Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to an all new Reaction & Review. Tonight, guys, I'm gonna be covering a horror movie from 2012. That movie is "Underworld: Awakening".
Now before I actually talk about what I know about this movie, I'm first gonna let you guys know that I haven't really been all that impressed by this series. Mind you, I'm not saying that these movies have been bad per se, it's just that they all have been rather average at best. The first two movies didn't really make a whole lot of sense. The third movie actually lucked out by being pretty good despite being a prequel. So there is a chance that this movie could actually be really good. And if it's good enough, I may end up checking it's fifth entry at some point. I can't promise it'll be soon, because this movie is the last in the 4 movie combo pack that I bought, and I don't own a copy of the fifth movie yet. So I'm not even sure if I'll ever even pick up a copy unless it was dirt cheap, or if this movie will interest me enough to want to check out it's fifth entry.
I've also noticed a pattern with each film that I go through. And that pattern is that each film in this series has gotten a shorter runtime. The first movie was roughly about 2 hours long, the second movie was about 15 minutes shorter, the third movie was just about an hour and a half long, and this film is 3 minutes shorter than that. I have no idea that's gonna be a good thing or not, however, I will say that at least this movie will be a breeze to get through. At least, theoretically, anyways.
But like I said, I'm hoping that this one will be good, or interest me enough to want to continue watching the rest of this series. I don't know if it actually will end up doing that, but there is only one way for me to find out. And that is if I shut up and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Underworld: Awakening".
12 minutes later
OK, that was actually really impressive. I liked how Selene was able to use a single knife to slice through all of the armed guards at once like that. That was actually pretty cool.
15 minutes later
O...K, so this girl that Selene and the other guy found is also a vampire. And she also ripped off a lycan's head in half. That was certainly impressive. Wasn't really expecting that, but still, it was rather impressive.
15 minutes later
All right, I have a question here that I'm not sure will get answered, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. Now, I will say that while it's sweet to see Selene and this girl bonding, I have to ask; what happened to Michael? I know that this movie claims that he died 12 years ago after Selene went to get him from drowning, but the last time I made this assumption about Michael being dead was back during "Underworld: Evolution", and I was totally wrong about that. Now I'm not saying that it's impossible that Michael is actually dead, and unless he doesn't show up alive for the remainder of this movie, then I'm not gonna buy this idea that Michael is dead until proven otherwise.
6 minutes later
OK, so...we got a much bigger lycan than usual. Granted, I always thought they were kinda average in size, despite being werewolves. But this one is definitely much bigger than I anticipated. That's certainly something new, at least.
30 seconds later
Oh, and this one also has Wolverine's healing factor, too. Again, wasn't really expecting that. I might have a theory about this one, but I'll hold it off until later.
14 minutes later
So these guys are not just scientific assholes, but they're also Lycan scientific assholes. Well, I shouldn't be surprised by any of this, but then again, no matter if they were human or lycan, scientists are still evil. At least that's what this movie proved to me, anyway.
9 minutes later
Well, guys, I called it. I said that I wouldn't have solid proof that Michael is dead until I see it for myself. And well...he's not dead. Just frozen in cryogenic status. Still though, I did call that he's not technically dead. So, yay me.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Underworld: Awakening". Let me go ahead and shut the movie off here...OK. Well, I am gonna say this much, guys, I am a little bit surprised here. Part of me thought this movie was just gonna be another same as usual kind of story when it comes to the "Underworld" franchise, where it will be just another battle between the vampires and lycans. And while that, admittedly, was sort of true for this movie also, at least it does it. in a way. to where it me kept interested in what was happening. Which is more than what I can say about the first couple of movies in this series.
And on that note, let's just dive right into the writing here. And I first want to discuss why I wasn't a fan of the first two movies. And really, the biggest reason I can think of is simply because I didn't care for the war between the vampires and lycans. Especially with how it was being presented in the first movie where you don't know who you're suppose to care for and why they should matter. It really made both sides look terrible, and even though the third film did kinda establish Lucien's reasoning for wanting to fight back against the vampires, the film really only catered to one side. And in retrospect, you would think that it would make the lycans the good guys in all this, right? Well, a bit of a spoiler for this movie, no it doesn't. Because the film goes back to establishing that the lycans are the bad guys and the vampires the underdog good guys. And I kinda wish this series would make up it's own mind on it's species status because they really like to flip-flop between the two, which makes the whole thing really confusing, assuming you even attempt to think about any of that to begin with.
