Underworld[5]: Blood Wars (2017) [Blu-ray]
Action | Horror

Vampire death dealer, Selene fights to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her.

Storyline: The next installment in the blockbuster franchise, UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS follows Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as she fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. With her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, April 12, 2017 One of the most common reactions to learning of Underworld: Blood Wars isn't excitement, it's "they're making another one of those movies?" The longstanding franchise, previously four films strong and now with a fifth under its belt, has been a mainstay of the 21st century Action/Horror movie scene, right up there with another Sony property of some longevity, Resident Evil. The Underworld universe, which tells the story of the battle between vampires and werewolves that's not fought with fangs and claws but rather slow-motion stylized gunfights, has grown a bit long in the tooth, but so long as Kate Beckinsale is game for donning the black leather cat suit there seems to be no end in sight; a sixth film has been confirmed by series Producer Len Wiseman.

The "Death Dealer" Selene (Beckinsale) is a wanted woman, wanted by the Lycans for information as to her daughter's whereabouts and wanted by the Vampires for justice. The Vampire Semira (Lara Pulver) offers Selene the hand of peace in exchange for training a new wave of Death Dealer cadets. But she orders Varga (Bradley James) to betray the promise. He murders the recruits and Selene barely escapes with her life thanks to David's (Theo James) timely intervention. The pair, blamed for the deaths, find themselves on the run and travel to the frigid, distant Nordic Coven where they find refuge and prepare to fight the battle of their lives.

Blood Wars practically epitomizes the concept if "milking" a cinema franchise. The original was enjoyable. It was fresh, invigorating, its style perhaps more in the mold of The Matrix and less an original creation, but it was a good film that was far more creative than it was derivative. The series has since largely declined, Rise of the Lycans a blip on the radar of a steady stream of mediocrity. Blood Wars is desperate to eek out a reason for its existence, to justify yet again its blue-filtered bedlam of bullet-ridden violence. It never quite can. The story isn't particularly engaging, the action is infrequent and bland, and the characters are unimaginative stereotypes. Plot mechanics cover familiar ground of power-hungry individuals, betrayals, and gray-area battles between Lycan and Vampire. Even as the film begins with a recap of key plot developments from the previous films, all but the most die-hard Underworld fans are going to be a bit lost for the duration. The film offers no real perspective, nuance, or depth for newcomers or those just casually familiar with the franchise, and even the staple superficialities aren't enough to engender any real interest, either.

The film does shake things up a little with the introduction of the "Nordic Coven," a collection of white-clad, cold environment Vampires who offer a departure from the series' trademark black-and-blue production design. It's still dreary up there in their neck of the woods, but it offers a nice visual change-up that the series desperately needed. Still, it's just window dressing. Blood Wars is essentially the same movie the team has made before, though action comes less frequently and feels more stale while the character roster and mythology are so deep and intertwined and jumbled together that the movie almost requires a roadmap to get through. It's a fatal combination of complexity, the challenge of furthering the story where it doesn't really need any more expansion, and drab and less frequent gunplay that, even when guns go off or various enemies clash on the battlefield, the feeling of staleness and repetitiveness are absolutely unescapable.

Underworld: Blood Wars amounts to little more than franchise filler, a movie that's a step away from DTV fodder. It never sparks the imagination or tries to do anything different; even the Nordic Vampires offer little real reprieve from the series' trademark visual style. Action is bland, story mechanics are convoluted, the movie gives no real reason for the audience to care, particularly the casual crowd. This is a movie made strictly for the franchise's fanbase; anyone else is going to feel lost, and likely bored. Sony's Blu-ray does at least come with the expectedly excellent picture and sound qualities. Extras include three character-focused pieces, a catch-all featurette, and a digital graphic novel. For franchise fans only.

[CSW] -3.0- As a franchise fan this reviewer had an interesting take that comes very close to what I thought:
If you like these kind of movies, this one's definitely for you, it's one of the best in the series. Packed with excellent and attractive actors, this is essentially a new medieval epic brought to full life. Don't buy into the herd mentality driven by the snooty critics that this is a bomb. The movie was fun, stylish, salacious, and funny. It shows class war between the aristocratic vampires and the proletariat werewolves, the latter dressing like slobs even though they surely have access to money at this point in their history. Kate comes back for this one and does a good job as a death dealer with conflicts on every side. Although the story line is a bit convoluted and ties back to bits and pieces from earlier series, cohesion has never been the hallmark of this series to begin with. If you enjoyed the other Underworld movies then you will enjoy this one too.
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[V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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