 In the Underworld, Vampires are a secret clan of modern aristocratic sophisticates whose mortal enemies are the Lycans (werewolves), a shrewd gang of street thugs who prowl the city's underbelly. No one knows the origin of their bitter blood feud, but the balance of power between them turns even bloodier when a beautiful young Vampire warrior and a newly-turned Lycan with a mysterious past fall in love. Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman star in this modern-day, action-packed tale of ruthless intrigue and forbidden passion all set against the dazzling backdrop of a timeless, Gothic metropolis. Storyline: A war has been raging between the Vampires and Lycan for centuries, Selene (Beckinsale) is a death dealer, assigned to hunt down and eradicate the last of the Lycan. When she comes across Michael Corvin(Speedman)who holds the key to end the war she must decide where her alligances will lie. Written by ShortBrit Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Brandon A. DuHamel on September 20, 2007 -- A modern gothic tale of forbidden love and betrayal, told through the setting of a centuries-old war between Vampires and Lycans (werewolves), Underworld could in many ways be seen as an updating of Shakespeare's tragedies. It doesn't ever reach the level of high literature we have come to expect from the great bard himself, but it still succeeds on many levels. Admittedly, when I first saw Underworld, I was quite skeptical that it would be much more than another blood and gore horror flick with the central protagonist - in this case Kate Beckinsale as "Selene", a "Death Dealer" – laying down some major whoop-ass. I was wrong, very wrong. Yes, it has the action, and the gore, and the Vampire/Werewolf lore, but at its heart, Underworld's themes of forbidden love, honor, betrayal, revenge, and social segregation are universal themes that anyone can understand, and help to take this film beyond your typical Hollywood horror flick. Kate Beckinsale's incredible acting skills help sell Underworld as more than just a horror film. Her charisma and magnetism on screen cannot be denied. She's a much-welcomed departure from the very male dominated, prototypical, testosterone driven action heroes that we usually see on screen in these roles and she plays it to perfection. I'm not afraid to say I have no doubt in my mind that Underworld will one day be considered a classic in the Vampire/Werewolf genre of films, if it isn't already. Universal themes that can be applied to the real world, and a stellar performance by Kate Beckinsale help move this film out of the realm of other Hollywood horror flicks while Sony's superb AVC video encoding and awesome uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack make this a must buy Blu- ray disc release. Cast Notes: Kate Beckinsale (Selene), Scott Speedman (Michael Corvin), Michael Sheen (Lucian), Shane Brolly (Kraven), Bill Nighy (Viktor), Erwin Leder (Singe), Sophia Myles (Erika), Robbie Gee (Kahn [as Robby Gee]), Wentworth Miller (Dr. Adam Lockwood), Kevin Grevioux (Raze), Zita Görög (Amelia), Dennis J. Kozeluh (Dignitary [as Dennis Kozeluh]), Scott McElroy (Soren), Todd Schneider (Trix), Sándor Bolla (Rigel). IMDb Rating (07/31/14): 7.0/10 from 170,897 users IMDb Rating (12/13/10): 6.8/10 from 67,569 users
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