Geek Movie Review: Underworld Awakening (3D)

Kate Beckinsale is back in her shiny, skin tight suit for Underworld Awakening and just as dangerous as she was before. Set after the events of Underworld: Evolution, humans are targeting non-human species (the Lycans and Vampires) and cleansing them, as everyone in the movie puts it.

The movie starts out shortly after the end of Evolution. There are convenient flashbacks from Selene’s point of view that will refresh your memory of the first two movies.  The majority of it takes place after Selene and Michael are captured and taken to a lab to be studied. The public demands a cure, and Michael’s hybrid status might provide it. Many years go by, but another subject (aptly named Subject 2) helps Selene escape. Both Lycans and Vampires are living underground, rarely emerging from their sanctuaries in fear of being executed on sight.

Selene has these two guns that are practically automatic and rarely need new clips, but do run out and the most inconvenient time.

Selene, thinking she’s looking for Michael, finds a vampire/lycan hybrid girl, about twelve years old, and saves her from a group of starving Lycans. With the help of a fellow vampire named David they are safe for about two minutes at his coven until the head vampire points out that she’s the Lycan-loving Death Dealer that ruined everything. There are vampires that sympathize with her her original cause, but most are afraid to stand up against their leader.

Her name is Eve, but we mostly know her as Subject Two.

A crippling attack leads Selene away from the coven, thus the second part of the movie. She has to go back to the lab that she was held in to rescue the girl, taken during the attack. She finds a human ally in law enforcement who can clue Selene in on why Eve, Subject Two, is so special. Between the two of them, and her magical automatic pistols (see above image) that almost never need reloading, another bloodbath incurs. We  once again see how much six centuries of skill honing can keep someone alive, even in some dire situations.

Awakening has a satisfying final battle, with a nemesis that gives Selene a run for her money. Really, she gets her black-clad butt kicked for most of it but this is The Death Dealer we’re talking about. We are left with an opening for Underworld 5. Awakening‘s story is tight, not wholly original, but leaves no loose threads. The 3D action is utilized well, using it to set the tone and enhance the action. If given the choice, the 3D is good enough to pay the extra for, but don’t worry if your local theatre doesn’t have it in 3D.

I have to be fair, and for dialogue alone, the movie gets a solid B. Some of the lines were heavy handed at times, but don’t let it detour you, especially if you like the Underworld series, or you want to see Kate Beckinsale’s naked body cleverly hidden by fog.

[Image Source| One, Two, Three]

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