Underworld: Evolution

I had very low expectations going into this film.

To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the first film. I thought it had a couple of cool ideas, I was intrigued by the way they reworked the Romeo and Juliet story with Werewolves and Vampires, there was also a few cool Matrix-like sequences and production design.

I admit I have a weird soft spot for vampire movies, so that went a long way for me even finishing the first film. To tell the truth I don't really remember too much about it. I do remember that I hated....I mean despised the performance by Shane Brolly who played the weasel of a antagonist Kraven. For some strange reason he made the unfortunate choice to spit out, over articulate, and scream EVERY SINGLE one of his lines. Maybe he felt awkward with those fangs in his mouth. But I thought it was one of the worst performances I've ever witnessed on film.....seriously.....ever.

I'm sure it wasn't entirely his fault though. Some blame has to go to the director. The director has to look out for an actor when he's working on a film, especially when they are one of the leads. Who knows, maybe he's a decent actor who obviously just made a poor character choice.

In any case, I was in no rush to check out this sequel.

So imagine my surprise when I actually started to enjoy the film.

The thing is, I can't really pinpoint WHY I liked it.

I SHOULDN'T like this movie.

I mean if someone asked me to explain the story, honestly I couldn't do it. Because, to tell the truth, I didn't know what the hell was going on half the time.

All I knew was that Kate Beckinsale played a Vampire...A special Vampire assassin or death dealer, and Scott Speedman played a hybrid Vampire and Werewolf and they were in deadly danger. From something.....someone, some supernatural group.

That's pretty much the plot. People are trying to kill them and they are trying to survive. Sure there's a confusing subplot about the original Vampire trying to reunite with his brother, the original Werewolf. But all that stuff was just something to help structure the film, and try to create more excuses for some action.

That's what the whole movie is, just a bunch of visually stimulating well structured, and choreographed action sequences.

Literally if there's a door in the movie. It doesn't last long because some kind of creature ends up busting through it to create havoc.

Who knows maybe I was just in a mood for a mindless action flick.

Or maybe it was the chemistry between Scott Speedman and Kate Beckinsale. I thought they did a good job of carrying over the emotions from the first flick. They also share a pretty steamy sex scene that had a good build up. Which is kind of awkward considering she's married to the director of the film Len Wiseman.

I think also maybe.... in a way..... it reminded me of The Bourne Identity. Which I LOVED.

I guess.

Hmm....maybe that's why I liked it. The idea of romance developing in the face of extreme danger.

Maybe I was in a good mood?

Even Shane Brolly didn't bother me this time, although he mercifully isn't in a lot of the movie...and this time he doesn't scream every line. Maybe he picked up some tips on acting.

Who knows.... it's confusing...obviously.....I don't know why I liked it. Which is strange.

I almost sound like a critic who's been paid off.

But looking back, I guess there's a lot of stuff to enjoy. There's some cool special effects in the film. I thought the werewolf transformations were pretty tight. I also liked the gothic look of the film. The action always seemed interesting, and the film moves at a nice enjoyable pace. I liked Derek Jacobi's performance, his death scene where he explains that he can't kill the main villain because no matter what he does, he is still his son, was surprisingly touching. There's also about a billion explosions in the film, which usually bugs the shit out of me, but for some strange reason this time it didn't.

The more I write about the film. The more confused I get, because honestly I don't really ever like movies like this. I usually NEED a strong story, which this movie doesn't really have.

Hmmm...confusing.

In any case. I recommend catching the flick when it comes out on DVD. Maybe one can figure out for themselves why the flick works for them.

It arrives on DVD June 6th.