How do you like your vampires? Do you prefer them to be bloodsucking creatures of the night? Or pale and sparkly pretty boys? If you like them to be hot chicks in skintight vinyl, then Underworld: Awakening might satisfy your vampiric appetite.
Kate Beckinsale returns to the role of Selene, a vampire over 600 years old. Known as a Death Dealer, she was one of the best warriors in the vampires' conflict with the werewolves also known as Lycans. During the first two films, Selene fell in love with Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman, who declined to reprise the role), a human who was transformed into the first ever vampire/Lycan hybrid.
Awakening is set not long after the second film with the humans becoming aware of the existence of vampires and Lycans. Attempting to flee the city, Michael is seemingly killed and Selene is captured. She is placed in cryogenic stasis by a pharmaceutical company called Antigen. She is awakened twelve years later by another test subject named Eve (India Eisley), who is actually her daughter grown in a laboratory. In this new world, the Lycans have been hunted almost to extinction and the remaining vampire covens are in hiding.
Other characters include: Stephen Rea as Antigen's CEO Dr. Jacob Lane,; Charles Dance as the leader of one of the last vampire clans; Theo James as his whip wielding son; and Michael Ealy as a sympathetic police detective.
It's not much of a compliment, but Underworld: Awakening is the superior film in the series. The first two films were dull and bogged down by a convoluted mythology. The third film, Rise of the Lycans, was a glorified direct-to-video picture that delved even further into the boring backstory. Awakening is a lean, mean action machine directed by the Swedish team of Mars Marlind and Bjorn Stein. There's not a lot of plot, but plenty of sequences with Beckinsale slipping on a trenchcoat in slow motion and leaping off tall buildings before landing in an overly dramatic way. Yes, she looks pretty damn sexy when she's unloading a pair of Berettas.
Despite being rather thin, the screenplay is credited to a quartet of writers that includes Len Wiseman (who directed Underworld & Underworld: Evolution, Jon Hlavin, Allison Burnett, and J. Michael Straczynski. Awakening was probably a quick and easy payday for everyone involved. The story owes a lot to the Resident Evil franchise with the female protagonist, semi-futuristic dystopian setting, and a shady conglomerate as the villain. The dialogue is terrible and you're just counting the seconds before shit starts blowing up again.
Don't expect anything new from the Lycans. They are the same as ever, snarling creatures rendered by iffy CGI. The best anyone could come up with is a giant Jurassic Park-sized werewolf that can swat Selene away with ease.
By the way, I saw the movie in plain old 2D. Considering the film's look hinges on a dark and icy blue palette, I doubt it would be very watchable in 3D.
Much like, Contraband, another recent Kate Beckinsale picture, Underworld: Awakening is a prime example of the detritus generally released without much fanfare at the beginning of the year. Fans of the other installments will get their money's worth. I just find it sad that people would rather see this than Haywire.
Rating: ** (*****)
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