Mmm... vampires

I saw Underworld: Evolution with a friend today. I had been waiting for this movie eagerly ever since I found out about the early 06 release date a few months ago. Actually, I had heard a while back that there was going to be a sequel to Underworld, which I enjoyed immensely. The second movie is extremely good, but I like the first one better---essentially, this is a novelty issue. They left a ton of room for a third movie, and back in the day (when the first one was in theatres), I remember reading that this was supposed to be a trilogy from the beginning. (I just looked it up on the IMDB entry for the first movie, and it looks like that is supposed to be a prequel.) This time, I thankfully had a chance to see the film in the theatre rather than on video. (I was really busy and it flew in and out of the Atlanta theatres before I could see it.)

The movie could certainly be gory at times. Jaws, heads, etc. were ripped off and there was even a death by being skewered by one's own appendage (just a smidgeon before the helicopter blades finish the job). The boss characters died too easily, and the mythos they have has some holes in it. (They seem to be a bit confused as to what occurred when at times.) The most amusing inconsistency (though a very minor one) starts when the main vampiress Selene remarks about having exhiled someone to a monastary (now serving as a prison) 300 years earlier and that she and Michael would likely be the first people that person has seen since then. They arrive at the place, and Selene says something like 'I don't remember that chain-link fence being there before.' (This was not said in a sarcastic manner. She said it like she was there recently and the fence just popped up, as opposed to there being 300 years for that to happen.)

Anyway, the flick is very cool. White Wolf still isn't being acknowledged anywhere. Here is their original press release over their lawsuit after the first movie came out. The wikipedia entry doesn't indicate any resolution for the lawsuit, so I guess this part of the story remains to be unfolded.