Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2001
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I walked into see the new horror flick "Underworld" with serious trepidation. I almost didn't see it to begin with. You see, outside of writing tickling fiction, I've been working on two mainstream projects over the last few years and one of them was about vampires and werewolves in the same world, fighting for dominance. I know that I wasn't "ripped off", but when I first saw the trailer for this film I suffered a serious letdown that I was beaten to the punch on what I thought was a really original idea. (This is a lesson for you writers out there: If you have a cool idea, get off your ass and put your time into it.)
So, needless to say, I wasn't prepared to go gung-ho into this film...but I was still intrigued.
Thank God.
This movie kicks serious ass! There hasn't been anything close to the lycanthrope transformations in "Underworld" ever seen on the screen, and the vampires are the epitome of undead cool. Think "The Matrix" meets "Blade". Speaking of "The Matrix", this movie succeeds in style and action in every way that the last Matrix film failed. The fights are brutal and realistic, with just enough super-heroics to still be plausible. And the scenes aren't twenty minutes long, either.
One thing that snared my attention right away was the sound. With so many THX theaters around now, you'd think that more movies would take full advantage of the technology. To most, it's just more speakers and few "surround"-type moments. "Underworld" takes full advantage and puts you right in the middle of the action from start to finish, sonically speaking. The sound design team on this film should be up for an Academy Award. Every crunch, drip, snap and howl only adds to the overall tension and darkness.
The acting was good and characters were well cast. The female lead is convincing and looks absolutely dazzling poured into a black leather-rubber-latex number. One of the better unknowns in the film was the huge black man who transformed into the biggest and most brutally violent werewolf I've seen since "Dog Soldiers".
The story was interesting, but does get bogged down in the middle a bit. I felt that the true nature of the story could have been revealed earlier than the last 15 minutes of the film, as several plotlines started to intertwine to the point where you can get a little confused and distracted from the film. But this is minor once everything unfolds.
The "toys" and technology in the film are very interesting, combining Old World mythology with Space Age technology. Liquid silver nitrate and UV-irradiated fluid formed into glass bullets...neat.
Visually, it works on a very dark, noir-type level. Shot with minimal lighting with a predominance of blues and blacks, it just feels creepy. And when the blood starts to flow (and spurt and fly and splatter and ooze), the bright reds are in perfect contrast, pulling your focus into the violence of the moment.
If you want to see a very cool flick and have a good time watching vampires and werewolves slash and shoot the crap of each other, this is the movie you want to see. I give it a high recommendation for dropping a few bucks. It's one of the better films I've seen this year.
So, needless to say, I wasn't prepared to go gung-ho into this film...but I was still intrigued.
Thank God.
This movie kicks serious ass! There hasn't been anything close to the lycanthrope transformations in "Underworld" ever seen on the screen, and the vampires are the epitome of undead cool. Think "The Matrix" meets "Blade". Speaking of "The Matrix", this movie succeeds in style and action in every way that the last Matrix film failed. The fights are brutal and realistic, with just enough super-heroics to still be plausible. And the scenes aren't twenty minutes long, either.
One thing that snared my attention right away was the sound. With so many THX theaters around now, you'd think that more movies would take full advantage of the technology. To most, it's just more speakers and few "surround"-type moments. "Underworld" takes full advantage and puts you right in the middle of the action from start to finish, sonically speaking. The sound design team on this film should be up for an Academy Award. Every crunch, drip, snap and howl only adds to the overall tension and darkness.
The acting was good and characters were well cast. The female lead is convincing and looks absolutely dazzling poured into a black leather-rubber-latex number. One of the better unknowns in the film was the huge black man who transformed into the biggest and most brutally violent werewolf I've seen since "Dog Soldiers".
The story was interesting, but does get bogged down in the middle a bit. I felt that the true nature of the story could have been revealed earlier than the last 15 minutes of the film, as several plotlines started to intertwine to the point where you can get a little confused and distracted from the film. But this is minor once everything unfolds.
The "toys" and technology in the film are very interesting, combining Old World mythology with Space Age technology. Liquid silver nitrate and UV-irradiated fluid formed into glass bullets...neat.
Visually, it works on a very dark, noir-type level. Shot with minimal lighting with a predominance of blues and blacks, it just feels creepy. And when the blood starts to flow (and spurt and fly and splatter and ooze), the bright reds are in perfect contrast, pulling your focus into the violence of the moment.
If you want to see a very cool flick and have a good time watching vampires and werewolves slash and shoot the crap of each other, this is the movie you want to see. I give it a high recommendation for dropping a few bucks. It's one of the better films I've seen this year.
