One fine day, many years ago, Bruce and James (from the now defunct Inside Gaming channel on YouTube) referenced the cool AF scene where the protagonist of a movie, in a certain scene, swirls around, guns in both hands pointing down and shooting at the floor below her, until she carves out a circle on the floor and falls down, through the hole to the floor below. I didn't know from which movie that was but that scene stuck with me.
Many years later, while looking, deciding what movie i should watch, i remembered that scene, so i decided to watch whatever movie that scene was from.
Underworld.
And i watched it..
...and then i watched it again!
For the next few days i watched all the sequels and prequels, and a few days later i re-watched them all again, a second time. I was hooked on these movies!
So today, i'm going in for a fourth re-watch of Underworld, and perhaps a third round of re-watching them all.
For some reason, Underworld and all its sequels became a franchise with a special place in my heart; one i can re-watch many times and enjoy it.
I mean, look. I'm not gonna lie. I love them, but if you'd ask me to rate the franchise, from bad to good, i'd have to say mediocre; The special effects are ok.
The acting is ok.
I mean, yeah you've got Bill Nighy and his incredible performances, which he pulls off in every movie i've freaking watched with him in it - just look at Davy Jones!.
(Also, go watch the movie Living, if you like his acting.)
Back to Underworld. The main actress is also cute AF.
Kate Beckinsale, what with her sexy british accent, and dressed in leather - that helps!
Butt, really. I mean... but really: there's something about these movies that i love. From the very first watch, they pull me back in every now and then. And there's nothing in the entire franchise i would specifically point to and call awesome (except that scene i described in the beginning). No memorable quotes, no amazing action...no phenomenal actions sequences..there are some silly bits, here and there, a case of an actor which quite frankly is bad at acting..
Yet, i love these movies!
And i can tell you what i love about them. The lore. The overarching story that extends through all the movies, which builds, very well, on the lore of this world. You know how some movies are good, then the sequels are bad, and then the following are "ok"? I can tell you this franchise maintains its quality in storytelling - and that's probably the most important thing! At least it's constant and doesn't disappoint. And the resolution of the franchise is quite good, at the end!
And i got hooked right from the start, in the very first scene of the first movie. We get thrown into the middle of the overarching conflict between Vampires and Lycans. There's no build up to the conflict; seconds into the movie and we're immediately in it!
Underworld tells about a battle between the two races that have been going on for centuries - the introductory monologue sets the scene, right away and it pulled me in, right away; "[Over the centuries] the weapons had evolved but our orders remained the same: hunt them down and kill them off, one by one".
Epic line, that makes you realize that so many events have unfolded prior, and now we find ourselves as part of the story and this epic, long lasting battle!
The dark and gritty visuals, shots, action shots, music and effects; all obviously pulled from The Matrix and its inspirations - and these are also all good reasons to watch Underworld.
I would watch the franchise, if you haven't already. I cannot but recommend you watching it. Even just to see if you become part of our cult (we who adore these films). And, if you do get hooked, there's four more movies to bask in; all well worth the watch, that expand and go into detail on the lore of this gripping, dark and gritty world.
This...Underworld!
Huh..!!? You see what i did there?!