Underworld / Underworld Evolution
I managed to catch up with Underworld’s recent sequel, Underworld Evolution, this weekend. While the first film has a decent plot and good action, I was a little disappointed with it’s follow-up. The film starts where the last film left us - the Vampire elder, Markus is awaken by the blood of a Lycan and sets about tracking down Celine and her Lycan partner Michael.
Stylistically, both films are a winner. The CGI in the sequel was significantly better and the decision to continue the story of the first film worked well. However, while Underworld works as a decent standalone piece with a beginning, middle and end (plus the cliff-hanger that leads into Evolution), Evolution doesn’t. It’s is very much a continuation and instantly alienates anyone who hadn’t watched the first film with little exposition. I watched both films back-to-back and even then I was still confused as to what was going on for the first 45 minutes.
Kate Beckinsale was good, although Scott Speedman struggles in a lead role. Len Wiseman’s direction seems to have taken a step down since the first outing, opting for more quick cuts rather than decent choreographed action scenes.
The first film gets 7/10, the second gets either 5/10 if you’ve seen the first or 3/10 if you haven’t.