Underworld: Awakening

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. Believe it or not, I was actually looking forward to watching “Underworld: Awakening” again. While “Rise of the Lycans” proved to be a major and ultimately pointless stinker, and “Underworld” was a lot less entertaining than I remembered, I had actually appreciated “Underworld: Evolution”. I wanted to give this one a chance. At first, the film was showing promise. By the end, it became a dumb mess.

Some time after the events of “Evolution”, normal humans became aware of the vampire and Lycans’ existence. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) was captured by government agents and cryogenically frozen, waking up 12 years later. Both species have been hunted down nearly to extinction in a worldwide cleanse. Desperate to find her lover, the half-vampire, half-Lycan hybrid Michael, Selene now faces new enemies on all sides.

While I’m disappointed that this sequel has skipped over what could’ve been a really interesting story (the film essentially begins with the Lycans and vampires already whipped out), I like this premise. There’s a whole new enemy thrown in, one that’s different from the adversaries Selene has faced in the past. With Michael gone, it’s also a different type of picture. She’s not just mowing her way through yet another vampire elder; she’s on a quest. "Awakening" features great 3D (I remember that from seeing the film in theaters in 2012) and I like the introduction of David (Theo James), a new ally for our heroine. If you ask me, the fact that the soap opera-style politics and romance are largely absent is a good thing.

While somewhat inspired at least conceptually, "Awakening" is a misstep. For every decision somewhat promising decision there’s one that leaves you scratching your head. Selene discovers that she has new powers (again) One theoretically seems legit, the other is totally ridiculous and simply an excuse to create an eye-roll of a mystery to be solved. Where that goes only proves that this story was inspired by a teenagers' idea of "awesome". It's filled with ludicrous, convenient developments like having Selene wakes from her icy sleep naked, but with her old leather outfit within an arm's reach just so it can please fans.

There’s not really a lot of plot here. It’s like they had a big epic all written out but had to scrap the bulk of it when Scott Speedman decided not to return for another film. I think a lot of “Underworld” fans are going to be disappointed.

I gave “Underworld: Awakening” a pass many times. I kept saying “Yes, THAT was bad, but let’s see where it goes”. I shouldn’t have. Like its predecessors, it has the tendency to throw stuff at the screen not because it makes true sense, but because it’ll look cool. The final chapter, “Underworld: Blood Wars” has a lot of things it’ll need to get right in order to redeem the series. (On Blu-ray, January 11, 2017)