Plot: What’s it about?
I’ll confess that the seemingly never-ending Underworld films don’t hold much interest to me. It’s been several years since I first saw the original, and I skipped out on the other chapters. So coming into this 5th chapter without having seen the previous sequels might seem odd, but duty calls. Another long running series, also owned by Sony are the Resident Evil films. I won’t call those great by any means, but they’re at least somewhat more intriguing to me than these. I’m sure the well-established and invested fans of these films will see this chapter regardless of my review, but I’ll chug along anyhow.
Kate Beckinsale returns once again as Selene, or better known as the “Death Dealer”. Both, the Lycans and Vampires are after her for information about her daughter and her whereabouts and for justice. Needless to say, she’s not one to just give up and give in. Of course then there’d be no movie and I’d be a lot happier, but I digress. Through a daring escape, Selene, joined by David (Theo James) are now on the run and plan to fight to save their lives. I won’t lie and say I understood all the characters and the plot points or motivations, but I also didn’t care to. I don’t think the film really cares or not if we do. I found the whole affair more than a little tedious and preposterous. Everyone seems to be going through the motions at this point. I also must mention that the action scenes are so dark and hard to decipher exactly what’s happening. There are a couple of nifty kills here and there, but not enough to redeem this nonsense. If you’re already a fan then you should know what to expect. All others should sit this one out.
Video: How’s it look?
This 4K version seems to have a bit of an edge over its Blu-ray counterpart. And for the obvious reasons, with a bit better color rendition, a bit deeper blacks and shadow detail. I mentioned the film being too dark to see a lot, but the disc does present the film as it should. Details are always strong even if the lighting is bad. The effects and all come through nicely as well. The image is AVC encoded with a 2.40:1 ratio. Fans should be pleased with the results here.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included Dolby Atmos track pretty much does what we expect it to – it rocks. Fear not, the down-sampled Dolby TrueHD track is no slouch, with each offering some very dynamic audio that utilizes every one of your speakers. There’s pretty much little room for rest as there’s a lot happening throughout the film. Vocals are crisp and the action kicks in all throughout. All channels remained active and there was a nice bass to this track. Fans will be pleased with the results
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Underworld: Blood Wars – The Official Movie Graphic Novel – As the title suggests, this is the official graphic novel for the film. I’ve never read a comic book on my television before, but there’s a first time for everything right?
- The Evolution of a Scene – We get a brief look at how the character of Selene has changed over the films and what events have impacted her.
- Building a Blood War – The most robust supplement at 12 minutes, but we do get a lot of behind the scenes footage and some insight into what (and why) this film came along.
- Old and New Blood – With this being the fifth installment, the filmmakers discuss what the new characters bring to the film.
- The Evil Evolved – Mainly a montage of scenes, but we do get a look at some of the various “evil-doers” that Selene has had to face off in previous films.
The Bottom Line
I’ll be honest: This film did nothing for me. I much prefer the Resident Evil films, though even those are far from great. I can just go along with them better. I found this chapter slow and dull with little reason for its existence. If you’ve been a fan of these then you know who you are, all others should skip it.
