Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003's surprise hit Underworld. Looking stunning as ever in her black leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy's fantasy as Selene, the vampire "death dealer" who's now fighting to stop the release of the original "Lycan" werewolf, William (Brian Steele) from the prison that's held him for centuries. As we learn from the film's action-packed prologue, William and his brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between them, their immortal father Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge. This ambitious attempt at Shakespearean horror is compromised by a script (by Danny McBride and returning director Len Wiseman, Beckinsale's real-life husband) that's more confusing than it needs to be, with too many characters and not enough storytelling detail to flesh them all out. Aspiring to greatness and falling well short of that goal, Underworld: Evolution succeeds instead as a full-throttle action/horror thriller, with enough swordplay, gunplay, and CGI monsters to justify the continuation of the Underworld franchise. If you're an established fan, this is a must-see movie; if not, well... at least it's better than Van Helsing. --Jeff Shannon On the DVD
The features of the Underworld: Evolution DVD are pretty similar to the first Underworld DVD. Director Len Wiseman and his technical team combine for a commentary track that discusses how they "cheated" on Kate Beckinsale's action sequences, how they reused backgrounds from the first film to save money, and the difficulty of filming a love scene involving the director's wife. Over an hour of featurettes cover the story and the casting, visual effects (CGI, props, and miniatures), stunts, production design, music, and sound effects. Wiseman also mentions in his commentary that there are more bits and pieces of the story to reveal "if an extended edition [comes] out." Considering Underworld was released four times on DVD, another release of Underworld: Evolution would seem to be almost a foregone conclusion. --David Horiuchi
DVD Features:
* Available Subtitles: English, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
* Commentary by: director Len Wiseman, production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, second-unit director and stunt coordinator Brad Martin, and editor Nick De TothUnknown Format
* The Hybrid Theory: visual effects
* The War Rages On: stunts
* Bloodlines: From Script to Screen: making-of
* Making Monsters Roar: creatures
* Building a Saga: production design
* Music and Mayhem: music and sound design
* Music video: "Her Portrait in Black" by Atreyu
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