Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2664 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-02-16
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 121 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Underworld is a hybrid thriller that rewrites the rulebook on werewolves and vampires--imagine Blade meets The Crow and The Matrix. It's a "cuisinart" movie (blend a lot of familiar ideas and hope something interesting happens) in which immortal vampire "death dealers" wage an ancient war against "Lycans" (werewolves), who've got centuries of revenge--and some rather ambitious genetic experiments--on their lycanthropic agenda. Given his preoccupation with gloomy architecture (mostly filmed in Budapest, Hungary), frenetic mayhem and Gothic costuming, it's no surprise that first-time director Len Wiseman gained experience in TV commercials and the art departments of Godzilla, Men in Black and Independence Day. His work is all surface, no substance, filled with derivative, grand-scale action as conflicted vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale, who later became engaged to Wiseman) struggles to rescue an ill-fated human (Scott Speedman) from Lycan transformation. It's great looking all the way, and a guaranteed treat for horror buffs, who will eagerly dissect its many strengths and weaknesses. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Description
For centuries, two races have evolved. Hidden deeply within human culture - the aristocratic, sophisticated Vampires and the brutal, feral Lycans (werewolves). To humanity, their existence is no more than a whisper of a myth. But to each other, they are the lifelong mortal rivals, sworn to wage a secret war until only one race is left standing. In the midst of this ongoing struggle, a Vampire warrior, Selene (Kate Beckinsale), discovers a Lycan plot, a secret that has terrifying repercussions for both tribes - a plot to awaken a new invincible species of predator that combines the strengths of both creatures and the weaknesses of neither.

Special Features
Disc One:

• Director, writers and technical audio commentaries

Disc Two:

• The Making of Underworld
  
• Creature effects
  
• Stunts
  
• Sights and sounds
  
• Storyboard comparison
  
• Music video - Finch's Worms of the Earth
  
• TV spot

DVD Technical Information:

• Running Time: 121 mins
  
• Region Code: 2

Customer Reviews

guilty pleasure
really entertaining monster mash which is more the passable entertainment
theres lots of action a decent amount of gore and kate beckinsale in skin tight leather whats not to love?

BLADE meets THE MATRIX
Underworld looked fairly light and cheesy in the previews, so I avoided a cinema trip and just rented the DVD. I was mistaken. It's actually an entertaining romp that is mostly eye candy but does have some interesting acting in it. The somewhat goofy premise is as follows:
Long ago, a human was born whose body was able to rapidly alter itself to resist environmental conditions. This allowed him to survive a plague that destroyed his village. His children inherited that trait. One was bitten by a bat and spawned a race of vampires, while another was bitten by a wolf and spawned a race of werewolves (a.k.a. lycans). A third did neither and hence the trait also survived in 'normal' humans. This divergence of races was long ago forgotten, and vampires and werewolves are now at one another's throats (ha ha) over a millenia of real and imagined slights. Kate Beckinsale plays a melodramatically-named 'Death Dealer', a vampire devoted to fighting lycans, who falls in love with a lycan candidate. Unbeknownst to all but a few tricky lycans, that candidate is a descendent of the 'human' strain of the original sire of all three races, and has the potential to become a hybrid vampire/lycan. Much mayhem and throat biting commences.

Now, it's pretty obvious from the get-go that logic needs to get chucked out the window. Similarly, there's about as many sparks flying between Beckinsale and her love interest as there is between the mayonnaise and bologna in a bad deli sandwich. However the film does a surprisingly, almost effort-savingly good job of representing the various packs of night critters involved. The lycans impressively shape shift into massive, combat-oriented werewolves whenever angered (quite similar to another underappreciated recent film, 'Dog Soldiers'), and while the vampires don't do a lot of typically vampiric things like mind control or turning into packs of rats, they at least manage the 'gaunt and world-weary' thing well. You also get a sense of the hide-bound nature of their world, which is based on the endless rule of centuries-old elders and ancients, with newer vampires stuck in an immortality bereft of change or advancement. There are some great action sequences, a lot of fine back stabbing, and generally a great deal of enthusiasm on all sides when the fur starts flying. It really is almost enough to make up for the paper-thin plot and makes for a decent movie..open your head, remove your brian and replace it with popcorn....and just enjoy the ride.

Loved it!
There is something to be said for films that make you think, this is not one of them but I think that's why its so good to watch. Don't get me wrong I think the storyline is good and it throws you in at the deep end, there's no boring build up it just gets straight into the action and leaves the explanations for later, this works well as it allows for briefs lulls in the action before getting stuck in again. I love films with a bit of cinematic flair and this film has that in abundance, usually though when a film focuses on effects it forgets to throw in a good storyline, acting, script etc but when a film gets it all right (eg. The Matrix) you end up with something special. Now I'm not putting Underworld in the same class as the Matrix, just think of it as its illegitamet child!

As far as I can see everything in this film is a nice surprise because almost everything is better than you think it is going to be. Purists may not give this a 5 star but I just loved everything about it and would watch it again & again, its gothic, bloody, fast-paced and hopefully will one day go down as a cult classic - what more do you want from a vampire flick!? Plus Kate Beckinsale in tight leathers shootin up werewolves doesn't hurt much either!