Underworld: Evolution begins where Underworld finished and vampire Selene and Michael, the werewolf hybrid, are on the run from the vampires. Meanwhile, Selene's last remaining elder Marcus, who now is a very powerful vampire, has awakened and his mission is to awaken his Lycan brother William. Together with Michael, Selene must find the clues to unlock the secrets of their respective bloodlines and stop Marcus before time runs out.
I expected Underworld: Evolution, while might be entertaining, still not to be a very good sequel to the first movie, that is Underworld. I was way wrong, not with it not being entertaining, but it's actually a really good sequel, far better than I had expected. This one exceeds Underworld when it comes to action, blood and guts, and that was something that came as a great surprise. While it still stays true to the original and has the same feel to it, the violence and action sequences are so much greater here, and at times it was hard not to get all excited.
It looks brilliant and the combination between the use of swords and guns are just great and adds to the fantasy and mythology feel even if the movie takes place in modern time. There's a lot to take in and you need to have seen Underworld before watching Underworld: Evolution. It continues where the first movie left off, and while we still get a lot of flashbacks from things that happened in the first movie, we are at the same time introduced to new characters and a different plot. It gets a lot of credit here for going it's own way while still staying true to Underworld. It also feels like the viewer gets to know the characters better here as well, the character development is much better than in the original.
Fans of Underworld will probably not be disappointed with Underworld: Evolution. I found myself liking it better than the first movie, which is something that does not happen very often, that a sequel tops the original. On the other hand, Underworld was made so most people could enjoy it, but this sequel is definitely aimed for an adult audience. The battle scenes are much more brutal and nastier than in the first film, so are the death scenes and the use of gore, and add to that some actual sex. The first movie didn't have anything that even comes close to what the second one has, it only had the cool action sequences but Evolution exceeds it there too, the action sequences here are fantastic.
Another great thing is that the use of CGI effects are minimal, movies like this these days have a tendency to overdo it when it comes to the use of these types of effects, but luckily Evolution did that right too. The special effects and the make-up looks great and the werewolfs look extremely cool and nasty as hell. Actually everything looks extremely good. The hybrid Michael is much more interesting and raw here than in the first flick, he battles a lot of werewolfs and rips their heads off and stuff, if nothing else, it sure puts a smile on your face.
One thing that stops this movie from getting the highest rating is that there's just so much to take in, and sometimes the movie kinda struggles with trying to explain itself. You have to pay full attention at all times to not miss out on anything. This is the type of movie that, even if it's extremely enjoyable the first time, it still might require a second viewing. The other thing that brings Underworld Evolution down a little is Beckinsale. Even though she's perfect as Selene and does a really good job with her character, the problem is that it's impossible to get under her skin so it's hard to feel anything for her, despite all she has to go through. The character development is good, but not so good that it will make you care that much.
While it looks amazing in this blueish tone, add to that the scenery which is just awesome. The mountains, the castles, the dark and snowy woods among other things, everything just looks fantastic and delivers a really good feel. The atmosphere is great the movie throughout, and even if the story gets to be too much at times, it never gets dull or will make you loose interest since stuff happen all the time.
Far better than I had expected and ended up beating the crap out of the original. Definitely a movie that requires a second viewing, but was one hell of an entertaining ride the first time viewing it. Looks absolutely fantastic, and I wouldn't have nothing against the same director making a third installment and making it a trilogy. Highly recommended.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Underworld 2
MOVIE YEAR: 2006
DIRECTOR: Len Wiseman
WRITING CREDITS: Danny McBride, Len Wiseman
GENRE: Horror, Action, Fantasy
CAST: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 106 min
RATING: 8/10
Underworld: Evolution Website/IMDB Click here
Underworld: Evolution Trailer Click here
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