But I am gonna say that, while this movie is indeed flawed, the writing here is actually pretty good. And what makes it a little more interesting is that, unlike the first two movies, where it felt like it ended on a conclusion of sort, this one ends on a sequel hook, which, I'll be honest, I am somewhat looking forward to seeing it all continue. I don't want to say it ends, because there is a possibility that there could be another sequel, however, considering that the next film in the series was last released in 2016, I kinda doubt it. Although I could be wrong there. But that's just me theorizing, I should get back to talking about this movie. Anyway, setting aside the ending here, the movie actually picks up from 12 years later after Selene gets ambushed while trying to save Michael. And I should mention that the world itself changed to where lycans and vampires were being hunted down by the government and treating like it's some kind of epidemic. At least, that's what we're told on the surface. Obviously, when you involve scientists and vaccines into the mix, you know the kind of shit you're getting yourself into when it's obviously more to it than that. It's cliche, but at least it's still done partially well here.
As for our characters, well, Selene is back as our main character after taking a hiatus from the third movie, and she's back looking for Michael after she escapes her 12 year containment. And I honestly think she really hasn't changed much of her personality. And normally, I would say that this would make her character bland, but honestly, at this point, I don't think a change in her personality is really necessary anymore. That'd be like if I was asking for a change in D's character from "Vampire Hunter D". It's just not gonna happen. At this point, she is aware of how slowly the world has changed and she doesn't know who's in the right or wrong here, but she does have a goal in mind, which is to protect this girl that she and another vampire find after they fend off a bunch of wild lycans. I won't spoil much about this new girl, but I will say that it's not really that surprising once you figure out who she is, since the movie doesn't really telegraph this very well.
But anyway, as for Michael, well, as I called earlier, he wasn't actually dead this entire time, just frozen. Mind you, he's still out for a majority of this movie and, thanks to the sequel hook at the end, this probably isn't the last time that we actually see him. Which, honestly, I'm hoping that they do something interesting with him beyond just being a hybrid vampire/lycan. I say this, because in the first two movies, Michael was an incredibly boring character with nothing special about him. I gave him a pass in the first movie because he was dragged into it by accident. But by the second movie, I honestly had no reason to care for him. Even when I eventually learned more about this character, his personality is as stale as open bread. So hopefully, by the time I eventually end up covering the fifth movie, I'm hoping that Michael is more interesting there than how he was in his first two outings. As for other characters, well, a lot of them are really not that interesting. The most you're gonna focus on is Selene, which makes sense, given that she is the main character and all. The only one I can mention by name is Detective Sebastian, because he kinda has his own personal stake in all this. Again, I won't spoil what, so I'll leave it to the side for this review.
Ultimately, guys, the writing here, while still following the same status quo as the first two movies did, is still pretty good. And if you were a fan of the previous movies, then you're gonna probably adore this one also. It has everything that was in the previous films with little to no changes, and this film is no exception. As for the acting, well, Kate Beckinsale's back in the role of Selene, and she does a great job here. Even after a 6 year absence in-between the second film and this one, she hasn't lost a step here. Which is great to see. In fact, the acting from the entire cast here is really good. Even though some of them may not have much in terms of character development, they still turn in a rather good showing for what they had to work with. Which is definitely a plus I can give this movie.
Special effects, on the other hand, are, well...kind of a mixed bag. In terms of blood effects, it has the same problem as the other movies in which it incorporates CG blood, and it still looks fucking terrible here. That being said, however, I will say that the gore effects, when viewed up close on certain scenes, like when the girl I mentioned earlier splits open a lycan's head in half, that actually looked pretty decent. Speaking of lycan's, I will say that the CG on them looks okay...at least until you see humans morph into them, which looks awful. And it doesn't matter what scene it is, it's any scene where they do this sort of thing, and it's probably some of the worst-looking CG I have seen in these movies up to this point. In fact, I've kinda noticed that ever since "Underworld: Evolution", the CG has gotten steadily worse. I'm hoping that by the time I cover the fifth movie, they will have rectified that in some way. I somewhat doubt it, but there's always a chance that it could happen. So yeah, the special effects, at least when it comes to the CG is a huge mixed bag here.
Camerawork here is pretty good, lighting here is lit well enough, the sound-mixing here is good, and the score here is also just very average. I can't really say anything more than that when it comes to the film's technical work.
So, when all is said and done, guys, am I able to recommend "Underworld: Awakening"? If you have seen the previous 3 movies in this series and you enjoyed them, then I have no doubt that you're gonna enjoy this one as well. It has pretty much all of the same tropes you've come to expect from the previous films with very little changes added to it. And as for myself, well, I will still say that I am pleasantly surprised on how this film was pretty good. It's not amazing, but then again, none of these movies have been amazing to me, so it's maybe just my own personal bias. Still though, I did enjoy this movie enough to consider covering the fifth movie, which is, I believe, called "Underworld: Blood Wars" at some point. It's not gonna be anytime soon, mind you, as there are other movies that peek my interest a lot more than that film does. But still, I'm curious to see what they can do with a fifth entry. Perhaps maybe it'll conclude the series on a positive note. I don't know. Until then, however, I'm gonna go and watch another vampire-esque movie in the form of "Vampire Hunter D", which is what I'm gonna go do next after I get done with this review.
Anyway, guys, with that, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all later. Peace.
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