Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Len Wiseman
Cast :
Kate Beckinsale……….Selene
Scott Speedman……….Michael Corvin
Tony Curran……….Marcus
Derek Jacobi……….Corvinus
Bill Nighy……….Viktor
Michael Sheen……….Lucian
Steven Mackintosh……….Tanis
Shane Brolly……….Kraven
Scott McElroy……….Soren
John Mann……….Samuel
Richard Cetrone……….Pierce
Mike Mukatis……….Taylor
From the very start of Underworld: Evolution, Len Wiseman doesn’t seem to know how many films in the franchise there should be. In the beginnings of any franchise there are certain moments from beginning to end that are established; in a trilogy such as Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back gave us more while demanding a third film to finish off the story. And trilogies tend to have certain markers in the second film that warrant a final chapter to conclude it.
Underworld featured a love story meshed with an action film with a horror setting that followed Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire, and her role in a war between werewolves (here called Lycans) and vampires. Following the events of the first film, Evolution follows Selene and her hybrid lover Michael (Scott Speedman) through yet another hyper-stylized action film.
Since her slaying of Viktor (Bill Nighy) the duo have been on the lamb from the vampires wanting to exact their revenge. Vampire king Marcus (Tony Curran), woken up from his centuries long slumber, is on their trail and thirsting for revenge as this second entry in the franchise tries to finish the story while leaving room for another film, all the while having the same inherent flaws and advantages of the original.
There’s a sense of conclusion throughout the film, as many of the events left unresolved from the first are ended decisively. Wiseman is focused on tying up all the loose ends from the first while weaving in a relatively unorthodox back-story that sheds a much different light on the events of the first. Wiseman seems to think that this is the third film of the trilogy as opposed to the second, as this film has the feel of the third act as opposed to being a second one to which is alluded to in the finale. Wiseman has also learned a bit from his first film as Evolution has a steadier pace, albeit still inconsistent at points.
There’s a lot of good in the film that has been translated from the original as well; there’s a lot of crisp cinematography to match some action sequences that have been improved upon from the original. Beckinsale is her usual solid self and Wiseman brings the same sort of impressive setting and scenery to the table this time around as well.
