Synopsis:
Selene is woken up after 12 years of being frozen in a cryogenic coffin. The vampire and lycan clans are near extinction and it's up to her to lead the fight against mankind and a new breed of super-lycans.
At last Werewolves vs Vampires the way it should be! Stemmed
in mythological and historical accuracy as well as set in this day and age (if
not a slight push into the future). The Underworld
franchise without a doubt holds the greatest incarnation of these horror legends
and after the painful let down of Rise of
the Lycans it’s good to see the series take a turn for the better with Underworld Awakening. It’s nice to see
some back story of course but so much was compromised to bring the history to
life I was worried the death dealer’s and their lycan enemies would never be able
to battle on screen in an enjoyable way again.
Understandably the previous film was gothic, in the sense of
when and where it was set, but it’s good to see Kate Beckinsale return to her
more contemporary gothic role and don the leather that made her so popular with
her audiences in her first two Underworld
outings. The gothic state of the films is what makes them feel so stylish and
cool. Let’s not pretend this a deep psychological thriller, it’s just straight
up in your face cool-wicked-awesome. The incorporation of guns and a modern
battle ground is what makes the franchise stand head and shoulders above any
Twilight take on such iconic beasts (I’m not a hater of Twilight, but it’s
impact on the portrayal of two of my favourite creatures of the night is
somewhat disturbing). This is why I’m so
glad they brought it back to where it belongs, the present.
Even though it’s set a dozen years into the future it doesn’t
feel too painfully different and so we as an audience still feel like we are a part
of the immortal struggle. The only issue is that because of this it feels like
a slightly cleaner, more HD battle between the species. Although this allows
for VERY exciting and elaborate fight sequences, the scenery is missing that
grunge that made us fall in love with the series in the first place. That dirty
colleseum that was the cities most terrifying underworld, the air littered with
silver bullets and UV rounds, is no more. Replaced with the clean hallways of the
building where Selene had been held captive for twelve years. It’s a fun
platform but it’s not Underworld, the
giant CG beasties not much of a replacement for what was achieved with makeup
the first time around.
But as I said the action is all there. Greatly improved from
the previous outing. This time we can actually see the action!! So rare is it
nowadays to actually SEE the action, and not be cheated or tricked into enjoying
it by quick editing and close-up hand held action that Rise of the Lycans was guilty of. It’s all fabulously choreographed,
put together and filmed. Then unfortunately comes the 3D. I try not to watch 3D
films, because obviously they’re a waste of a dimension, and I don’t mind
waiting to see the 2D version. But when traces of 3D’s obnoxious, in your face,
CG is coming at me in a 2D setting you can’t help but scream out to the heavens
“Why would you make the masses fall for this ridiculously damaging format!!”. There
is nothing cool about copying what has already been done in 3D films before, it
wasn’t cool then, and it isn’t cool now. When your films pride themselves on
being stylish pandering to masses with the occasional piece of 3D’s “ooo watch
out it’s coming at ya!” is one hell of a mistake.
Overview:
We’re getting there Underworld. A return to form for the
franchise but didn’t quite hit home. Another example of how 3D can ruin a film. I’m glad they left it open ended, because
it means they may have a chance to pull this back to it’s full glory.
Rating:
★★★
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