Underworld: Blood Wars (2017)

Director: Anna Foerster

Notable Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, James Faulkner, Charles Dance, Bradley James, Clementine Nicholson, Peter Andersson, Daisy Head

There were a lot of problems with Underworld: Awakening, the fourth film in a series that has seemingly found a cult audience that continually shows up to make sure it survives. The budget ballooned to $70 million, it lost sight of the world building aspect that made the series fun and layered, and despite some silly fun action it had little foundation for taking the series in a new direction that worked. So, for the most part, the fifth entry, Underworld: Blood Wars, attempts to fix all the things it fucked up. It’s an admirable approach. They cut the budget in half and refocused the storytelling to try and get it back to basics while using the plot and characters from the fourth one as little as possible. Blood Wars is hardly a great film (hell, not a single entry in this series is), but for what it’s worth I was thoroughly entertained by it and admired what they attempted to take the series. Flawed, yes, but it’s a step up over the fourth entry and gets the Underworld franchise back on track. I call it a success.

Underworld: Awakening (2012)

Directors: Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein
Notable Cast: Kate Beckinsale, India Eisley, Theo James, Michael Ealy, Stephen Rea, Charles Dance

If one is up to date on the Underworld franchise and how it works, then Underworld: Awakening is going to certainly strike that special spot for those looking for sleek action packed vampire/werewolf throw downs. If you are not familiar with the style of the films (catch up with our reviews for Underworld, Evolution, and Rise Of The Lycans), then let the eye rolling commence. This fourth entry is easily the weakest in its writing (which is saying quite a bit) with little added to the characters and less added to the mythos of the franchise. It also happens to be the most exciting, instead focusing on creating dynamic action set pieces and setting up a new era for our vampire heroin to kick ass in. It's a trade off that makes for a weak entry, but one that entertains the shit out of you anyway.

Underworld: Evolution (2006)

Director: Len Wiseman
Notable Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi, Steven Mackintosh, Shane Brolly, Bill Nighy, Zita Gorog, Brian Steele

In all honesty, my expectations were quite low for Underworld: Evolution. The first film wasn't great, but was carried over by its charm and style. Could it really work twice? Turns out Len Wiseman made it work twice. Evolution may not be quite as solidified as the original one, but it still sparks a whollup of entertainment and gothic fun with its increasingly violent and epic plot. Hey, I'm always down for a good match between vampires and werewolves no matter how outrageous it's becoming.

Underworld (2003)

Director: Len Wiseman
Notable Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Erwin Leder, Sophia Myles, Robbie Gee

Despite all of this Twilight hoopla that has made vampires the next big thing in the last few years and the subject matter of inter-monster relationships that has spread way too far into the melodrama category, Underworld was one of the first films (along with Blade a few years earlier) to capitalize on making vampires these super cool anti-heroes in this modern cinematic age for young film fans. Although the film is basically a rip off of The Matrix in so many ways, it does contain an extensive amount of charm to its simplified epic tale and its executions. This leaves a film that may not change your outlook on the mythos of any of the creatures involved, but entertains with enough finesse to kick start a franchise that's worth the time.

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009)

Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Notable Cast: Michael Sheen, Rhona Mitra, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux

I finally caved in. Although I enjoy the Underworld series as most people seem to considering its continued box office numbers, I have many issues with the films themselves so I kept putting off watching this prequel. Seriously, I know how this one is going to end (we all saw the clips in the first films) so why rush to see a film I already know about? Could the Underworld series really produce a decent prequel? Luckily, Rise Of The Lycans is better then I hoped while fixing a few issues that arose in previous entries. It still suffers from a few problems that keeps it from really soaring, but it still comes off as a pleasant surprise.