Underworld Series Review: Time To Put A Stake In It

"Underworld" is another franchise (I'm looking at you "Resident Evil") that somehow keeps making money despite having a paper thin plot. A kick-ass heroine (Kate Beckinsale) and cool fight sequences keep audiences coming back for more. The five movies in the series have thus far grossed some $539 million worldwide.

Underworld movies:

Underworld- 2003
Underworld: Evolution- 2006
Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans- 2009- This is actually a prequel to the original movie. It depicts the origins of the vampire/lycan war but more on that later.
Underworld: Awakenings- 2012
Underworld: Blood Wars- 2017

When the series begins, Selene is a Death Dealer (ie assassin) for the vampires. Their mortal enemies are lycans. Selene rescues Michael Corvin from the werewolves clutches and takes him back to vamp HQ (which is a definite no-no). To make matters worse, Corvin is some kind of werewolf hybrid. Uh oh. The vampire Elders are NOT going to be happy.

Over time we learn the origins of the two groups. Alexander Corvinus had three children. He caught a virus which killed many people but somehow developed a resistance. One of his children, Markus, was bitten by a bat. He is the first vampire.

Another child, William, was bitten by a wolf. He is the first lycan. The third child was human and not immortal. He did carry a copy of the virus antibody is his DNA though. This was was passed onto future generations (making them hybrids). Michael is a descendant of this person.

The lycans were originally slaves of the vampires. Lucian (the first lycan that was able to revert back to human form after shifting) fell in love with vampire Sonja (who was Elder Viktor's daughter). She became pregnant but Viktor killed her and the unborn baby (by exposing them to sunlight) while Lucian was forced to watch. Harsh! This is what started the current werewolf/vampire war.

When humans discover both groups, they try to eradicate them (thus temporarily halting the bloodsucker vs werewolf feud).

Selene discovers she had a hybrid baby with Michael. The girl (Eve) has special powers and must be hidden away (even from Selene) for her own safety. Selene also becomes a hybrid along the way. Dont ask. I dont understand the specifics.

In the final chapter there is yet another power struggle. This is getting old. Semira is secretly trying to take over. She frames Selene for a number of murders. Selene and David escape to the Nordic Coven where they meet Lena (daughter of Vidar and Semira). David is later revealed to be the son of Amelia (his father was Thomas).

At the end of the series Selene, Lena and David now function as vampire Elders (since everyone else is dead). The original Elders were: Markus (the first vampire), Viktor (a Hungarian general from the 4th century who was granted immortality by Markus), and Amelia. Viktor later turned against Markus (with the support of Amelia).

Just a reminder that Selene killed Viktor because she found out he murdered her family and lied about it all these years. She also killed Markus in order to keep him from releasing his wolf brother William. Amelia died by having he blood drained by lycans in an attempt to turn her into a hybrid.

Will the three new Elders follow the same "chain' arrangement (in which one Elder governs for a century while the others sleep) or will all three weight in on important decisions? All three are Vampire- Corvinus Strain Hybrids (which is a first as well).

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). I give the series overall a 4 but give "Blood Wars" a 3 1/2. It was too long, the plot went nowhere and the entire movie was bathed in blue light for some unexplained reason. I think it's time to put a stake in this series. There's really nowhere else for the story to go. A sixth film is rumored to be in production but Beckinsale will not appear in it). An "Underworld" TV series is also apparently in the works.