MovieFreak.com - "Underworld" Special Edition DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

In the Underworld, Vampires are a secret clan of modern aristocratic sophisticates whose mortal enemies are the Lycans (werewolves), a shrewd gang of street thugs who prowl the city's underbelly. No one knows the origin of their bitter blood feud, but the balance of power between them turns even bloodier when a beautiful young Vampire warrior, Selene (Beckinsale), and a newly-turned Lycan, Michael (Speedman), with a mysterious past fall in love.

First-time director Len Wiseman brings a lot of gunplay and fight sequences into Underworld, a film with a relatively familiar and not so original story. Well, the twist to the story is a Romeo & Juliet type of romance set against a war between vampires and werewolves. This creates a problem on two fronts. First, the romance between Selene and Michael never feels real. They simply don't connect in my opinion, and the idea of the war coming to a frightening climax is not in the least bit threatening or compelling. Perhaps the reason for this can be seen in the script by Danny McBride, as well as the story by Kevin Grevioux, Wiseman and McBride.

Simply put, there is a bit too much exposition and dialogue to introduce viewers to this underworld. More than a few dialogue passages are either expository blather or disguised wannabe classic one-liners. Moreover, the conflict between Selene and Kraven (Shane Brolly), the leader of the vampire clan, is lacking intensity. For the most part, the character of Kraven doesn't seem fit to lead, and while the werewolves are gathering and growing stronger, Selene tries her best to make a point and get the vampires on the offensive.

Yet Selene is also somewhat of an outcast as she doesn't really fit in with the rest of the clan. Kate Beckinsale plays the part quite well, speaking in her native British accent and wearing an outfit that is to die for. In short, she seems very enthusiastic and looks just gorgeous in the film. However, co-star Scott Speedman seems less enthusiastic and brings no edge to the character of Michael. Michael Sheen is fine as Lucian, the obvious bad guy who has it out for vampire blood and domination. Meanwhile, Bill Nighy is pretty creepy as Viktor, the über-vampire, but doesn't seem all that exciting, although his fight with Michael in an underground shaft is well-done, and that's about as exciting as he gets.

Underworld takes place on Earth presumably, as humans are referenced by both the vampire and Lycan clans, but the script makes no attempt to identify the city or the passing of time. Given that, all of the film takes place at night, and therefore the story loses track of time and place, not to mention my interest. However, Underworld gets back up on its feet whenever an action sequence begins. During those moments the film is exciting to watch, but viewers definitely need to turn off their thinking caps to be entertained without question. The thing is, I didn't always turn them off.

Len Wiseman crafts a visually-stunning film with a lot of the interior sets and exterior buildings looking all gothic and ancient-like. But, the production design is never too original. In terms of cinematography, Tony Pierce-Roberts does a nice job, and the special effects look pretty decent. There are some pretty cool shots of bullets emerging from the skin of a Lycan and dropping to the floor. Those and some other action "moments" make Underworld exciting to watch, but the overall sense of the story is just not compelling enough.

Columbia presents Underworld in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a pretty visually stimulating film, and the video quality is more than accurate. Colors are very much subdued, a lot of black and dark blue. The color palette is a bit too dark for my tastes, and sometimes shots of blood looked much too dark. Blacks and dark tones look very solid. Sharpness and detail looks pretty accurate. Video resolution is top-notch. The print image is in good shape without any compression artifacts or scratches to speak of. However, there are some prolonged areas of slight grain. Overall, the film appears very gothic-like, and even though I didn't fall in love with it, Columbia's video transfer is very good and sharp nonetheless.

Columbia presents Underworld in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. If you're looking for an aggressive soundtrack presentation to piss off your mean neighbor, look no further. There is positive evidence of fine dynamic range, effective positional audio, crisp and clear dialogue, and solid sound reproduction across the soundfield. Surrounds are active, giving off nice ambience especially during the rainfall at the film's beginning. Rear speakers emit the sound effects with strong and crisp clarity. This is a very accurate and effectively loud transfer. Good work, Sony.

The extras menu begins with an audio commentary by director Len Wiseman, screenwriter Danny McBride, and writer/actor Kevin Grevioux. These three sit down together for a discussion about the film's location, actors, script, and other things. Their comments cover a variety of interesting matters most of the time, as well as a few droll moments. Overall, quite a nice track.

The second is a technical commentary is by creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, visual effects supervisor/executive producer James McQuaide, and sound designer Claude Letessier. Each of the three have something to say in regards to their job on the production, sometimes including a few interesting tidbits. There are more than a few gaps of silence, and ultimately this track is too average to sustain interest.

Making of Underworld (13:01) features clips from the film, on-set footage, and interviews with the main cast and crew members. The interviews entertain the film's premise but also discuss some technical aspects, such as creating the creatures.

Next is Creature Effects (12:28), a featurette that focuses on the design and creation of the Lycans creatures. Interviews, clips, and on-set footage appear here also, forming a relatively interesting featurette. It is followed by Stunts (11:41), which covers the training and preparation of the actors, wirework, and other stuff related to stunts in the film. It's a good watch. The last option in the "featurettes" menu is called Sights & Sounds (9:06), a montage of behind-the-scenes footage, including setups (wow!), that gives viewers a rather loose perspective of the production. Since there is no narrative to this segment it's not terribly exciting, but offers a few nice glimpses. However, most of the time people just wave at the camera or smile; that aspect of the montage is pretty boring.

Rounding out the extras is a storyboard comparison (6:41) of five scenes displayed on a split-screen, a rather dull music video by Finch for "Worms of the Earth", two TV spots, film's theatrical trailer, and a handful of bonus trailers, including John Carpenter's Vampires and Resident Evil. DVD-ROM features have not been included.

You can select to view the film with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. The 121-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters. A paper insert lists scene selections and Columbia recommendations.

Underworld lacks a compelling story, and the romance at the center of it isn't working as intended. Special effects and action sequences are entertaining, but those are only moments in an otherwise over-plotted story with too much uninteresting dialogue and shaky characters. Video/audio presentations are very strong, and at least half of the supplements are actually interesting. I'd recommend the DVD to fans of the genre. However, it's a rental for everyone else.

THE MOVIE	5
THE VIDEO	9
THE AUDIO	9
THE EXTRAS	7
OVERALL (not an average)	7