Review of Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) by Viktor N — 15 Sep 2018

Kate Beckinsale is compulsively watchable in this tale of Matrix-like vampires in their eternal war with luddite werewolves. Director Anna Foerster delivers slickly executed action sequences just as well as the original film's director (Beckinsdale's real-life ex-husband) Len Weisman.

The fight sequences are quite good, even if they're not at the same level of Yuen Woo Ping's fight sequences in the Matrix films or as inventive as those in the John Wick films, but really, how many films at are those levels of awesomeness? Although I've never cared for the humorlessness and rather ponderous mythology of this franchise, which primarily seems to be an excuse to get to the next slow-motion gunfight and hand-to-hand fight sequence, I do really like the Underworld series.

Most franchises by this time (this is the fifth in the series) can get bogged down by their own ever growing backstory, but series creator and producer Weisman manages to keep this story of high-tech vampires vs.

low-tech werewolves interesting and never straying too far from it's original key story elements. Overall, if you enjoyed the previous films, you'll like this one too.