Underworld: Awakening

Underworld: Awakening
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Måns Mårlind Björn Stein
Produced by	Tom Rosenberg Gary Lucchesi Len Wiseman Richard Wright
Screenplay by	Len Wiseman John Hlavin J. Michael Straczynski Allison Burnett
Story by	Len Wiseman John Hlavin
Based on	Characters created by Kevin Grevioux Len Wiseman Danny McBride
Starring	Kate Beckinsale Stephen Rea Michael Ealy Theo James India Eisley Sandrine Holt Charles Dance
Music by	Paul Haslinger
Cinematography	Scott Kevan
Edited by	Jeff McEvoy
Production company	Lakeshore Entertainment Sketch Films
Distributed by	Screen Gems
Release dates	January 20, 2012 (2012-01-20)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70 million[1]
Box office	$160 million

Underworld: Awakening is a 2012 American 3D action horror film directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. It is the fourth installment in the Underworld franchise, with Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as Selene. Theo James, Michael Ealy and India Eisley were cast in roles new to the series. Filming began in March 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[2] The film was released in Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and 2D theaters on January 20, 2012.

Plot

A few years after the events of Evolution, both the government and the general public have become aware of the vampire and lycans existence. A program to study and potentially harness their powers soon escalates into an all-out genocide. Shortly after the "Purge" begins, Selene and Michael are captured by humans. Due to her enhanced vampiric traits, she is imprisoned in cryogenic suspension.

After being frozen for twelve years, during which both species have been hunted to the brink of extinction, Selene manages to escape. She soon learns that another subject, whom she initially believes to be Michael, has also escaped. While making her way through the high-tech facility, Selene has visions from someone else's point of view. Believing that Michael is mentally guiding her, she follows these "visions", leading her down a garbage chute into a labyrinthine series of basement tunnels. Here she encounters a young vampire named David, who has been tracking her. They quickly realize that the tunnels are infested with Lycans, who are hunting the subject Selene is connected with. Determined to reach Michael, Selene fights her way through the Lycan pack until she reaches the second escapee: not Michael, but a frightened and confused young girl named Eve.

Using David's van, Selene, David and Eve make their way out of the facility, only to be attacked once again by a trio of Lycans. David manages to shoot a lycan while Selene stabs another; the third smashes its way into the rear of the vehicle, where it bites Eve's shoulder. This triggers Eve's partial transformation, revealing her hybrid traits, as she savagely rips the creature's head in half. Selene realizes that Eve is her and Michael's daughter. Eve is believed to be the key to ending the war by "curing" both the vampiric and lycanthropic "infections". However, despite her hybrid nature Selene soon realizes that Eve's bite wound is not healing and she is rapidly growing weaker. David agrees to take the pair to his coven.

The remaining vampires realize that Eve’s weakness is due to her having not fed in a long time. After reluctantly drinking some blood, Eve's wound heals. Recognizing that the coven does not want her there, Selene gets ready to leave. David tries to convince her to stay and help them start an offensive against the humans by training some Death Dealers, but before she makes up her mind, the coven comes under attack by Lycans. Selene joins the fight and kills many lycans. She then finds herself facing a "Super-Lycan" that heals instantly and is not affected by silver. She is knocked unconscious and awakens later to find that Thomas, David's father, has surrendered Eve to the Lycans in return for them leaving. David dies but is resuscitated. Selene confronts a human detective named Sebastian, who is sympathetic to the vampires due to his now dead wife being a vampire. Sebastian confirms that the Lycans have been traced to Antigen, the corporation dedicated to killing off the immortal species. It is also revealed Antigen run the facility from which Selene had earlier escaped.

Selene discovers that Antigen is actually run by Lycans, who have been posing as humans in order to trick the world's governments into believing the Lycans are extinct. The director of Antigen, Dr. Jacob Lane, is trying to perfect the Lycan race and wants Eve's DNA to do so. The "Super-Lycan" Selene faced earlier is identified as Quint - Lane's son and the prototype for Lycan modifications. Selene and Sebastian infiltrate Antigen to stop Lane's plan and manage to save Eve. Selene comes across Subject 0, she then realizes it to be Michael and attempts to free him by shooting his cryogenic tank. Selene is forced to leave the thawing Michael in order to stop the Lycans from escaping with Eve. After confronting Lane and his son, Selene and Eve return to Michael's tank and find it empty with the ice shattered. Selene states that the world will be hunting Michael and the pair vow to find him first.

Cast

Scott Speedman, who appeared as Michael Corvin in the first two films in the series, announced that he would not be reprising his role for the fourth installment.^[4] He did appear in archived footages from the first and second film and a stand-in's portrayal in a distance and later an unconscious state.

Production

Filming began in March 2011 at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. Underworld: Awakening is one of the first movies to be shot using RED EPIC digital cameras in 3D.^[5]

Music

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released to digital outlets on January 17, 2012 by Lakeshore Records, most of the songs are remixed by Danny Lohner, in the soundtrack are the bands: Evanescence, Linkin Park, The Cure, Lacuna Coil, Aesthetic Perfection and more.

1. "Made of Stone" (Renholdër Remix) - Evanescence
2. "Heavy Prey" - Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf feat. Geno Lenardo
3. "Blackout" (Renholdër Remix) - Linkin Park
4. "Apart" (Renholdër Remix) - The Cure
5. "Killer & a Queen" - Stella Katsoudas of Sister Soleil feat. Geno Lenardo
6. "Watch Yourself" (Renholdër Remix) - Ministry
7. "Trip the Darkness" (Ben Weinman Remix) - Lacuna Coil
8. "Young Blood" (Renholdër Remix) - The Naked and Famous
9. "It Rapes All In Its Path" - Black Light Burns
10. "The Posthumous Letter" - William Control
11. "How’m I Supposed to Die" - Civil Twilight
12. "Consolation Prize" - & SONS
13. "Liar" (Revenant mix by 8MM) – 8MM
14. "You Won't See The Light" - Ryan T.Hope of The Lifeline feat. Geno Lenardo
15. "Bottle of Pain" - Combichrist
16. "Intruder" – Collide
17. "Exit Wounds" (Justin Lassen Remix) - Justin Lassen feat. Silent Fury

Score

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from film critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 27%, based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "There's more vapid action and less story in Underworld: Awakening than previous installments, making the whole affair feel inconsequential."^[6] Metacritic has given the film a score of 39 out of 100, based in 17 critics.^[7]

Movie review website The Filtered Lens gave the film a negative review citing that "if you try and pay attention to the plot you will get a headache". However, they did note that the action was well done and said it was the goriest of the series.^[8] Film critic Chris Pandolfi viewed the film positively, especially compared to the first two in the franchise, saying "although it’s about as lasting as dust in the wind, I think it represents what the series should have been right from the start: An escapist supernatural action thriller that gives us license to put our brains on autopilot." ^[9]

Sequel

References

External links

• Official website
• Underworld: Awakening at the Internet Movie Database