Underworld: Awakening – A Failed Hybrid

I like Coke more than Pepsi, and Underworld more than Resident Evil.

Femme fatales Milla Jovovich and Kate Beckinsale have super-powers, unlimited ammo, no emotions, and are both married to their series directors. Underworld takes the higher-brow, evoking a timeless quality laced with Gothic intensity, while theREvils aim for ostentatious popcorn schlock and hit their mark. Perhaps also relevant: one series borrows from Shakespeare and the other from the most ludicrous mythos in video games.

Given to Swedish directors Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, Underworld: Awakening is reinvented as convoluted 3D action set-pieces at the sacrifice of compelling characters; a failed hybrid of both series.

Awakening sees a world no longer blind to the centuries old war between Vampires and Werewolves. For all of us who wondered how "secret" the collateral damage of the first films could be, it serves as a fantastic premise. The opening sequences depict a world-wide cleansing, as well-armed troops purge the cities of Lichen and blood-suckers alike. Apparently, despite all the bullets fired in the first films by super-powered non-humans, our military forces are significantly better at this kind of thing, because both species are eradicated.

Series protagonist Selene (Beckinsale) attempts to rescue the Vampire/Lichen hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) when they are captured and placed in cryogenic suspension. Released by a mysterious benefactor, Selene finds herself twelve years in the future, in a world completely free of both sub-species. Pursued by Detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy) and her former captor Dr. Jacob Lane (Stephen Rea), Selene's search for Michael unearths a mysterious teenage girl, the splintered survivors of her coven, and a Lichen population both weaker and stronger than they appear.

And while it may just be me, the events of the opening sequence show a world bordering on the futuristic: weapons wielded by both sides, the views of the city, the police vehicle. Somehow, in the twelve-year gap, we've regressed to junky cars and vans from the nineties, and a police force that uses point and click PCs and paper documentation, the kinds of technology that are phasing out even now. For a post-sub-civilization dystopia, it doesn't make much sense, except from a budgetary perspective.

The setup's "reset" button on the underworld and its politics allows this fourth entry in the series an easy approach for first time fans, but offers little plot to replace what it has jettisoned. These gaps are instead filled with escalating action sequences, or at least attempts to do so. The opening of the film, where Selene massacres her way through government hunters, sets the bar higher than Awakening can stretch for again. Car chases, demolitions, and even a grudge match with the King Kong of werewolves fail to excite in the same way. When I mention Selene massacring, "slaughter" truly is the most appropriate verb for her throughout the film. No character, no matter how insignificant, lasts more than a few moments without being broken in half, torn to shreds, or eviscerated. The violence got turned to 11 on this outing, and it overpowers any semblance of relatability, or even interest, in the characters.

Awakening reeks of that new cinema problem: 3D first, all else second. With so many plot points and shots seemingly included solely to show-off the extra dimension, it's such a shame that even these effects are poorly rendered. At points I was concerned my glasses weren't even working. Not that it mattered, since the action sequences are rarely organized in comprehensible fashion. I distrust critics who levy that judgment, since I'm prone to enjoy complete mayhem in my cinema, but there's nothing chaotic or enjoyable when you can't see the fight because of poor lighting or blurry effects.

For all the moments I dislike in REvils, I usually blame the inconsistency of the hero's super-powers, an issue which spreads to Underworld here, and culminates in a moment where Selene restarts a dead character's heart by cutting them open and squeezing it. Not only did this allow a major scene to go out on a WTF moment, it also set up the first of four possible deus ex machinas, which sapped the final confrontations of any real stakes. (Yes, we made it this far into my vampire movie review without a bad pun. I'm keeping that one.) And just like the REvils, we end this chapter of the series on a half-cliffhanger, which robs the events any sense of finality or triumph.

Following a first act nose-dive, it became clear the opportunity to re-ignite this series was squandered. Despite a reversed madness to meaningfulness ratio, fun disappears quickly and the story strips the foundations, guaranteeing the next outing will have a limited base. If anything, Awakening wet my appetite for Resident Evil: Retribution, which has been given an open invitation to tear open my chest and restart my heart with Milla Jovovich's hands.