British Actress Blog

Underworld (2003)

Score: 8/10

Director: Len Wiseman

Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Sophia Myles, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy.

Underworld

Kate Beckinsale

Synopsis: A secret war between vampires and werewolves have been raging for hundreds of years. Selene ( Kate Beckinsale ) has stumbled upon a malicious plot to take down the vampire covens from within.

Review: A war has been raging right under our human noses and no one noticed? Guns blazing in subway station and not one camera picks up a werewolf transformation? How do you keep something this big a secret? The vampires also have their own blood bank and laboratory of synthetic blood. So I guess in media today, if you want to find vampires, look for companies that specialize in artificial blood, like the TV show True Blood by HBO. I wonder if this is some kind of vampires and werewolves version of Game of Thrones. Older vampires trying to keep control of the coven, werewolves trying to destroy the coven and take over the underworld, sneaky vampires making nefarious deals for control of the coven, and minor characters trying to manipulate the major characters. It is very interesting though. Its like this is the movie that sets the rules for the vampire and werewolf interaction. Like some kind of modern mythology.

Selene

Kate Beckinsale

Selene is more like a vampire terminator. No matter what happens, she will get right back up and keep working at her goal. She has very robotic reactions to everything that happens around her, but she is not human after all. She does what she personally feels is right. That is dangerous for the sneaky no good malicious vampires who are trying to usurp control of the underworld. Selene will stop at nothing in order to find the truth of what is happening around her. If she feels that some one is up to no good and is doing serious damage to her plans, she will eliminate them. She does not want to think about the past because it is too painful for her to bare, so she looks toward the future with very little emotions. She buries her feelings deep and tries to be some she is not. So Selene is not just a death dealer, she personifies the position like a bandage to cover her pain and not appear weak in front of the other vampires. She is a product of pain. Kate Beckinsale is enchanting in this movie. She knows how to keep your attention. She is a very experienced actress and one of the absolute best British actresses hands down. Her hard work and dedication to her art is well appreciated. Kate Beckinsale is one of the primary reasons I built this blog site. To show our appreciation to the incredible British actresses.

Erika

Sophia Myles

Erika ( Sophia Myles ) has an agenda of her own. She is very mischievous and plays every one around her like pawns on a chess board. Erika is an opportunists that will take any chance she has of making her schemes happen. She can be very vindictive and completely turn on some one if they are not inline with what she has planed for them. Kraven ( Shane Brolly ) is another whisper backroom dealer who has been left in charge of the vampire coven while Viktor ( Bill Nighy ) is asleep in his deep hibernation state. Kraven is just really not the kind of guy who can handle this responsibility. He has these strange delusion that he will get Selene to be his queen and makes some kind of deal that will give him great power. Of course Selene does not want anything to do with him. She is a death dealer after all. In order to kill and torture werewolves she has to be cold and heartless as much as possible. Even her interest in Michael seems rather awkward, like she does not know how to have a casual conversation with him, even taking into account the scenario happening around them. There are some really cool high tech weaponry in this movie. Almost like a video game where you get weapon upgrades if you have enough XP points. Its a bit deferent though, seeing vampires with a assault rifles and tactical gear clearing out rooms like a SWAT team engaging in CQB ( close quarter battle ). It was a bit hilarious to see one vampire with a sword. Like bringing a knife to a gun fight. They seem like a bunch of barbarians going hog wild just killing each other for some animalistic reason. Hate each other and try to kill as many vampires and werewolves as possible before you die? To what end? They haven’t been able to end each other in hundreds of years. I guess you can say that since both species evolved from animals, that is the root cause of their hard power instincts. Not to mention that humans have a war like past as well. The vampirism in this film is based on a virus. I see that a ‘virus’ is the cause of werewolves and zombies all through out media today from AMC’s The Walking Dead, To Resident Evil, To Marvel’s Blade, and so on.

Michael

Scott Speedman

So a version of evolution is present in this film. Michael is a hybrid. He is the next step in evolution. The first two Underworld films treat Michael well. They make him seem like he is important and some kind of key to victory. The later Underworld films? Not so much. Michael has an increasable head of hair and good looks, which makes some vampires happy like Erika and some vampires angry to see him like Kraven. Old hatreds have rotted both Viktor and Lucian ( Michael Sheen ) to the core. They only have death to offer the world. They believe that they are doing the right thing, but in reality, not at all. Lucian wants to end the war between vampires and werewolves, but this seems to make everything worse. Viktor is more of a ghost of evolution. His old ways do not adapt well to the changing times, from weaponry to the mentality of his subordinates. The film deals with the concepts of evolution in terms of Holly Wood movie logic evolutionary biology, generational differences, and aspects of mentalities. Viktor represents the old ways of thinking and operating. He is very disappointed with the performance of the new generation, their work ethic, and psychology . This is personified by the character Kraven who shows lots of youthful exorbitance. He thinks he knows every thing. He is arrogant and short sighted. Viktor being an older vampire can see many, but not all consequences of his own actions, Kraven on the other hand, is very gullible and a coward. In terms of movie logic in evolution, Michael represents the next step or a new generation that in not under Viktor’s control. Michael is literally everything that Viktor is trying to prevent and of course, he wants Michael to die.

Thank You!

Kate Beckinsale!

There is a lot cramped into this movie. It seems like there is not enough time to develop all of the story lines in this film. So obviously there are sequels. I like the first three Underworld movie better than the later stuff because these movie are consistent with their own narrative compared to the later stuff that throws lots of characters at you and has some characters missing from the movies for no real reason at all. Not to mention the later Underworld films do thing off camera which I really don’t like. Don’t get me started on the Alien films! Yes, I’m looking at you Ridley Scott! The cinematography is alright. There are times when the camera work is great and others where the camera angle makes a punch look really fake like the actors did not hit each others at all. I know the actors are throwing fake punches but the film crew are supposed to make it look real. The whole movie is actually very dark as far as lighting is concerned, but that is part of the secret, underground, and hidden narrative of the movie. You can tell that there is room for improvement in this movie, but of course this is the first film. I think of this one more of a classic. The film its self is OK. Not a bad start for a franchise.