One of the redeeming qualities is Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as Selene from the first Underworld film "Underworld"(2003) and "Underworld: Evolution"(2006). She looks the part, sounds the part and is the part. The character of Selene should be portrayed by no one else other than Kate Beckinsale. It was great how seamlessly she slipped back into a character that we as viewers had not seen her portray since 2006. Unfortunately the film put other actors around her who were average to poor at best except for Charles Dance. Many may know him for his current role of Tywin Lanister on the television show "Game of Thrones". In the film his appearance, although all to brief, and character radiates authority and toughness to the point where you realize that this guy is not to be messed with.
Another positive attribute to the film is that visually looks very good. Whether you watch the film in 3D or just a regular 2D Blu-Ray on an HDTV or if you had the opportunity to see it on the big screen, you will be very happy with the way it looks. The action in the film does exactly what it needs to do, entertain the viewer. It is fast, stylized with some slow motion, and will satisfy an action fans needs. Unfortunately what the movie gains in terms of its aesthetic and entertaining appeal is dwarfed by what it lacks in terms of plot and any kind of substance.
To me as a viewer, running time and plot pacing go hand in hand because usually one dictates another. This film has a running time of 88 minutes, which includes an opening and closing title sequence as well as recap at the beginning of the previous films in the series which featured Selene as the main character. So with all that extra time being taken up with nothing to do with the plot, you have a short film to start out with getting even shorter, to the point where to me it feels like an extended episode of television series on pay cable as opposed to an actual feature film. Due to the short run time the plot pacing is too rushed and nothing really stays with a viewer long enough to be memorable. Also the few new characters we meet have so little screen time that they forgettable, with the exception of Charles Dance who makes the most out of his screen time.
In addition to the short running time hindering the film, the plot itself also did help by being cliched and predictable. It also uses a plot device that I am not a huge fan of, which is jumping forward in time, in this case 12 years into the future. That is a technique that is typically used in television series where the producers believe it necessary to jump forward in time to explore certain story lines that they may not be able to do because of the threat of cancellation. I believe the purpose of the time shift in the film is to make it stand on its own without much connection to the previous films. By doing something such as that, and having a recap at the beginning, they wanted to be able to have those not familiar with the franchise be able to jump right in and watch the film. The problem I have with that is the film is not strong enough to stand on its own(siting the problems I mentioned previously) and the odds are that if you are a fan of the franchise you will look upon it more favorably because of your familiarity with it than someone viewing it for the first time. But a fan could be disappointed because of its disconnect and reduced quality it has in comparison to the previous films, so therefore you may alienate them and are stuck somewhere in the middle. The filmmakers were stuck with a task of trying to get new viewers and keep old ones watching and for me they did not do that. That is not to say that there can not be both first time watchers and previous fans enjoying this film because of course film is subjective and depends on the individual.
Without giving away the ending, it is left wide open for yet another film, in most cases this is supposed to make me as the viewer want more but in this case it left me asking, really? do I really want more? It felt like an ending that you see in the Resident Evil films where they purposely end on a cliff hanger to lead into another film. The film does not leave me wanting more, yes it was nice to see Kate Beckinsale as Selene, Charles Dance was a surprise, and it was good to see The Underworld style vampires and werewolves, but the film as a whole was just forgettable. The action was visually great but there was nothing I had not seen before and can not be seen in other action films. I am giving "Underworld: Awakening" 2.3/5 stars.
