Underworld deals with a war that has been going on for several centuries involving vampires and werewolves, and centers around a human descendant of the werewolves whose blood is deemed capable of creating a more powerful creature. At first glance it could come of as a cheesy horror gore fest but they really do a great job of not making that so. It is first and foremost an action movie. They even manage to mix in some emotion and the beginnings of a love story between a vampire (Kate Beckinsdale) and the human/werewolf character played by Scott Freedman. There is also a solid storyline in this movie as there are deals going on in the background between corrupt Vampires and Werewolf leaders.

Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3) plays Viktor, one of the head Vampires who was awakened early from his hibernation in order to help bring an end to the conflict. The action scenes and the special effects were really well done and very consistent throughout the film. The action starts early and doesn’t let up at all. I forgot how much I enjoyed this movie as I don’t think I watched it since the sequel hit theaters. Movies with vampires and werewolves individually haven’t been done well to often so combining them was a risky proposition but they did a real good job. Kate Beckinsdale took on the lead role very well and really gave it some depth and really added to the tale of forbidden love.

Video

The 2.35:1 video transfer lived up to my personal hype and expectations. Sony used an AVC encoding and took full use of the 50 GB disc. The movie had a clean crisp picture and the details looked very sharp. The director added a neat blue tint to the picture. The blacks were deep and the whites were crisp. There wasn’t much natural flesh tones but the few times there were they looked really well. Sony has really done an exceptional job with this disc and proved that they can use AVC encodings to their finest. This is one of those discs that you can pick up for picture alone.

Audio

Even better then the picture is audio - which comes across top notch. Sony uses an uncompressed PCM 5.1 track as they have really showed there mastery for putting out the best in sound. This disc can be used as a reference disc to show off your sound system. There is a large amount of gunfire throughout the movie and you can hear it from every angle. There is a solid soundtrack that never out shadows the dialog. Also included on this disc is a series of Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks, but if you have PCM capabilities, stick to that route - you will thank me for it.

Special Features

The extras on this disc are great - especially for a catalog title. They made excellent use of this 50GB disc and filled it to the brim. There is a pretty good commentary and some solid outtakes. A Fang vs. Fiction documentary which is narrated by Kate Beckinsdale which is definitely worth watching if you have any interest at all in the history of vampires and werewolves. It is something that they didn’t have to put on there but they took the extra mile and stuck it in. There is a story board comparison and music video which are OK. The main treat is the seven-part featurette on the making of the film. It gives you an in depth look at the behind the scenes and special effects creations. Being that there are a lot of creatures and special effects they have a lot to show you.

Final Thoughts

The Underworld series doesn’t have a huge following but they do have a loyal one. Sony did a superb job making sure they kept those fans happy with both movies. The Underworld: Unrated disc is a definite upgrade in all aspects over any previous versions of the film. It is a solid action flick with excellent picture and sound. There are plenty of extras if you like the movie and the movie is one you should like plenty. It is worth a purchase and belongs in the collection of most videophones.