Underworld 2 - Evolution (2006)

I thought it all went downhill after the first movie, but this one actually feels on par. It has my favorite ending too. The scenery changes - as do the characters, but the atmosphere still feels familiar all the way. It's still Underworld.

Instead of Victor there's now Marcus, and the story probes deeper, to before the Lycan (werewolf) and Vampire war: to the plague with which their both species were birthed, and the great forefather Alexander Corvinus.

The myth was revealed in the previous, but we now get to see the legends with our own eyes. He lives still, but things change. Selene and Michael are fugitives of the clan, but the clan... is there a clan? Humans still seem to be involved pretty much only as collateral, but now even the clans are mysteriously disappeared, and it seems the Lycans are all gone too. Extinct? Sequels tell otherwise. It feels a bit inconsistent that way, but as a take on both origins, and the future of the couple that escaped the last Underworld... this movie does a pretty good job.

Maybe the way it cuts out superficial elements is for the best, as it gives not only a sense of isolation during the main characters escape, but also lets you focus on the story and task at hand. It's about the forefather's two sons this time, and another long-lost secret from Selene's past.

There's a bit more special effects. A bit more blur with the blood. A bit more darkness - but there's sunshine too. A ray of light after the despair and dark. At times the odds seem insurmountable, but it's not all bad. I start to wonder if Twilight is anything similar. Maybe the boundaries between a good love story and good action aren't always that far.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle