Amazon.co.uk Review
Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003's surprise hit Underworld. Looking stunning as ever in her black leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy's fantasy as Selene, the vampire "death dealer" who's now fighting to stop the release of the original "Lycan" werewolf, William (Brian Steele) from the prison that's held him for centuries. As we learn from the film's action-packed prologue, William and his brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between them, their immortal father Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge. This ambitious attempt at Shakespearean horror is compromised by a script (by Danny McBride and returning director Len Wiseman, Beckinsale's real-life husband) that's more confusing than it needs to be, with too many characters and not enough storytelling detail to flesh them all out. Aspiring to greatness and falling well short of that goal, Underworld: Evolution succeeds instead as a full-throttle action/horror thriller, with enough swordplay, gunplay, and CGI monsters to justify the continuation of the Underworld franchise. If you're an established fan, this is a must-see movie; if not, well... at least it's better than Van Helsing! --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Underworld: Devolution.......2008-02-08
I was disappointed with the first Underworld. I loved the concept and there was of course Kate Beckinsale in that rubber hugging outfit. However I felt that I was so disappointed with the first that they may have managed to make the sequel better - they couldn't do much worse. I was wrong. Unusually Underworld: Evolution continues moments after the first film finished. Make sure you remember the story as you are only given a small not too great recap. The vampire and Lycan war takes a new direction in Evolution as hybrids are born (hence the title). Prepare for fight scenes a plenty, blood splattered over everything and a bit of flesh to give it that erotic edge. However the plot just gets ridiculous. Certain characters get described as becoming super and yet they never perform to this ability, certain characters you feel should do more, there is a big lack of explanation of some elements. As a whole Underworld: Evolution looks cheap. The splicing of live action with the CGI is too obvious and poorly done. Some of the set pieces are just shocking. Then there is the direction, lingering shots that make you wonder if the DVD is skipping in a loop, numerous closeups of female midriffs (we're talking overkill here), and the wire work is awful. But and this is a big but - Kate Beckinsale is back and that rubber suit is back, it even comes off for a short while. Scott Speedman declothes for the token male. Underworld: Evolution is another disappointment for this franchise. Blade had vampires, Blade had modded weapons, Blade has the kitsch costumes, Blade was first and did it better. Salvation may be a 3rd installment that takes the form of an origin story - just how did this Alexander produce a werewolf son and a vampire son??
A great action film.......2007-11-13
The special effects were good and it was fast paced. Great fight scenes. Nearly everyone I know enjoyed the 'Kate Beckinsale naked' bit. I was however disappointed by the lack of Werewolf Action. It spent most of the final battle trapped behind a wall, and didn't do much when it came out :P At least the lycans have been done well tho', which is more than I can say for a few films I've seen recently! :D
AN IMPRESSIVE SEQUEL.......2007-10-27
Going on the run from the vampires and werewolves, Selene, (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael Corvin, (Scott Speedman) who each want both dead, until Michael grows stronger from his change. Vampire master Marcus Corvinus, (Tony Curran) is awaken from his slumber and sets out on hunting Selene and Michael down. Going into hiding, they seek Andreas Tanis, (Steven Mackintosh) a reclusive vampire, and are able to learn the truth about the bloodlines of both species. Relying on his information as well as from their father, Alexander Corvinus, (Sir Derek Jacobi) they race to stop Marcus before he releases his brother William, (Brian Steele) and ushers in his plan to rule the world.
