Underworld: Blood Wars (2017): Review

This weekend for Friday night movie night, I went and saw the new Underworld movie Blood Wars. It was basically what I was expecting as I have seen all of the other Kate Beckinsale Underworld movies and it follows along with exactly what I was expecting. Kickass fighting, sequences, lots of stylized and screenshot moments but with just enough plot to keep it going and poor vampire effects.

Underworld: Blood Wars continues after Underworld: Awakening (2012) leaves off although times has been continuing to move on. Selene, played by Kate Beckinsale, is a pure bloodline vampire who is being hunted by vampires and lycans (werewolfs) due to her turning on the vampire elders in the prior movies and being the mother of the first hybrid pureblood. Previously, she has prevented herself from knowing where he daughter is as she says people she cares about don't tend to do so well. She is brought back into the dynamic of the vampire/ lycan war by David, played by Theo James, who is a vampire she saved in a previous movie and because the lycan are working together under the new leadership of Marius, played by Tobias Menzies. Also in the movie are Vampires Semira, played by Lara Pulver and Thomas, played by Charles Dance.



As I said, this movie is pretty on par with the previous Underworld movie and it you enjoyed them you will like this movie and if you didn't it is not for you. Story wise I do not like the removal of Michael, previously played by Scott Speedman, but like the incorporation of Theo James and what they did with his character in the movie. I find Theo James really attractive and would not mind more Underworld movies with him as the main male. He plays a good strong guy that I can root for. Kate Beckinsale continues to be badass as she has always been good casting for this, but I kept being distracted during the movie by her corset as she could not do the fighting that she did in this comfortable. 

There was nothing really surprising in the plot of this movie but it is enough to keep it movie along. It seemed a bit more like a build up for another movie then specifically its own movie. It tied up some things to leave them in the previous movies and set up a information to movie it forward. But it wasn't anything special. Plot is not what I am looking for in this kind of movie, but just want to be entertained. I like seeing this type of movie in theatres because of the scope of action but it isn't anything you need to rush out to see.

I don't like that there was a lot of close up action sequences in this movie, I want to see what is going on, not just jump quickly from tight shot to tight shot (I will continue to complain about this until it stops) and I am really starting to dislike movie that start right off the bat with a big fight or action sequences. I like the movie to build up with some set up instead of jumping in at the deep end of the pool. The CGI wasn't too bad but the vampire abilities, were obvious. Like them jumping up high or movie fast. This could have been done better but would have required more money to make it look seamless and not distracting in the movie.

My Rating: 2