons like wooden stakes and silver daggers. The Vampires shoot the Lycans with siliver bullets from modern day weapons like handguns and machine guns. They also use bullets with liquid silver in them that slowly kill the Lycans by entering silver into their bloodstream. Aswell as transforming into their Werewolf form and using their claws and teeth to kill the Vampires. The Lycans also use modern day guns with Ultraviolet bullets that burn the Vampires from the inside.
There's plenty of blood and gore throughout the movie including things like decapitations, severed limbs, Werewolves being blown up leaving chucks of meat and body parts everywhere aswell as Vampires and Werewolves biting each other and humans. The body transformation from the Lycans human form to their Werewolf form is done well with great looking special effects and CGI especially by 2003 CGI standards. The Lycans always look like they are in extreme pain when transforming which adds to the transformation making it look and feel more intense and frightening.
Kate Beckinsale is dressed in leather in every scene of the movie even when there's no action going on and she's just using a computer. The same goes for practically every character in this movie they all wear leather or black shirts with leather pants. The only time a character is without leather is when they take their shirt off or transform into a Werewolf.
I'm not sure if it's due to nostalgia or my taste in movies changing over the years but upon my second viewing of Underworld after almost eighteen years I actually really enjoyed the movie this time around. I grew up in the late 90s early 2000s when movie's like (Blade) (1998) and (The Matrix) (1999) were extremely popular. That particular era of movies can be defined by four simple words leather, guns, brooding, angst. Watching Underworld now in 2021 I realise just how much this movie is a product of it's time and really if it was released just a few years earlier in the year 2000 this movie would of been a lot more popular. Sadly by 2003 these kind of movies had started to become all to familiar with audiences including myself.
I highly recommend watching Underworld especially if you have never seen it before. If you have seen it before and you didn't enjoy it the first time around I recommend giving it a second chance especially if you grew up in the early 2000s.
Underworld tells the story of a modern coven of Vampires who after over one thousand years of war with their arch enemies the Lycan (Werewolves). The Vampires have hunted the Lycan to the brink of extinction. A vampire named Selena (Kate Beckinsale) uncovers a secret nest of Lycans hiding in the sewer lead by a powerful Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen) who was thought to be long dead. Selena brings the news to the Vampire leader who doesn't believe her leading to Selena breaking the rules and going solo so she can uncover the truth behind how Lucian survived and how he plans to end the war between the Vampires and the Lycan.
Underworld is filled great looking action scenes of Vampires and Werewolves fighting with fangs and claws. Instead of using old fashioned weapons like wooden stakes and silver daggers. The Vampires shoot the Lycans with siliver bullets from modern day weapons like handguns and machine guns. They also use bullets with liquid silver in them that slowly kill the Lycans by entering silver into their bloodstream. Aswell as transforming into their Werewolf form and using their claws and teeth to kill the Vampires. The Lycans also use modern day guns with Ultraviolet bullets that burn the Vampires from the inside.
There's plenty of blood and gore throughout the movie including things like decapitations, severed limbs, Werewolves being blown up leaving chucks of meat and body parts everywhere aswell as Vampires and Werewolves biting each other and humans. The body transformation from the Lycans human form to their Werewolf form is done well with great looking special effects and CGI especially by 2003 CGI standards. The Lycans always look like they are in extreme pain when transforming which adds to the transformation making it look and feel more intense and frightening.
Kate Beckinsale is dressed in leather in every scene of the movie even when there's no action going on and she's just using a computer. The same goes for practically every character in this movie they all wear leather or black shirts with leather pants. The only time a character is without leather is when they take their shirt off or transform into a Werewolf.
I'm not sure if it's due to nostalgia or my taste in movies changing over the years but upon my second viewing of Underworld after almost eighteen years I actually really enjoyed the movie this time around. I grew up in the late 90s early 2000s when movie's like (Blade) (1998) and (The Matrix) (1999) were extremely popular. That particular era of movies can be defined by four simple words leather, guns, brooding, angst. Watching Underworld now in 2021 I realise just how much this movie is a product of it's time and really if it was released just a few years earlier in the year 2000 this movie would of been a lot more popular. Sadly by 2003 these kind of movies had started to become all to familiar with audiences including myself.
I highly recommend watching Underworld especially if you have never seen it before. If you have seen it before and you didn't enjoy it the first time around I recommend giving it a second chance especially if you grew up in the early 2000s.