The Good News: This actually surprised me with some decent stuff. One of the best things is the upped gore content in the film. There's plenty of blood flow in here and is nicely covered by both sides. Even with the enormous amounts of gunfire in the film, which cuts up both pretty well, there's a lot of additional blood to be found. There's body parts being impaled with everything possible, including barbed wing tips, swords, knives and crossbows, decapitations with many of those same weapons, body parts sliced up with various gusto, a large amount of scratches and neck bites and more. With the addition of blood flow and splashes thrown in with them, it's a decent enough look for gore-hounds, who will find lots to love about this one. Aside from the gore, one of the best parts of the movie is the intense and hyper-accelerated action sequences, which makes it all the better. It's hard to pick a favorite, but the best might be the opening flashback on the village assault. A group of vampires wanders into a village of werewolves, they start to get attacked by the transforming victims and a large-scale fight occurs that is breathtaking in it's ambition and pace. Limbs fly everywhere, blood-splatters against anything in it's path, and weapons are utilized to great extent, with each side taking huge losses in the battle. With some great ideas and execution, it opens the film in great fashion and sets the tone it will follow afterward. The truck-chase also works well, thanks to a couple of clever little scenes inside that drive up the suspense for it and doesn't stop the fact that it's a great action sequence any less. The only scene that might top the beginning of the film in the action stakes is the ending, which is of the spectacle not normally seen in a horror film and features tons of stand-out moments in it that will linger for awhile. That some of those involve a helicopter sequence that's not to be missed is a great example and one that leaves a large mark. There's really no stop to them either, as they come flying one after another in a long series of sequences that serve as excuses to use them. There's very little down-time between everything, and it constantly throws a series of action scenes together is nicely appreciated. There is still a lot to like in the creature's make-up, especially the werewolves. They really look great in here, with the large powerful bodies and huge heads from the first one but a minor change in the facial rearranging done to make them more wolf-like. Another new feature is some additional body hair that comes up in new areas, and is another nice addition to making them more menacing. This also extends to the main villain, who has a great design and looks really good. The wing-tips look great and are a great plus, and with the demonic face, make for a great monster. Throw in some suspenseful stalking sequences and this is a much better sequel than it should've been.
The Bad News: There is really only a couple of things wrong with this one, and they're not that bad. The main one is that the film really makes no sense. By tying up all the story lines is a much needed affair, but it really leaves the film to hung up on it's talkier side between action sequences. The fact that all of them are supposedly tied up at the same point is another problem, since it requires knowledge of what happened before and from the first movie, and to keep track of three or four separate ones is a little taxing. For such a strong creature, it really never treats Michael all great, since all he really does is get knocked out and force the other characters to keep him alive. It doesn't inspire a great deal of threat and menace from him. The last big problem is the same one that hampered the first one, which is that the highly stylized look to the film doesn't do it much favor. It's glossy for the appeal to the viewer and not to help the story out much, and it gets tiresome having to constantly stare at it in that fashion. But otherwise, this wasn't all that bad.
The Final Verdict: There wasn't a whole lot to dislike in this one, and it's a better film than it's predecessor. While there aren't a lot of flaws, the ones that are there are noticeable and keep it from being a perfect film, but it's still a no-brainer for fans of the first one to check this out as soon as possible.
Might make a good computer screen saver.......2007-07-21
This movie looks great, the special effects are spectacular and there is a lot of action. All the ingrediants for a great exciting movie? Yes... - but it has a weak unbelievable plot and the violence is pointless. Why bother to keep shooting someone if you can't kill him with a gun? It rapidly becomes irritating. This movie might look good as a computer screen saver but I think I'll stick with my aquarium.
In a moment of weakness I have to say...........................2007-06-12
I really rather enjoyed this.Better than it's predecessor due to it being non-stop action from first to last.
Picking up straight after Underworld,death dealer Selene(Beckinsale)together with hybrid Michael (Speedman) continue their battle with lycans etc etc.
Story gets confusing at times with too many characters, some ropey dialogue but everyone admirably plays it straight which is why it stands up.Okay Beckinsale is great in close up and not so in longshot but the CGI here is better than the first one (witness a great sequence involving a tanker),colour schemes are suitably lush and gothic and director Wiseman handles the action with aplomb.
Critics rarely get it universally wrong but they did here.As genre pictures go this is seriously good fun.
UK DVD:
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