Leather-clad
“death dealer” Selene returns to the underworld
in another chapter in the gothic vampire-lycan war.
In this
new chapter, which picks up mere seconds after the first
film finds Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and her lycan-hybrid
lover Michael (Scott Speedman) trying to escape the resurrection
of Marcus (Tony Curran) and eventually unlock the secrets
of their entwined bloodlines.
Their
quest will uncover the origins of the war, an ancient tomb
and the devastating secrets of Marcus’s twin brother,
William.
“Underworld:
Evolution” is in the purest sense of the word, a sequel.
It picks up the story mere seconds after the first film,
delivers more information on our favorite characters and
ups the ante. As sequels go this is a pretty good one if
you loved the first film.
The
first film was drenched in vampire dogma which could bore
you to tears in places but by enhancing the tension and
upping the ante this sequel builds on the strengths of the
first film.
I have
always liked Beckinsale and her look is priceless to selling
this gothic franchise but I wish she could also do some
other projects away from these films. I really miss her
“Last Days of Disco” and “Uncovered”
days.
One
thing for me that I found more believable this time around
was the chemistry between Beckinsale and Speedman. It seemed
forced and awkward in the first film but much better here.
You have to hand it to Speedman for doing a full-blown love
scene with Beckinsale while her hubby is directing. That’s
gotta be difficult.
I really
liked the new supporting player Tanis (Steven Mackintosh),
the exiled vampire historian. Mackintosh is slimy, despicable
but capable at the same time. He is quite an interesting
character which I wish we could have seen more of.
Some
of the problems I had with the film were how everyone was
impaled, shot, sliced, diced and squashed but no one actually
died until the director said, oh yeah we need an ending.
The graphic and gory violence is done quite well but its
shock value weans and almost becomes laughable in parts.
I liked
this sequel and these films definitely squash out any competition
from the Blade franchise. I wouldn’t mind seeing a
third film but beyond that might be pushing it.