From Deseret News archives:
Underworld: Evolution
For those who had an answer to the "What the devil is Ben Kingsley doing in a cruddy vampire movie?" question that "Bloodrayne" screamed out, here's another: What the devil is the great Derek Jacobi doing in this week's cruddy vampire movie?
Another of the actors we call Great Britons is wearing the blue-black leather, baring the fake fangs and chewing on the blood capsules for a lousy buck in "Underworld: Evolution."
We know why the sleek and sexy Kate Beckinsale is in it. The first "Underworld," sort of a female "Blade" about a vampire who has taken to hunting her own kind, made a boatload of bucks. And she married the director, Len Wiseman. He hasn't been able to land non-"Underworld" work, so Kate donned the skintight pants, and even takes them off, to keep home and heart together.
But Jacobi? It's a long way from his "Oh, for a muse of fire" speech in "Henry V" to "We are oddities of nature, you and I," in "Evolution."
Vampire movies are all about family, and "Underworld" is practically a vampire "Roots." We get history lessons, learning where the bloodlines connecting vampires and werewolves intersect. We get geography lessons. All of this takes place on the buckle of Eastern Europe's vampire belt.
And we sit through lots of gunplay, and too many of those man-becomes-werewolf transitions, something "American Werewolf in London" did 20 years ago.
This time, Kate, as Celine, the "Death Dealer" (a video-game title if ever there was one), picks up with the shooting, staking or spattering of the evil Marcus (Tony Curran), having nailed his mentor (Bill Nighy of "The Constant Gardener" and "Love Actually") in the first film.
She's protecting Michael (Scott Speedman), the hybrid "Lycan," or werewolf-vampire beastie. They hook up with this mysterious tracker of wolves and vampires, Alexander (Jacobi), who runs his black helicopters from a black ship. And they shoot, stab, kick and rip the jaws out of vampires and werewolves along the way. Because they won't stay dead, darn them.
Pretty unpleasant stuff.
Recent comments
Let's see, let me check my math. if I give the the CGI
work, music...
LAS | Nov. 7, 2005 at 10:29 p.m.
All i can say is that Opening night star wars and waiting
in line...
Braden Stokes | July 9, 2005 at 12:39 p.m.
The only reason I gave this 1 star is because Episodes 1
and 2 are...
John | July 2, 2005 at 1:16 p.m.
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Bill Nighy
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