Underworld Awakening Movie Review: Does This Movie Deliver?

The fourth installment to the Underworld movies that offered a fresh and unique twist to the lore of both vampires and werewolves, Underworld Awakening, starring Kate Beckinsale, has quite a lot of expectations to fill. To be completely honest with you, I was going to wait until this movie came out on DVD! The trailer really didn't look all that great.

I loved the first one and thought it was brilliant. The sequel, however, was disappointing to me. The prequel: Underworld: The Rise of Lycans had redeemed the franchise in my eyes. Yes, I had a lot of doubts about whether Underworld 4 would be any good, and I went into the theaters with very little expectations for this movie.

Would Underworld 4 Awakening be a good continuation of the Death Dealer, Selene, and hybrid, Michael Corvin, vampires versus werewolves story line? Would it bring a fresh, new twist to the series? These were the questions I asked myself as the lights dimmed and my eyes geeked out on all the neat 3-D previews.

Yep, I went to watch it in IMAX 3-D, and that was probably the only reason why I declined to wait for it to come out on DVD and went to shell out good money to catch it in the theaters.

So I'm going to tell you the premise, because I don't want to ruin the movie for you. Humans have found out that vampires and lycans exist and commit what's called "The Purge" in which they hunt down the vampire covens and Lycans to extinguish them all. Selene is captured in the beginning and awakens in cryogenic suspension within an unknown room. She escapes the room and the building to look for Michael, and this leads her on an action-packed journey to find out the startling secret behind the company, Antigen, she had escaped from and just why they had held her captive to begin with.

Was Underworld Awakening a good continuation of the Underworld story line, or was it just Hollywood's attempt to pump out a half-decent story and over-cram it with action and special effects to make up for a flimsy story?

I've always expressed my certain disdain...well, I shouldn't say disdain...more like fear of a sequel completely ruining a great story that should've just been left alone. A few sequels that come to mind that should've just been left alone are the Highlander sequels, The Matrix, The Prophecy, Boondock Saints, and a whole lot more.

A sequel better stack up to the original or top it like The Dark Knight did with Batman Begins!

Underworld Awakening is a great continuation to the blood-fued between vampires and Lycans, and I think it did the story line justice! Yes, it was full of great action sequences and special effects, but the story wasn't so flimsy and low brow that it made me groan in my seat. It was a thrill-ride and extremely enjoyable. Well, and as a guy, I do have to admit seeing Kate Beckinsale in that tight outfit again was a great plus as well.

Was the story predictable? Not in the least. I admit there were certain parts I tried to predict where the story was heading, and I'm usually pretty good at it. However, in this case, it just wasn't my day. Underworld 4 had me guessing wrong, and it had nice fresh twists that kept it greatly entertaining.

Did Underworld Awakening deliver? Yes, it did, and there's one extremely important criteria that I use my critique on. It basically boils down to this question:

Am I interested in seeing what happens in the next Underworld movie and where they take the Underworld franchise?

The answer: Abso-friggin-lutely!

I put Underworld Awakening in the Must-See category for 2012 movies!