Underworld: Evolution

Eine Version von Van Helsing mit billigeren Tricks und moderneren Filtern. Je näher der Abspann rückt, desto vorhersehbarer wird der Film. Dank der kürzeren Laufzeit und des tollen Image von Kate Beckinsale habe ich mich aber weniger als bei Van Helsing gelangweilt. (02.03.2006)

Exactly one star better than the fist one. There is more and better action, better cinematography and effects, less pompous and empty bullshit (but of course there is no lack of it either), only Wiseman's vampire-lykan mythology remains uninteresting and dull. PS: Scott, I can't tell you how much I can relate regarding the erection... (01.04.2006)

Len Wiseman is not a good screenwriter by any stretch of the imagination (I was convinced of this unfortunate fact when I saw the first film) and he is definitely not a good director (which I somehow, strangely accepted last time). Underworld: Evolution amounts to a bunch of awkward dialogues that are supposed to be interludes between the frantic action, which the director used excessively. But according to the motto "too much of everything is bad," Underworld is an overly noisy, flashing, and frenetically edited spectacle that glues together boring dead weight from the plot. For some reason, they strangely cut out the werewolves and the film more or less revolves around strange vampire "politics" that are laughable. The Speedman-Beckinsale duo starts off with a nice sex scene, which is where their pros in the film end. Underworld: Evolution is nothing more than a popcorn movie trying to be something more. It's not enough just to have perfect technical aspects (sound, cinematography, CGI) and dirty-looking sets to add to the film's rawness. It lacks a plot with more sense and maybe a little bit of directorial inventiveness. Perhaps that's why I'm skeptical about the idea of a trilogy. (09.04.2006)

Better action, meaningful mythology, and even more attractive Kate Beckinsale still aren't enough for at least a solid film. The Underworld series will forever remain an unfinished great idea for me. Evolution, although aiming relatively high, is brought down by the tiresome crucial battle and trivial conclusion. (07.03.2006)

Van Helsing, Blade 2, Terminator. When watching the second Underworld, you sometimes get the feeling that you are watching a hybrid of all these movies. But a very entertaining hybrid, I should say. Wiseman’s directing hasn’t improved one bit since part one. But thanks to having more money, we get a more bombastic story and even bigger craziness than last time. And to top things we get Kate Beckinsale in a latex suit, so who could want anything more from this summer put-your-feet-up movie. (27.09.2006)

Hier wurde gefährlich viel Handlung hinzugefügt, die Mythologie der ganzen Reihe, aber wieder das Einzige, was man auch weiter anschauen kann, so wie Latex-Kate in der Hauptrolle. Es ist schade, dass man auch mehr Farben hinzugefügt hat, ihre Liebesszene in Metallic-Blau zu sehen wäre interessanter. Und ich ziehe es vor, Derek Jacobi als Claudio in meiner Erinnerung zu behalten. (31.07.2012)

Compared to the first part, it is somewhat weaker. Above all, the relative originality and appealing visual concept of the first part does not bear the desired fruit in the sequel, and everything is mired in a large number of visual effects. These effects are better than in the predecessor, but the significantly disjointed screenplay buries everything under a ton of clichés. Kate Beckinsale is great (the erotic scene is beautifully shot), the rest is just some acting filer. The inventiveness is gone, the mythology is boring, and the action is quite inconsistent. The opening massacre of the village in some sequences reminded me of the opening battle in Gladiator, the editing and some camera shots, in particular, are quite similar (I love the blood splatters on the camera). There is more blood, but unfortunately, the quality has decreased. It's not necessarily bad, just somewhat dumber, and the most embarrassing part is in the end - the terminator-like monologue. (16.09.2006)

Underworld: Evolution ist eine solide Fortsetzung des ersten Teils, die die verbleibenden Teile des Puzzles vervollständigt und die ziemlich gut durchdachte vampirisch-lykanische Mythologie abrundet. Mir gefiel das Konzept mit dem ersten Unsterblichen und seinen Söhnen, den Gründern zweier Familien, die sich seit Urzeiten gegenseitig verfolgen und ermorden. Erwähnenswert sind auch die gute Verknüpfung mit dem ersten Teil und die einzelnen Rückblenden in die Vergangenheit, die die Zeitebene der Geschichte unterbrachen, so dass die Handlung nicht so eintönig wirkte. Ähnlich wie im ersten Film waren die größte Schwäche das schwächere Drehbuch und einige Szenen, die auf Wirkung angelegt waren, ohne logisch zu sein. Nichtsdestotrotz, und vielleicht mag ich diese Serie gerade deshalb - wegen ihres actionreichen und absichtlich dümmlichen (was ich nicht negativ meine) Looks. Eine mit dem ersten Teil vergleichbare Fortsetzung, die der Serie durchaus zur Ehre gereicht und sich dank vieler Rückblenden ein wenig von der Masse abhebt. (04.09.2016)

I did take one star off, but only because it didn't bring anything new compared to the first installment. Then again, the things I liked about the first one didn't get spoiled by the second one, so I had a pretty good time again while mostly switching my brain off. I was just puzzled by the combination of Russian-speaking policemen driving cars with Hungarian signs. (17.04.2017)

As with the first installment, Underworld: Evolution capitalizes heavily on great visuals, set design, and the beautiful Cate Beckinsale. A predictable plot, a threadbare script, and lackluster direction bring the bar set by the first installment down to 3 stars. (08.08.2009)