Hate to burst your sheltered little homo sapien bubble, but a savage war has raged for centuries unbeknownst to most humans. It’s an ancient blood feud between the Vampires and the Lychans (a fancy name for Werewolves), a sort of undead version of the Hatfields and the McCoys in which neither side remembers why the conflict began but both know that the only solution is the complete eradication of the opposition.
Matters are escalating even further these days with the development by each camp of new weapons (the Lychans have harnessed the power of sunlight in ultraviolet ammunition; the Vampires aim to bust caps of pure silver nitrate straight into the Lychans’ bloodstreams). With the impending promises of not only the full moon but also the long-overdue awakening of a hibernating vampire overlord whose return to consciousness will unite several bickering factions of bloodsuckers into a single ber-powerful coven.
And, oh yeah, Lychan head honcho Lucian believes he’s discovered a young human surgeon whose own muddy lineage may hold the key to a cataclysmic union of the Vampire and Lychan species.
Enter Selene, a Death Dealer (translation: a Vampire assassin with authorization to kill as many Lychans as she can on a daily basis) who breaks her clan’s covenant to help out Michael, the innocent medical intern in question whose life, since Lucian planted a big wet Werewolf hickey on his neck, just got a lot more complicated. The stage is now set for bullet-riddled mayhem, Gothic gore and scene after scene of stone-faced exposition.
Welcome to “Underworld,” a sleek, somber monster movie that talks itself blue in the face before baring its fangs only in cool, calculated moderation.
Style in the packaging almost saves the movie from mediocrity. First-time director Len Wiseman shows clarity and finesse in the action sequences, and the film is great to look at … for a while. The washed-out palette works well toward suggesting the nocturnal world of the vampires and Lychans, and the blacks, whites and grays make the garish red of spurting blood stand out more than it would in a brighter, more vibrant environment.
However, the drabness of the backgrounds only reinforces the prevailing emptiness of the script as the movie creeps to the finish line, buckling under a dialogue-heavy and action-empty resolution that exists more to plant seeds for a sequel than to satisfactorily wrap up “Underworld” part one as its own full-bodied entity.
Characters in “Underworld” are more props and set dressing than individuals, and the cast members struggle (with varying results) to add personality to their one-dimensional roles. Though the Vampires are consistently better marksmen throughout the film, the Lychans score points in the acting department with Michael Sheen’s fine Lucian and Kevin Grevioux’s perpetually frog-throated Raze.
Things are more overstated in the Vampire School of Performance, with Shane Brolly grunting and strutting around in outfits that would make Liberace blush as Kraven, and Brit thespian Bill Nighy offering up stale ham as Viktor, the cranky Vampire leader awakened a full century ahead of his due date. Scott Speedman is an OK Michael, though he seems to do most of his acting with his hair and sweat. This leaves gorgeous Kate Beckinsale to take up the slack in the other lead role of Selene, which she does by playing the camp for honest emotion and by simply looking great in a host of black leather outfits.
Overall, “Underworld” is entertaining but instantly forgettable, an interesting if failed stab at fusing hardcore horror carnage with more cerebral elements of drama and allegory.
You probably won’t regret having seen it (you may, in fact, be thankful if the inevitable “Underworld 2” de-emphasizes heavy-handed plotting and plays up the blood-soaked action sequences), but you may want to save your six bucks for something with more bite than bark.