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Review: Action-packed yet underwhelming 'Underworld: Blood Wars'
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Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is seen in "Underworld: Blood Wars." (Sony Pictures Entertainment/File)
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n the latest installment of the popular Underworld franchise, Kate Beckinsale reprises her role as the daywalker assassin Selene as she embarks on a quest to end the war between vampires and lycans.
With David (Theo James), her only ally, she strives to prevent lycan leader Marius (Tobias Menzies) from acquiring the blood of Selene’s daughter, Eve, which is said to catalyze and strengthen a lycan’s abilities. As a result, Selene is prompted to fight through the conundrums that linger within the vampire coven while struggling to come to terms with her and her daughter’s separation.
Underworld: Blood Wars begins with a recap delivered through flashbacks from Selene’s memory, featuring fragments narrated from her perspective — only this time, it is unnecessarily dragged out. Despite the odds, the sequence may delight those who require a brief explanation of the franchise’s basic premise.
Directed by Anna Foerster (Criminal Minds, Outlander), who is the first female director to have picked up the franchise, the movie has an incongruously fast pace throughout the first half. Unlike previous installments, this one has almost no stake worth fighting for. The movie only starts to matter once the second act picks up.
(Read also: Movie trailers to psych you up for 2017)
The action sequences emerge as the movie’s saving grace. The sets are as visceral as what audiences have come to expect. It has gore, body dismemberment and people drenched in blood from bullet wounds. Also, the sound design harmonizes well with the fights, and is arguably one of the best parts of the movie.
Most importantly, the hand-to-hand struggle between Selene and Marius is very well-executed. It is by far the main attraction for audiences.
Some of the main elements that the movie lacks are CGI and special effects. Unlike in the previous movies, the characters are noticeably distant from the backdrops in some scenes. The lycans' transformation sequences, one of the things fans have come to know and love, lack subtlety; it is difficult not to point out the disparities between special effects and real pictures.
Overall, the movie has a good basic concept, yet lacks in execution. Nevertheless, Beckinsale delivers another excellent display of Selene. Although a bit monotonous, given the fact that it is the fourth time she has played the character, she maintains great consistency. James is a breath of fresh air, and it is always enjoyable to see a “redemption” story on screen. (fmn/kes)
