Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Torrin-McFinn77 I'd heard so many negative reviews about this movie but I actually saw it in theaters with a friend. This was the first Kate Beckinsale film I actually liked. She made a good vampire she-warrior. It's no longer good versus evil but a story of survival. Who are the true villains? Vampires or werewolves? Or is there something darker at work? There's a lot going on and I found myself wondering who was who and what was going on throughout the film. It went pretty quickly. But in the end, it was a satisfying story that ended with an opening for a sequel. I remember coming out of the theater and hearing two people, a man and a woman, talking about it. They were both older than me, and the man apparently enjoyed it, but the woman said it was stupid. Or something like that. But as for me, it wasn't the worst film I had seen. It's no Oscar contender either but most movies aren't Oscar worthy. I mean, who really needs the Oscars? It's just a clique. Anyway, back to the movie. I was entertained and I especially liked how the makeup was done on the characters. Really creepy but cool. If you want action and vampires and werewolves, try this.

TaliannaakaShyWolf When Underworld was release in the theaters I didn't bother seeing it, because of the bad reviews. I recently rented it because the video store didn't have anything better to offer, that I had not already seen, and I must say that I was very much surprised. It was far better than expected. I especially liked the acting of Bill Nighy as the vampire lord Viktor, and Micheal Sheen as the werewolf leader Lucian. I think that the plot is quite strong, and it does not ruin the vampire or werewolf legend. What i didn't like as much was the werewolf costumes. I didn't find the convincing. But apart from that, it was very entertaining, and I am looking forward to see the sequel i the theaters.

Thomas Drufke There's guilty pleasure movies, and then there's the garbage like Underworld that take themselves way too seriously in an attempt to make silly action fun. What could pass as an entertaining and visually dazzling cable watch ends up as a confusing romp of a fantasy adventure.I'm a fan of Kate Beckinsale. I think when she's used right, she's of immense value to any film she's a part of. Take Love & Friendship from earlier this year for example; she was given a solid script and the room to use her British wit & charm in a rewarding performance. Sure she's gorgeous to look at in Underworld, but I can't help but think that the writing didn't allow her to truly show her chops. With that said, her ability is clearly superior to the awful supporting cast. Some of the supporting performances (Shane Brolly) are disappointingly off-putting.Much like a ton of early 2000's action films, Underworld suffers from trying to emulate The Matrix too much. It's always raining, the action scenes are darkly lit, and the characters are in a constant slow motion gaze during the shootouts and fights. I can't necessarily blame Underworld for having bad action, it was simply a product of its time. In fact, there are some good looking stunts here, most of them in camera as well. That's when Underworld is at its most appealing.When Underworld takes itself too seriously and the story is bogged down by exposition scenes (that actually make the film more confusing) it's no fun. The reason I went back and began the franchise this many years later is because I was hoping to have a fun franchise to go to the theaters for in a few weeks with Blood Wars being released. Whether I stick with the franchise or not, I'm not sure. But I know one thing for sure, Underworld's first film is painful to watch.+Beckinsale is watchable+Some nice stunt sequences-Really bad script/dialogue-Supporting performances-Ultimately generic4.8/10

Tweekums As this film opens we are told that a war once raged between Vampires and Lycans (werewolves) but six hundred years ago the Vampires killed Lucian, the leader of the Lycans and the war was over; since then the Vampires have been mopping up what was left of the Lycans. Then during one such operation Selene, one of the Vampires, senses that a nest of Lycans contains far more than had been seen in centuries. Her leader, Kraven, is dubious but she is convinced and investigates what the Lycans were doing. She is surprised to see they appear to be following a specific human; Michael Corvin.It turns out the he is a direct decedent of the ancestor of both Vampires and Lycans and could potentially become a hybrid of both! The Vampires are determined to kill him but Selene isn't so sure. As time passes she learns that much of what she has been told is untrue and if she is to survive she will have to battle both Lycans and Vampires.This is a decent fantasy adventure; they is lots of action throughout and an interesting story. The setting is dark and moody which gives the film a good feel; this is added to by the fact that the characters seem to have a thing about wearing black. This is especially true of Kate Beckinsale who looks fantastic in tight black PVC; she isn't just there for her looks though; she does a fine job in the role. She is ably supported by Michael Sheen as Lucian and Bill Nighy as Viktor, the most powerful of the Vampires. Scott Speedman is slightly less impressive as Michael but that could be seen as a deliberate attempt to make the human character less of a presence than the supernatural creatures. The action is directed stylishly and nicely updates the vampire/werewolf mythology with modern weapons used to fire special bullets that play on each creatures traditional weaknesses. Overall a solid enough film that fans of the genre are likely to enjoy.