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UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION (2006) Director: Len Wiseman. Hacktors: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Sir Derek Jacobi. Rating/5: The lowdown: Underworld Evolution begins where the original left off. If you haven't seen the first film, then here come a few spoilers. Having killed Viktor, Selene and Michael are on the run, hoping to appeal to the newly-awakening vampire king Marcus for clemency. Marcus, however, has his own agenda, which involves using Selene to free his long-imprisoned mad-werewolf brother William. Frankly, I'm amazed I understood that much: this is one complicated flick. Good points: Everything's much better this time around. Most importantly, there's far more action. With the first film having established most of the back-story (although there are still shovel-loads more piled on to us during these 100 minutes), the narrative adopts more of a Terminator 2-style dynamic, with Selene and Michael spending much of the story being pursued by the excellent-looking Marcus, who resembles a scarier version of the creature from Jeepers Creepers, complete with wings which double as stabbing implements. The CGI is noticeably improved, with some remarkable effects - the werewolves (oh, sorry: Lycans) look far more impressive than before. Slasherama-minded folk will also appreciate the added gore which splashes quite liberally throughout. Bad points: Unless you have the kind of brain which was able to absorb the family trees put forward by Tolkien in his Lord Of The Rings, you may as well zone-out whenever talk of ancient doings, bloodlines and various types of vamp/wolf hybrid are discussed. The Underworld series (and let's face it, it is a series, with a sequel and a possible prequel being discussed) would benefit from owning up to simply being an action/horror cross-breed, and ditching most of the brain-twisting details. Here, they're just window-dressing to a pretty thrilling ride. Overall: Wow, what an improvement. Underworld Evolution plays far more to the strengths of its original vamps vs werewolves concept. It has actually managed to make me interested in a third instalment. No mean feat... Release Date: Underworld Evolution hits theaters on both sides of the pond on January 20, 2006. [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present