Underworld: Evolution (2006, Movie)

Format: Movie (Blu-Ray)
Director: Len Wiseman
Distributor: Screen Gems
Release Date: January 20, 2006
Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

I had pretty lukewarm feelings for the first Underworld. Evolution did surprise me though. The movie picks up right after the original with the very first vampire, Markus, awakening from death. Due to Markus being the original vampire, he is much more powerful and resembles a bat much more than the standard vampire. The movie is all about the man who started the vampire and Lycan lines as well as the first vampire and the first Lycan (as mentioned in the first film). Lorenz Macaro, the original source of both the Lycan and vampire lines, imprisoned one of his sons named William (the first Lycan) long ago. William was permanently in Lycan form and was uncontrollable. Now that Markus is loose his plan is to set his brother William free. Selene and Michael from the first movie track down a circular item. It is basically the McGuffin of the movie as Markus chases after them to get it and it keeps everything moving along.

Just like the first film, the plot in this one has a lot going on. If you haven't seen the first Underworld then definitely don't start with this one. Since this movie doesn't have as much setup I and the runtime is about thirty minutes shorter it moves by at a much breezier pace and in my opinion is a better film. The villains and the characters are more interesting with the exception of Selene who still doesn't have enough depth. Hopefully Selene will develop into a more three dimensional characters in the later movies. Unfortunately the best scene of the movie is an opening flashback to 1202. It feels a lot like The Lord of the Rings and has no guns (due to the time period) which fits much better with the vampire/Lycan storyline. I know the next movie in this series is a prequel so hopefully it'll be more of that.

Just like the last movie, the action is really good here and thankfully this movie tones down the gunplay of the last movie. When I see vampires fighting werewolves the last thing I want to see is them shooting each other. Speaking of the Lycans, the CGI in this movie is quite a bit better in the few cases where it is used. For the most part the effects are done practically and they look pretty solid. I have no complaints there. This movie has one of the most graphic sex scenes (for not showing actual nudity) that I've seen in a movie in quite a while.

Overall, the storyline here is still pretty convoluted and hard to understand which is unfortunate. If you have seen the first movie and were able to get a handle on the plot then maybe this is for you. The action and effects are good and I think it is a superior film than the first but could still be quite a bit better. I have high hopes for the next movie (a prequel) but am not sure how the further sequels are going to go.

Spoilers

I feel like the death of Michael about halfway into the movie was effective and caught me off guard. His later resurrection felt forced and disappointed me because I found it much more interesting and dramatic with him being dead. If he was going to survive then the resurrection should have happened more immediately. It would have been less drama but his resurrection would have felt less forced even with his powers.