"If you ask me, you're taking this warrior thing much too seriously." -- Aptly-named vampire sleazebag Kraven attempting to hit on ass-kicking vampire assassin Selene.


Vampires and werewolves have a long cinematic history together. At various times, Dracula, the Wolfman, and generic hellhounds and bloodsuckers have crossed and recrossed their various film franchises. "Underworld" is just the latest heir to the long, proud tradition of 1945ës "House of Dracula" and 1972's "El Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man." In this post-"Matrix" era, though, vampires and werewolves are no longer the exclusive province of horror. This particular flick, despite its supernatural trappings, is pure action, drawing more inspiration from "Blade" than from "American Werewolf in London".

Selene is an accomplished, veteran warrior in the centuries-old conflict between vampires and werewolves (called "Lycans" here). After the assumed death of their leader, the werewolf forces have been almost totally wiped out. The few survivors have retreated underground, but continue to strike, guerilla-style, at the dominant vampires. Of course, now that it's the twenty-first century, duels between vamps and Lycans are fought with automatic weapons loaded with silver or UV-irradiated bullets as much as fangs and claws. During one unexpected gun battle against Lycans in a subway station, Selene discovers that the big mutts are hunting a man named Michael Corvin (who is supposed to be a medical intern, but since he resembles the younger, wussier brother of Scott Stapp from Creed, it's not really all that convincing). As Selene investigates, she discovers that not only is Michael an instrumental part of a new Lycan plan for final revenge against the vampires, but that the plan has tendrils that reach all the way into her own vampire clan. Forced to investigate on her own after her lord refuses to believe that the almost-totally-defeated Lycans could be up to something, Selene finds herself falling in love with Michael after he ends up saving HER life. Unfortunately for them both, vampires and werewolves do NOT have relationships with each other, under pain of instant messy death.

"Underworld" takes its done-to-undeath story of star-crossed love and supernatural gun-fu battles, and gives it a stylishly Europunk edge. The nameless city that this whole story takes place in is seemingly perpetually enshrouded in rain (though that naturally doesn't stop Selene from running around in a tight black leather catsuit and leather trench coat). The entire look and feel of the movie is heavily gothic, all dank sewers, dilapidated 19th century buildings, and decadently decorated mansions. Even the color scheme is atmospheric, with everything being in sickly greens, pallid blues, pitch blacks, and lots and lots of crimson. Everything is really washed-out, too, giving everything the feel of an old movie (or perhaps a fever dream). Even the special effects are atmospheric: subtle and beautiful for the vampires (as opposed to the "Buffy" kind), massive and animalistic for the transformed werewolves.

Given that this is pretty much a full-on action piece, though, things like creating a mood are secondary to the REAL focus: the fight scenes. While not quite as technically adept as the "Matrix" films, "Underworld" does have plenty of wire-fu martial arts leaps during fight scenes, and everyone from the most stylish vampire to the scuzziest sewer-dwelling werewolf thug carries either an automatic rifle, a gigantic handgun, or both. There's even a nifty sword battle right at the very end. Of course, the fact that these are vampires and werewolves fighting isn't ignored, either, and the Lycans themselves are appropriately wolflike and bestial when they fight in their transformed state. The climactic fight especially is a masterpiece of raw instinct and snarling brutality (though it's not as good as it could have been; more on that below).

Selene herself opens up a bloodsucking can of whoopass almost from the first scene, and never lets up. Especially not during the climactic fight, which gives her an extremely active and vital role in defeating the baddie she and Michael end up fighting. Action movies are notorious for introducing a supposedly booty-kicking tough female, letting her have a few good fights in the first half of the flick, and then making her a damsel in distress or otherwise shunting her aside so the male lead can do all the heroic stuff in the final reel. I gotta give massive props to "Underworld" for not succumbing to that clichÈ.

"Underworld" exhibits quite a bit of cleverness in other areas as well. While some of a dialogue is a bit cheesy (can we STOP with the one-liners already?), there's a bit of remarkably three-dimensional characterization to be found here. Selene herself is kind of one-note, and Michael might as well be a slab of beef hanging from a meat hook for all the presence he has, but the vampire lord Viktor and especially the werewolf leader Lucius are portrayed in such a way that keeps you guessing as to who the true villain is (if EITHER of them are). Even Selene's rival, the vampiress Erika, gets some nice moments that while certainly plot-driven are at least consistent with the way her character is portrayed. Plus, all the manipulations and machinations and plots and schemes and betrayals are, if not Byzantine, at least intricate enough to be entertaining.

Still, there are some things about "Underworld" that suck BESIDES the vampires (aw, come onÖ you knew that joke was coming). There are still a few too many cliches here, though to be fair they're put together well. It's not as obtrusive and annoying as it was in, say, "John Carpenter's Vampires". The lack of any real character development for the two leads (especially nonentity Michael) does hurt this film, though given the combat-heavy style-over-substance nature of this film, that's not as fatal a flaw as it would be in another movie. Most damaging, though, is the final fight scene. The final transformation of the main character just looks goofy rather than dramatic and awe-inspiring, and the ultimate showdown features a bit too much Kirk fistfight choreography (watch "Star Trek VI" and you'll get what I mean), and not enough of the gigantic-immortal-pit-bulls-fighting feel that the other werewolf-vampire melees had. What irks me most is that aside from these flaws, "Underworld" is a totally cool kick-ass film, which makes these problems seemingly stand out even more.

Now, as to the whole "White Wolf" controversy, wellÖ I'm sorry to say that the boys from Atlanta don't really have much of a case here. I shamefacedly confess to being a former World of Darkness geek (I say "former", but I still own all my Vampire and Werewolf and Mage gaming books), and of course I'd heard about the lawsuit before walking into the theater. Even keeping that in the back of my mind, though, I didn't see a heck of a lot of similarities between this film and that universe so favored by people who like to wear fake fangs and those fuffled pirate shirts. Yes, the vampires and werewolves hate each other, but the mythology of their origins is different, the cause of the conflict is WAY different, and even the weapons used are different. Sure, there are "vampire elders", but hell, "Blade" had those too. And, most importantly, lycanthropy and vampirism are both transmitted through simple bites in "Underworld", rather than being hereditary and caused by drinking the blood of a vampire after being drained as they are, respectively, in the World of Darkness. The sole example I could find that gave any indication that "Underworld" may have taken concepts from White Wolf games was the idea (and, most damningly, the name) of the "abomination". But even here, aside from being a hated and cursed blend of vampire and werewolf in both universes, the method of creation and the role in the storyline are vastly different. Sorry, all you Vampire LARPers, but White Wolf doesn't have a paw to stand on.

"Underworld" isn't the best movie of its kind, but it certainly does something fresh and intensely entertaining given the overdone nature of the movies it draws its inspiration done. The concept is reasonably original, as is the execution, and aside from the flaws mentioned above (which were more annoying than truly problematic), it's a massively fun movie. If the idea of werewolves with machine guns fighting a mafia-style feud with Eurotrash clubhopping vampires appeals to you, then this film is practically "Citizen Kane". It's less pretentious than "Matrix Reloaded", has a meatier story than "Blade", and has more pointless gun battles than "Bram Stoker's Dracula". Perhaps it's not as smart as it should be, but it's a hell of a lot smarter than your average noisy Hollywood action extravaganza ("Bad Boys II", I'm lookin' at YOU!), and that's more than enough to make me happy as a Lycan with a new rawhide chewie.