All Style, No Substance

underworld_evolutionWhile “Underworld: Evolution” does provide fans of the original film with exactly what they want, all the nudity, fighting scenes and special effects in “Underworld: Evolution,” can’t shake the hollowness the movie ultimately leaves by its end.

Continuing the story from the previous film, Selene, the vampire warrior, played by Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor, Van Helsing) is still stuck in the middle of a war between the Death Dealer Vampires and Lycan Werewolves, while her only ally, a Vampire-Werewolf hybrid named Michael, played by Scott Speedman (Duets, The 24th Day) is still adjusting to his new found power.

While on the run from the death dealers, Selene and Michael uncover Selene’s strange and unknown past, finding out that her family played a much bigger role in the war between the Death Dealers and Lycans than she originally perceived.

It’s around this same time that Marcus, the father of all vampires, played by Tony Curran, (Flight of the Phoenix, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman) is awoken from a 500 plus year sleep and is hell bent on uniting with his brother William, who just happens to be the first ever Lycan.

The story sounds great on paper, but the execution of it on film is below mediocre. Throughout the movie, so many things happen without explanation or reason. Why is it that all of a sudden Selene begins remembering her past? Why does Selene fall for Michael, when in the first movie she’s a loner with no intention of being with anybody?

If these things were explained, it would not only make the movie more interesting to watch, it would give more people a real reason to see the movie other than to see Kate Beckinsale naked and in a skin tight leather outfit, a-la Catwoman, for almost two hours.

While no one is complaining about Beckinsale’s performance in the movie, it’s just sad to see a movie that had so much going for it ruined by a hap-hazard script that had so many holes in it. Despite the horrendous script though, “Underworld: Evolution” is still not a bad action offering, you just have to go into it not wanting to be blown away by a deep and intricate story.

For those of you that wish to see your typical action movie, with tons of blood, naked women and special effects, “Underworld: Evolution” will not disappoint. However, for those that like their action flicks with just as much substance as style, take your coke and popcorn into another theatre.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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