Title: Underworld: Blood Wars
Release Date: January 6, 2017
Studio: Screen Gems / Lakeshore Entertainment
Director: Anna Foerster
Release Format: Theatrical
I guess after an Evolution, a Rise, and an Awakening, there are now Blood Wars because… Kate Beckinsale needs work.
And no, Scott Speedman is STILL nowhere to be found. I wonder if that was his punishment for XXX: State Of The Union. Hmm…
Today we are looking over Underworld: Blood Wars and, for the record, this will be more of a statement about this film’s existence rather than a simple review. This marks the fifth entry in the popular series of Kate Beckinsale killing werewolves as a vampire in tight leather. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of this series as a whole. However, I don’t think all of them are bad. I think the first Underworld is a legitimately great film. It had a strong mythos, fun characters, interesting cinematography and some cool action. Underworld: Evolution was a letdown sequel that didn’t live up to its predecessor in the slightest. Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans was a rather fun prequel to the series, despite the laundry list of inconsistencies with the first film.
Finally, Underworld: Awakening was a steaming pile of garbage that did nothing but ruin the mythos set forth by the original film and had Evolution’s ending not make any sense. Why? Because they needed to continue this series. There was no other explanation for it. Now, for whatever reason, we actually have a fifth installment in this series with yet another generic name. Evolution, Awakening, now Blood Wars, my god, why do they keep making these? I mean, I can’t even make the argument that it’s to keep Kate Beckinsale relevant. Beckinsale just starred in an incredibly well received Jane Austin adaptation of Love & Friendship. She’s certainly better than this.
I mean, Kate there’s a reason Rachel Weisz didn’t come back for the third Mummy movie. You don’t need to keep coming back. Now, Kate Beckinsale in skin tight leather is never really a bad thing in itself. However, that doesn’t mean that a good thing can’t be in a bad movie and Underworld: Blood Wars is a pretty bad movie. In terms of story, it’s the same generic tripe we’ve seen from these underworld sequels time and time again. Much of the dialogue in Underworld: Blood Wars just consists of vampires and werewolves screaming at one another. When that’s not happening we need to have a ton of exposition and flashbacks because this movie apparently sees its fans as complete idiots. If I’m watching a film called Underworld: Blood Wars, it’s for two reasons.
One, I have to review it for you people… thanks, by the way, you’re all a delight. Or two, because I’m a die-hard fan, which we’ve established I’m not. However, if I was, I already know everything being said. Who would actually use Underworld: Blood Wars as the jumping on point for this series? And even if someone did use this as the starting point, you’re giving away half of what happens in the other films. So, as a result, why would they even want to seek out the rest of them? I’m sorry, Awakening pulled this too and it was annoying there. I don’t like it when The Resident Evil Movies do it either but those have always been awful. You have had ONE great film and ONE good prequel. Now, no one is going to want to see them because you’ve ruined what happens with flashbacks.
Okay, so let’s talk about the actual filmmaking side of this movie. This film has the blue hues that you’d expect from a movie like this. It has the effects and the stuntwork but, much like Underworld: Awakening, the editing is bad and, most of the time, it’s edited quickly to try and cover up bad effects work. There’s no proper care taken for any of it and a lot of the action isn’t even entertaining as a result. In Underworld: Blood Wars, Seline goes all… well, there’s no other way to say it, “Super Saiyan Vampire” and this could have actually been awesome. Instead, they just show this little blur zipping around, killing characters instead of showing Kate Beckinsale doing it. They just turned her into The Flash. Why would they do this? Survey says it was easier to edit in post.
Now after all of that, is the entire movie awful? Depends on what you’re looking for really. Did you enjoy Underworld: Awakening? If that’s the case, you’ll probably enjoy Underworld: Blood Wars. If you’re not a fan of this series, this film will not win you over. Kate Beckinsale is good in the role of Seline and she looks amazing as always. But I’d rather see her give a good performance while looking wonderful, in a good movie. From where I’m sitting, Underworld: Blood Wars is a bad movie. I want to pop in the first Underworld so I can watch a good movie. I like Kate Beckinsale, I think she’s a great talent. It just breaks my heart to see her coming back to this all but dead franchise when she clearly doesn’t have to.
Maybe she just loves playing the character and I can’t fault her for that. However, if that’s the case, they need to get writers and a director who respects that. It’s not quite a one-star territory. I don’t like it, but nothing about it had me fuming leaving the theater either. It was just kind of an underwhelming experience all around and that’s what I was kind of expecting going in. Is it watchable? Yeah, it’s watchable action fluff. It’s bad but there’s nothing about it that pissed me off to my breaking point. Underworld: Awakening was certainly worse so I guess I can take that and call it a win.
So what did you think of Underworld: Blood Wars? What is your favorite of the series? Please let me know in the comments below and subscribe if you’d like to see more.
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