Okay, let's not beat around the bush. The main reason I bought Underworld was because it had Kate Beckinsale in a very tight leather outfit on the front cover. It turned out to be a pretty good film in its own right too, though.
The story is a bit of a horror flick/detective story hybrid. Vampires and werewolves are real, and they've been fighting for the last fuck knows how many centuries. We get dropped into the story when the vampires think they have almost wiped out the entire Lycan race, as they call werewolves. However, it soon turns out they have actually been plotting plotty things in secret, and there are actually a lot more of them than the vampires think. Vampire Selene, who is a Death Dealer (I have a death metal album somewhere called that, I think.), traces and attacks a pair of Lycans as they try to kidnap a human. She wants to investigate the matter, because it is weird that Lycans should be interested in humans. The vampire currently in charge of the coven, however, forbids her to.
Things happen, people get shot, and it soon turns out the Lycans are after humans from one particular bloodline, because if they find the right one, they will be able to make a vampire/werewolf hybrid, which will be stronger than either separate race. Of course, the vampires ain't happy at this, so they set out to put the bad doggies back on their leash.
Underworld looks pretty, the acting is quite good, and the story stays interesting. To be honest, most of the plot twists can be seen coming, but that's not a bad thing, because the whole film is intended to be more action than whodunnit anyway. If you want unexpected twists, I recommend you take a nightly drive through a forest on a mountain. If you're just looking for a decent supernatural creature feature, though, why not try Underworld?
One last thing: I absolutely refuse to believe that skintight leather and 6 inch heels are practical clothing for hunting and killing werewolves. But what the hell, I'm not complaining. And everything is better than that corset-and-curtain ensemble Kate Beckinsale wore in Van Helsing.
