Underworld - Blood Wars
The remaining vampire covens are on the verge of annihilation by the Lycans. Both species are searching for Selene: the vampires seek justice for the death of Viktor, while the Lycans, led by Marius, intend to use her to locate Eve, whose blood holds the key to building an army of vampire-werewolf hybrids.
Underworld - Blood Wars
Semira, a council member of the Eastern Coven, asks Thomas to plead Selene's case before the council. The plea is successful and the council reluctantly agrees to a pardon in exchange for Selene's help. Selene arrives with David and starts training the coven's neophyte Death Dealers for the upcoming war. Semira and Varga, her ally and lover, later poison Selene, slaughter the trainees and frame her for the atrocity. With Selene in her custody, Semira begins draining her blood, intending to drink it to steal her power. Thomas and David attempt a rescue and manage to save Selene. Unfortunately, Thomas dies in the process.
At the Eastern Coven, Semira drinks the blood taken from Selene. Alexia returns and informs her of the attack at the Nordic Coven. Semira kills Alexia, telling her that she knew of her secret alliance with Marius. David returns to the Eastern Coven, presents himself as its rightful heir and denounces Semira. Even Varga deserts her, saying his loyalty is to the rightful leader. She is led off to be imprisoned in her room.
As Selene makes her way through the castle, Semira escapes from her room and kills the guards. Selene and David find Marius, but David is waylaid by Semira. During the fight, a drop of Marius' blood lands on Selene's lips and she is suddenly flooded by his memories. She sees Marius capturing Michael Corvin and slitting his throat to collect his blood and consume it. To counter her despair over Michael's death, she bites her own wrist, accessing her own blood memories of time spent with him. Selene then rips out Marius' spine, killing him instantly. Meanwhile, David manages to kill Semira. He shows Marius' severed head to the Lycans and calls on them to collect their wounded and retreat.
Rafer Guzman of Newsday called the film the weakest and most bloodless of the series, with "third-rate" special effects and "clunky" action scenes.[26] Ben Kengisberg of the New York Times wrote that the film was "so heavy with exposition" that the director and screenwriter were making "a dissertation instead of a sequel", and criticized what he saw as the film's "almost willful lack of fun".[27] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film was a "generic, by-the-numbers" exercise that was "strictly anemic", given "all its talk of blood". He did praise the acting of Beckinsale and Dance, also saying that the presence of Dance continued the tradition of distinguished British actors "appearing in Hollywood crap in lieu of receiving a proper pension".[28]
Vampire death dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) continues her struggle against the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her, with both sides trying to use the blood of her and her daughter to become Corvinus Strain hybrids. After hiding her daughter, Selene, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), attempt to end the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, though Selene must take a risk that may cost her life.
Beginning of the film: "I was an elite soldier in the Vampire army, a Death Dealer, but I was betrayed. Viktor, our leader and the most powerful Vampire was not the savior he had led me to believe. Suddenly allies turned enemies. The Vampire Elders I had once protected wanted me dead. Then I found Michael Corvin, neither Vampire nor Lycan. Michael became a Hybrid. We retaliated, killed the Elders. But then, everything changed. I was captured, not knowing that I was carrying Michael's child. Eve, our daughter, the first pure-blood Hybrid whose blood could end the war became highly sought after by both Vampires and Lycans alike. My only choice was to hide her from the world and from myself so not even I could lead them to her. I have lived beyond my time, another new moon in a thousand years of new moons. And I do not care to see it. I have nothing. My coven, my daughter, my love all gone. And soon, perhaps, my very existence. I am hunted by Vampires and Lycans. Now I am an outcast, a pariah."
The remaining vampire covens are on the verge of being wiped out by the Lycans. Both species are searching for Selene: the vampires seeking justice for the deaths of Viktor and Marcus, and the Lycans, led by Marius, intending to use her to locate Eve, whose blood holds the key to building an army of vampire-werewolf hybrids.
Semira, a council member of the Eastern Coven, says she wants Selene to be granted clemency so that she can train the Eastern Coven's neophyte Death Dealers. To that end, Semira enlists Thomas to plead Selene's case before the full council. Thomas succeeds and Selene arrives at the Eastern Coven with David. Semira has her ally and lover Varga poison Selene, then slaughter the Death Dealers and blame Selene for it. Once Selene is under arrest, Semira begins draining her blood, which she intends to drink to gain Selene's power. Thomas and David try to rescue Selene, but they're attacked by Semira and Varga. They kill Thomas, but not before he's able to hold them off long enough for David and Selene to escape.
