Product Description
-------------------
There's more to the Underworld universe than ever before! The
Essential Collection includes all three films, and for the first
time ever, exclusive original anime shorts.
.com
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Underworld
Blade meets The Crow and The Matrix in Underworld, a hybrid
thriller that rewrites the rulebook on werewolves and vampires.
It's a "cuisinart" movie (blend a lot of familiar ideas and hope
something interesting happens) in which immortal vampire "death
dealers" wage an ancient war against "Lycans" (werewolves),
who've got centuries of revenge--and some rather ambitious
genetic experiments--on their lycanthropic agenda. Given his
preoccupation with gloomy architecture (mostly filmed in
Budapest, Hungary), frenetic mayhem and gothic costuming, it's no
surprise that first-time director Len Wiseman gained experience
in TV commercials and the art departments of Godzilla, Men in
Black, and Independence Day. His work is all surface, no
substance, filled with derivative, grand-scale action as
conflicted vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale, who later became
engaged to Wiseman) struggles to rescue an ill-ed human (Scott
Speedman) from Lycan transformation. It's great looking all the
way, and a guaranteed treat for horror buffs, who will eagerly
dissect its many strengths and weaknesses. --Jeff Shannon
Underworld: Evolution
Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make
Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003's
surprise hit Underworld. Looking stunning as ever in her black
leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy's fantasy
as Selene, the vampire "death dealer" who's now fighting to stop
the release of the original "Lycan" werewolf, William (Brian
Steele) from the prison that's held him for centuries. As we
learn from the film's action-packed prologue, William and his
brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and
werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between
them, their immortal her Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks
Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott
Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill
Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns
Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge. This
ambitious attempt at Shakespearean horror is compromised by a
script (by Danny McBride and returning director Len Wiseman,
Beckinsale's real-life husband) that's more confusing than it
needs to be, with too many characters and not enough storytelling
detail to them all out. Aspiring to greatness and falling
well short of that goal, Underworld: Evolution succeeds instead
as a full-throttle action/horror thriller, with enough play,
play, and CGI monsters to justify the continuation of the
Underworld franchise. If you're an established fan, this is a
must-see movie; if not, well... at least it's better than Van
Helsing! --Jeff Shannon
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
This prequel to Len Wiseman’s Underworld and Underworld:
Evolution is distinctively different, especially minus the nimble
vampire warrior star, Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Underworld: Rise
of the Lycans takes its cues from the vampire/werewolf battles
that occur in the other films, but director Patrick Tatopoulos
focuses here on the young werewolf Lucian's (Michael Sheen) rise
to leadership. Rise of the Lycans is set mostly within the walls
of vampire lord Viktor’s (Bill Nighy) castle, so the film’s
silver, black, and blue palette reflects a world happening under
moonlight. From the outset, when Viktor brings Lucian, the first
werewolf, into the world, this villainous bloodsucker’s daughter,
Sonja (Rhona Mitra), is smitten with Lucian’s hairy appearance
and instinctual intelligence. As years pass, Lucian grows tired
of watching his race suffer slavery and imprisonment, and
recruits a human named Raze (Kevin Grevioux) to assist rebellion.
This archetypal plot is not so riveting, and what carries
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans are the battle scenes between
vampires and werewolves, which are excitingly fast-paced and
brutal. The whole film adopts a medieval battlefield aesthetic
that carries an otherwise clichéd story about illicit love and
freedom fighting. Some characters, like the traitor vampire
Tannis (Steven Mackintosh), also intrigues throughout, as one
guesses who he will ally with. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans may
not be the finest film in the werewolf and vampire archives
independently, but its mixed monstrosity makes it unique and
entertaining, especially on a big screen. --Trinie Dalton