Underworld

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)

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)

We are in the 21st century, gone are the days of individualists with two fangs, now we have whole families of vampires and lycans who organize themselves almost like political parties and wage wars among themselves like mafiosi. Vampires with electronic equipment and a massive arsenal of weaponry are nothing like the pleasantly decadent vampires from, for example, Jordan's Interview with the Vampire. Sorry, Director Wiseman, I prefer the decadent ones, or the posh Count Dracula, who with all nonchalance digs his fangs into an artery and needs no laptops or liquid silver bullets to do it. For a ridiculously low budget of 20 million I was treated to some very impressive images in places, but that’s not everything, script-wise it was as scratchy as Kate's tight leather outfit while walking, the war between lycans and vampires full of machine gun shots didn't entertain me at all, nor did the plot around the blood mixing. Basically, there was nobody to root for. A lot of silly fun, really. (13/07/2004)

This was alright. Kate in the corset and latex is decent at least. The purposefully colorized black-and-blue-and-white film is pleasing to the eye, but that's about all there is to say about it. Dramatically, it’s too straightforward, so the only films it can beat on points in its genre are the infamous Twilight saga films. (31/07/2012)

Underworld is definitely not an extremely good film, but it is visually attractive, musically well-done, and sufficiently atmospheric. Kate Beckinsale fits snugly into her tight suit, and the only thing that really bothered me, and paradoxically diminished the film's cool factor, were the sometimes dull and unnecessary digital effects. (29/11/2003)