Underworld

The key to Underworld is your level of tolerance for the screenplay that pretends to be serious but is actually naïve and unintentionally funny in places. Len Wiseman may have fulfilled a childhood dream, but he’s either forgotten about the more mature audience or he still has a pimply face himself. Even so, I can’t give this less than three stars, which is thanks to the spectacular production. The childishness is justified by the fury of the action scenes, the sets and mainly Kate Beckinsale’s sexy costume. If you’re not an admirer of Federico Fellini, the visual and aural aspects of this film will appeal to you more than its content will annoy you. (20/11/2003)

A terribly naive barrage of action that perhaps suffers from the inexperience of Wiseman as a director; he obviously shot the film with great passion, never letting the viewer breathe a sigh of relief with a relentless sequence of shootouts, chases and werewolf transformations. That's certainly a good thing, but with such a bland and silly story, it didn't really come together. I felt like the film was exactly the same from start to finish and ultimately didn't bring anything groundbreaking to make me remember it for a long time. Apart from Kate Beckinsale, the best was probably the demonic Bill Nighy, whom I couldn't recognize at first thanks to the thorough work of the make-up artists. (02/06/2012)

A film that is the biggest disappointment of the year for me personally. The fact that the touted story of Romeo and Juliet in the world of vampires and werewolves never happens wouldn't matter so much, but an action horror film with entirely unimaginative and static action and without a single thrilling moment is already a problem. On top of that, the acting is mediocre, the make-up effects are crap, the script, besides being pretty simple, has tons of logical errors and the direction is very subpar. It's a shame, because with its premise it could have been so much more. (05/12/2003)

Along with Ginger Snaps, Underworld is one of those series featuring monsters that I can't get enough of, despite my mediocre rating. The first episode has a really well done and atmospheric opening, including an introduction to the mythology of vampires and werewolves that draws the viewer into the story. I liked the hierarchy and the overall concept of the world of vampires, who, compared to werewolves (or here so nobly called Lycans), seemed more "aristocratic" – for example, covens and awakening elders. Like more than one user here, I have to comment on some of the illogical or even downright silly scenes that occurred from time to time in the film, such as the floor being shot through with a pistol (overall, Selene had a lot of rough bullets as they pierced the floor and walls at rest), the shooting sequence (a ton of bullets politely losing all the way against a few shots), or (possible SPOILER! ) the final duel between Viktor and Michael, which at times kind of reminded me of an awkwardly done game of strings and flying through the air (end of possible SPOILER!). But not to be a detractor here, I have to give credit to the decently done cliffhanger, which set the stage for the sequel, and also the decent soundtrack. It's a film that I like despite these visible flaws, which is why I like to come back to it from time to time. (03/09/2016)

I'm not saying it's a masterpiece, but in concept and treatment, Underworld certainly doesn't fall into the category of a purely "B" film: The sets, the art direction, the music, and the excellent action are the main pluses of this film, which otherwise flounders on its script. Underworld is far from being a sophisticated and intelligent vampire saga, but I was not bored, quite the opposite – I had a great time. A weaker 4 stars. (26/07/2009)