After a relatively long hiatus and plenty of anxiety for fans of the franchise, Screen Gems has finally rolled out another “Underworld” film, the fourth: “Underworld: Awakening.” Kate Beckinsale is back as the breathtakingly beautiful vampire Selene, but the rules of the war have changed drastically. There's still a war raging (what else are you to do when you live forever?), but the enemies have shifted. Vampires are no longer going up against the Lycans (werewolves, for the uneducated) because they're both being hounded by the humans.
The first couple of minutes serve as a very welcome prologue for those fans who might have forgotten the events of “Underworld” 1 and 2 (the third,
“Rise of the Lycans,” which Beckinsale sat out, is not too subtly left out).
We see Selene as a member of the vampire subcult the Death Dealers, we see her fall in love with hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman, replaced by a CGI-fudged lookalike in the rest of the film) and all that trouble that created.
Next up, humans are suddenly smarter, realizing that, for the past hundreds of years, they've been co-existing with not one, but two species of the undead. They proceed to a massive ethnic cleansing, “The Purge.”
Using the same trick as in the “Alien” franchise, “Underworld” moves ahead in time 12 years in a flash: Selena was captured by an evil science corporation that vowed to find a cure to the “illness” of vampirism and Lycanism, prodded, studied and analyzed in suspended animation.
“Subject 2,” a little girl with an angelic face and powers the kind neither clan has ever seen, escapes from the same laboratory, helping Selene come back to life – and slip right into her forgotten but not discarded black latex suit and leather corset.
“Awakening” ditches some of the heavy mythology and complicated subplots of the previous two installments (
“Rise of the Lycans” is a prequel, so it will not be included in this conversation), relying mostly on two major plot twists as backbone for the entire story.
Obviously, we're not going to reveal them here because, even if deemed insufficient and rather puerile by film
critics, they must be duly appreciated by fans.
We'll just say that “Subject 2” is as essential for the Lycans as she is for the vampires, wherefrom Selene sees her maternal instincts kick in to protect her. Not that she's that defenseless, come to think of it: this little girl is definitely strong enough to fight her own battles.
She still needs Selene though, who is now crueler and more dangerous than ever. She also has more to lose than she had in the previous two films.
This alone is a good excuse for the creative team behind “Awakening” to come up with awesome action scenes, which see her fly through the air, run on the side of buildings, execute perfect jumps from high up above, and strut to and from the camera in slow-mo while flipping her long trenchcoat.
Yet, even though the viewer knows all this is done with lots of wires and CGI, Beckinsale executes them with such grace, elegance and flexibility as to seem a natural. And incredibly awesome, as well.
When she takes out her dagger and stabs a car into motion, you almost feel as if that's the proper way to hijack a vehicle.
When not slaying Lycans or killing humans to feed on them, Selene doesn't emote. “I'm not really good with feelings,” she says at one point. In other words, don't even think to hold it against her if you feel there's really no serious acting behind her performance.
As neither is there behind the roles of the supporting cast. Stephen Rea as the evil scientist Dr. Jacob Lane seems almost remorseful to have accepted the part, while Charles Dance as Thomas, leader of a vampire covenant, tries to play it cool but comes across as rather unconvincing.
Theo James as David, Selene's only ally at one point, serves just to spit out clichés – as also does the only human directly involved in the battle, Detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy).
With all this, the film doesn't slack, despite the obvious plot holes, very questionable 3D and sometimes only decent special effects.
If there ever was a movie to rely solely on its leading star and the very powerful character created so many years ago, “Awakening” is it. Selene is the focal point of the entire flick and it's not just because she's this impossibly gorgeous: she's a real tough cookie and it pays to have her do absurd things for the cameras just to prove that.
All flaws aside, considering that the premise of the film alone makes it impossible for the viewer to feel any kind of sympathy for the leading character, “Underworld: Awakening” is highly entertaining and visually impressive. Fans shouldn't miss it.
“Underworld: Awakening” runs for 88 minutes, and is rated an R for strong violence and gore, and for some language. It opened in the UK and the US on January 20, will arrive in other European countries starting February and conclude its run in Sweden on March 16.
The Good Selene is one of the strongest female characters ever to carry a franchise on her own: she's gorgeous and she's tough. Kate Beckinsale is arguably the most important reason people will pay good money to see “Awakening.” Action scenes are also quite impressive.
The Bad Shot in dark blues, “Underworld: Awakening” is only made that much darker by the botchy 3D. You can count the “real” 3D scenes on the fingers of one hand, so make sure you catch it in IMAX instead.
Lackluster dialogue and awkward plot are two of the other flaws listed by
critics, but fans should probably make up their own mind about those.
The Truth Directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, the film has a very European quality in its blue tinge and silver accents, but also in the way it’s edited and put together against the expected blood-rushing score.
“Awakening” is the strongest in the franchise after the original, but it definitely doesn't invite any new fans in.
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