After several years of whiny and overly sexual vampires, it feels good to be back on the action packed "team Selene." Over the top action has always taken priority over story in the "Underworld" series, despite having a deep and well thought out origin story. The series failed to explain it properly in the first trilogy, and "Underworld: Awakening" attempts to give the series a fresh start by re-establishing the rules.
The series has always been about the secret battle between lycans and vampires. When their battle is finally brought to the public eye, humans make it their mission to exterminate both species. It would have been nice to have a film depicting the particulars of this struggle, and while "Awakening" does an adequate job of establishing the history of the war, it mostly picks up at the end of the war and the resulting twelve-year coma of the main character, Selene (Kate Beckinsale). During her coma, both species have become all but extinct. Selene has unknowingly conceived a half-breed daughter named Eve (India Eisley), and the film follows Selene’s struggle to protect her daughter from the company that kept them both captive the last twelve years.
The idea of Selene having a daughter is given little context and begins the movie's confusing plot. Anyone who has not seen previous films will be missing little bits of information, so it’s wisest to view the preceding chapters. As little flaws in this film pile up, it becomes harder and harder to get lost in the vampire world. Adding to this disjunction are the characters themselves. Despite being a test subject her entire life, Eve is completely unscathed emotionally. And while all the side characters have interesting back-stories, none have enough screen time to get into any depth. Selene carries the entire story on her shoulders, and it weighs too much for one character.
Lets face it, if you're watching "Awakening" for its story, then you're missing the point. It is an action film. From beginning to end, the tension of battle never lets up, and this is what saves the film. You may not feel connected to the characters, but you never get bored. Every few minutes, either bullets are flying, something's blowing up, or someone's getting ripped to pieces. If the characters were normal humans, you'd question the realism, but with vampires and lycans you just accept it and get lost in the violence. More films should strive to have this level of fun with their fights.
"Underworld: Awakening" isn't going to be winning awards, but it’s not trying to win any either. If you can live without a developed story, you're in store for some brilliant action.
Three "Vampires" out of Five
