Fourth 'Underworld' is Abomination, Not 'Awakening'

After being frozen for over a decade, Selene's back and ready to finish what she started.  

Vampires and werewolves are still battling one another and believe it or not it’s not Twilight. Sorry to get your hopes up Team Edward and Team Jacob. In fact, that other vampire and werewolf franchise is back in what seems to be the recent trend of every third year in January.  

Underworld: Awakening reintroduces the former Death Dealer, leather-clad Selene (Kate Beckinsale), who has been cryogenically frozen for the past twelve years since the events of “The Purge.” Selene finds herself in a world quite differently than one she remembers, most particularly one where an enigmatic hybrid could turn the tide in the ageless battle between vampires and lycans. Despite some chronological shifts in Rise of the Lycans, Awakening remains the fourth film in the series.

As someone who is not a fan of both the Underworld sequel and the prequel, Awakening is yet another installment difficult to enjoy. While the 2003 film took the time and care to explain what was exactly going on, Awakening is simply one action sequence after another lacking the necessary character development. Despite knowing the characters and the universe after several movies, that is not an excuse to not even attempt to inject the slightest characterizations to build upon what audiences have come to know for three films. 

There is nothing about Selene in this movie that provides any interest. She kills, kills again and does a bit more killing and that is her whole character in Awakening, simply a one-dimensional killing machine, without any sort of emotion. Even the fact that she when realizing that she is separated from the man she loves doesn’t have any impact or expel any emotion. Beckinsale is a decent actress, but isn’t given anything work with in this film. Pre and post-pubescent males are more concerned with how hot she is in leather and a tight corset, and rightfully so. Who cares if she’s cold as ice, just as long we get to see her kick some awesomeness and in suggestive warrior gear.

The creators try to even add the maternal factor into her character and it falls flat. There has been this disjointed of maternal bond in film in quite some time. She’s definitely not the mother type and it’s obviously exposed throughout.  The action fails to compensate for the lack of character development, despite the majority of the movie being scene after scene of video game action. 

And that’s exactly the best way to describe the action, like it’s something out of a video game. Selene starts off with a handful of henchmen lycans, but then after all those are taken down with ease, it’s time for the boss, the uber-lycan. Just because the level’s “boss” is much larger in size than its minions, does not necessarily mean that it can be taken seriously.  It wouldn’t be so bad if the CG could back it up, but it doesn’t. Are we transported back to 2001 where that CG is now considered silly and fake? The wolves from Twilight and the lycans from Underworld are running neck and neck for the top prize of cheesiness.

Underworld: Awakening is simply too little crammed in too little time, with a 90-minute running time that is here to quench the thirst of mediocre visuals and undeveloped characters. Even the 12-year-old hybrid introduced in “Awakening” seems more like a lost opportunity. She’s an intense character bundled up with all this energy, but once again no substance to back up any attempts at creating a dynamic character that could carry on the mantle of the franchise. 

If they do a fifth Underworld, the filmmakers could concentrate more on her character. A complete overhaul in the franchise may be too much to ask for at this stage of the game. Newcomers to the franchise should consider watching the previous few films even though a thrown together recap attempts to piece the story together and understand the decline of a franchise that once had hope nearly a decade ago. It seems almost a mistake to call film Awakening, but rather “Abomination.” The film is just a laughable mess from start of finish and worse yet is practically seizure inducing.

Every action sequence seems to either be in a rainstorm or have constant lights flashing, which is almost as nauseating as a shaky cam. Its overuse hinders the style of what should be more gothic and dark rather than a sickening result. Underworld fans will find this latest installment decent, but for those not sucked in by the vampire-lycan conflict, will be hardly entertained by its overload of disappointing story decisions.

GRADE: D+ (3/10)
This review is also available on Blu-Ray.com