Upon Alexia's return to the Eastern Coven's castle, she informs Semira of the events at the Nordic Coven. Semira kills her, revealing she knew of Alexia's treachery, and wanted Alexia to lead the Lycans to the Nordic Coven for her own ends. David returns to the Eastern Coven and presents himself as its rightful heir. Semira is arrested by none other than Varga, whose ultimate loyalty is to the rightful leadership of the coven. She is subsequently imprisoned in the dungeons. The coven comes under attack by Marius and his forces. The Lycans blow holes in the castle's walls, letting in sunlight, killing most of the vampires. David continues fighting, only to find himself face to face with Marius. Selene suddenly reappears, in a Nordic appearance and coat over her normal Death Dealer uniform. It is revealed that the Nordic Coven revived her through their passing to sacred world ritual and in doing so new abilities are enabled. She swiftly begins dispatching the Lycans, as the rest of the Nordic Coven, led by Lena, join the fight. While Selene is making her way through the castle, the guards in the dungeons are killed by Semira, who then escapes from her cell. Selene and David find Marius, but David is waylaid by Semira. As Marius and Selene's fight continues, a drop of Marius's blood lands on Selene's lips. She is suddenly flooded by a series of blood memories in which Marius finds Michael. She sees Marius capturing Michael and slitting his throat in order to collect his blood and consume it. Believing that Michael is dead, she bites her own wrist, using her own blood memories of the time she has spent with Michael, Eve, and David to fuel her rage. Although Marius has transformed, Selene rips out his spine, killing him instantly. David manages to kill Semira. He shows Marius's severed head to the Lycans, and forcefully tells them to retreat.
Vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) hides from both the Lycans (a.k.a. werewolves) and her own estranged tribe, but soon the vampires ask for her help. Joined by David (Theo James), Selene continues the interspecies war against Marius (Tobias Menzies), who is after the blood of her hybrid daughter, Eve.
Parents need to know that Underworld: Blood Wars is the fifth movie in the vampire vs. werewolf franchise starring Kate Beckinsale as a vampire warrior. Be ready for tons of gory violence. Much of it is computer-generated and fake looking, but there are still lots of blood spurts, bloody wounds, and other graphic moments (a severed head, a werewolf's spine ripped out, etc.). Other action violence includes martial arts fighting, sword fighting, and hand-to-hand combat, plus guns and shooting. Women (and, briefly, children) are involved. Some female characters wear revealing outfits, and cleavage is seen. A shirtless man caresses a woman and kneels down in front of her; she then moans in ecstasy. Language is infrequent but includes a somewhat obscured use of "f--k," plus "s--t." All in all, this is more of the same for this series, with the few fun parts largely bulldozed by the dumb parts.
Following a brief recap of the previous four movies, UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS begins as Selene (Kate Beckinsale) fends off lycan (werewolf) attackers. The leader of the lycans, Marius (Tobias Menzies), wants to find Selene's daughter, a pureblood vampire-lycan hybrid, to gain access to her potent blood. But Selene has hidden her daughter away so securely that even she doesn't know the girl's location. Then David (Theo James), who owes his life to Selene, learns a long-hidden secret about his own birth. Meanwhile, treachery abounds within the vampire ranks, with various factions vying for power and everything leading up to a mighty showdown between the vampires and the lycans, perhaps once and for all.
Is the movie scary? How does it compare with other movies about vampires and werewolves? Why do you think it's so graphic? Is that part of the appeal of a film like this? What would the movie be like if it toned down the blood and gore?
From the look of things, Kate Beckinsale means business as she fends off brutal attacks from both the werewolves and bloodsuckers who plague her life. With her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the dissidence between the Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice. IMP Awards brings us this new poster straight from the front lines.
The film starts with a recap of the previous films. The vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) has been a death dealer for thousands of years in the war against the lycans. She was betrayed by the vampire elder Viktor (Bill Nighy) and later met and fell in love with Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), who would become the first vampire-lycan hybrid. Selene and Michael's daughter Eve (India Eisley) is the first pureblood hybrid. Selene was forced to keep Eve in hiding to keep her safe as she went to look for Michael. Without Michael, Eve, or her coven, Selene feels alone as both vampires and lycans are hunting her. 041b061a72