UNDERWORLD

(2003)


Summary and commentary below by Cory Hanaway (2006).


Notes: 121 minutes.
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Bill Nighy.
Directed: Len Wiseman


Summary: A secret war that has been raging for centuries between vampires and lycans spills into Michael Corvin's life when the lycans and vampires have a shoot out on the subway. Michael falls in love with one of the vampires that is hunting the lycans, Selene. Michael and Selene have to work around the head vampire, Kravin, to uncover a plot to assassinate the vampire leaders and the lycan's attempt to blend the two species. Upon finding out that Kravin is working with the lycan's leader Lucian; the vampires lead by Selene attempt to kill all of the lycans.


Commentary:
A Romeo and Juliet movie with Romeo being the human Michael and Juliet being a vampire warrior rightly titled death dealer Selene. This film shows that both the vampires and the lycans still have humanity in them. They lie, betray one another, make pacts with the enemy, care about there social standing, and fall in love. The lycans are fighting the war for freedom from enslavement to the vampires and for their survival as a species. The vampires are fighting the war because their leader Viktor told them that the lycans started the war. These are all human traits that were not eradicated when these people became one of these two monsters. The only trait that has to be brought out is the forbidden love of one from the other species. Both of these species only seem to have gained from there transformations.

Both the lycans and the vampires have several abilities in common they can move extremely fast, jump high, heal quickly, and maintain full control of their minds. The lycans are allergic to silver so the vampires use silver nitrate bullets in there guns to give the lycans a lethal dose. The lycans use military UV tracer rounds to kill the vampires in one shot. Both sides are using the latest in technology to accomplish their goal.

On the horror side, this movie is lacking because both the lycans as well as the vampires don't care about humans except for Michael. There is no hunt of humans or search for a cure to vampirism. In fact the only human in this movie worth noting is Michael. Even he, at the end of the movie becomes a lycan/vampire hybrid. This fact that humans are barley a part of the move makes this not a horror movie, but an action movie.


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