UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING
Direction: Marlind and Stein
Actors: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealey
Rating: ***1/2
The first three Underworld films were silly, extremely noisy vampires-versus-werewolves horror stories. The fourth installment ponderously clomps through the
motions as two warring species go at each other guns-and-fangs all over again.
Any potential that the premise might have had is squandered by lifeless direction, tacky 3D effects and the hogwash script. A series of ludicrous situations are strung together in a vain attempt to generate some excitement. We are smothered with listless images and dollops of gratuitous gore.
As the one-woman demolition army, Kate Beckinsale is camera-friendly. But that’s about it. Even at a mercifully brief 85 minutes, Underworld: Awakening is guaranteed to leave the viewer in a state of deep slumber.