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Is it worth $10? No
“I’m not good with feelings.” So says vampire Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsdale) in “Underworld: Awakening,” the fourth installment in the “Underworld” franchise. That comment is an understatement, as the film moves swiftly from one set piece to another and we watch Selene coldly and brutally kill humans and lycans (a.k.a. werewolves) alike.
Those in need of a refresher are in luck. The film’s prologue shows us how humans enter into the story and sought to “purge” both vampires and lycans from existence. We also meet Dr. Jacob Lane (Stephen Rea), who regards vampirisim and lycanthropy as diseases for which there is no cure.
During their purge a group of humans, dressed in helmets and full gear, go into a vampire coven to clear it out. It’s here where we once again see Selene, who was missing for most of the previous film, a prequel called “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.” She’s prepared for them, and uses her super strength and agility to pick them off with ease in savage and bone-crushing ways. What got to me was the fact that she was able to get them alone and kill them one by one. Not that it would have made a difference plot-wise, but it made no sense to me that each one of these purgers would be out solo with not even a partner to back them up. There’s a reason SWAT units work as a team.
Selene is eventually captured and wakes up from cryogenic freeze twelve years later in Lane’s facility. Luckily, her leather dominatrix suit is in a glass display case in the lab with her, so she puts that on and looks for a way out. She escapes easily, mowing down her adversaries like they’re nothing more than paper targets.
Once free, she meets Eve (India Eisley), an adolescent lycan/vampire hybrid who may be her daughter, and David (Theo James), son of Thomas (Charles Dance), a vampire elder. David and Thomas provide the film with the one thought provoking conflict in the story. As leader of the remaining vampires, Thomas wants to stay in hiding and flee from trouble. David thinks that is no way to live and wants to stay and fight. Given that “Underworld: Awakening” is a hard R action movie, I’ll give you one guess as to who wins the argument.
What ensues for the rest of the film are various battles between vampires and lycans, similar to the previous installments. “Underworld: Awakening” is even filmed in the same cold, steel-blue and murky gray of the earlier films. This is understandable from a tonal perspective, but it’s terrible for watching in 3D. The glasses take an already dark picture and make it even darker. Plus, I cheated. There were times when I lifted the glasses up and looked at the screen with my own eyes. A true 3D image should appear fuzzy to the naked eye. During the times that I looked, the picture was crystal clear. There were 3D elements, to be sure—but only certain shots during certain scenes. The rest was done in 2D. If you’re someone who already thinks that 3D is a ripoff, this movie will really get you going.
Not only does this movie not need to be seen in 3D, it shouldn’t have even been done in 3D. And it shouldn’t have been done for theatres—a straight to DVD or download would have been good enough. “Underworld: Awakening” has absolutely nothing new or interesting to offer, and in many ways is a dark and ugly film with CGI that looks like stop motion animation. So I’ll go one better: Not only does this movie not need to be seen, there was no need for it to be made.
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caine1213
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... this movie was hyped up from the get go just like ang lees the hulk.it was much better if they continued at its pace where the 2nd one left off instead of jumping ahead.this just felt like that movie daybreakers ripped off.didnt much care for this one.they changed the formula and it backfired.it was called underworld for a reasaon,humans were unaware of the existence of both lycans and vampires.this 4th one was a death blow to the franchise and wouldnt be surprised if any follow up goes straight to dvd with little promotion |
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