EDIT:
I just came back from the first screening in my country and I'm here to answer all your questions, spoiler-free or not, and also discuss the movie with those of you who have already seen the movie :)
So let's talk Underworld: Blood Wars!
You can fact-check the synopses that get posted on November 24, when it’s released in Russia. :)
shareI actually don't want to be spoiled by the Russian fans, so I think I'll stay away from their threads for a few days, until I watch it myself.
I never get to see a movie earlier than most people, so I'll be here to answer any questions from fans who won't be able to watch it for another month.
Of course, I'll be careful with the spoilers, unless they want me to give away something :)
I do have one question, but as I was typing it, I realized that it’s sort of complicated and probably boring, so you can opt out of answering it. :p
But I’m curious where Semira’s castle and the Nordic castle are located. I’m guessing that Semira’s castle is in Prague, and the Nordic castle is on the Baltic Sea, maybe in Sweden or Finland. Do the films give any clues? For example, is the Nordic castle on the coast of an ocean? Do you see a sunset or sunrise over the sea? That would tell you whether the castle is on the east or west coast of the ocean. That sort of thing.
Having finally seen the movie, I can tell you that I don't remember any clues as to where the Nordic castle is located exactly. They only call it "Var Dohr" many times.
As for Semira's castle, they call it " the Eastern castle". I can't think of any other mentions about its specific location, but Semira mentions the city Budapest in the early stages of the movie, although I can't remember the context in which she's mentioning it. It could be the location of their Eastern castle, but Budapest (Hungary) is more of a Central-European place.
Well, How'd you like it?
http://flickr.com/photos/55196522@N05/sets/72157625135851207/detail/
I liked a lot more than Awakening, that's for sure!
The script contains some very good moments, but some really bad ones as well.
I loved Kate's acting, but I kept feeling that this wasn't her story anymore, as if she was missing something throughout the entire movie (and I don't refer to Michael and Eve), as if she wasn't given enough to do. Although there is some development regarding her character, it didn't feel enough.
On the other hand, we learn more things about David, his backstory and some of what he feels and what he goes through.
There are some interesting side-characters, some better developed than others.
My biggest issues with the movie were the editing and the direction. In some portions, the editing was extremely poor, and so was the camera work (especially during the action scenes). It's crystal clear that Anna Foerster, the director, is at her big-screen debut, coming off television series, because I couldn't help but feel that I was watching a television movie from time to time. There was almost no significant emphasis on any of this movie's scenes. They just skipped through scenes so quickly and added unnecessary shots between takes, just like you see in TV series. The worst editing came in the beginning and at the end of the movie, you'll see what I'm talking about when you'll watch the movie yourself.
Moreover, I don't know if this was the cinema's fault or the cinematographer's, but I was struggling to see the actors' faces during the darker scenes, especially in the second half. I particularly tried to notice something at the very end of the movie but it was just impossible.
The effects are better than in Awakening. The 3D is totally non-existent, so if you can, don't pay extra money to watch it in 3D.
Overall, I liked that they put more effort into the screenplay than they did in Awakening and I guess you'll at least like it if you liked the first 3 movies because they returned to the gothic feel of the Underworld series.
I can't say I'm disappointed, but I'm not too impressed either.
My ranking of the series would be:
1. Underworld
2. Underworld: Evolution
3/4. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans / Underworld: Blood Wars (I'm not sure which one is better, I'll have to watch Blood Wars again to decide)
5. Underworld: Awakening
I don't understand how Selene is getting a new power. She already is a Corvinus Hybird which i though was already the peak which she could be.
Also nu Human? I thought the Vampires/Lycans were being hunted?
Selene undergoes some sort of ritual performed by Lena, the white-haired vampire girl from the Nordic coven, whom you can also see in the trailers. She gains incredible speed or perhaps teleportation powers (it's never made clear which one it is)
A more detailed version of how she gets her new powers, but this contains major spoilers:
Selene is fighting Marius at the Nordic castle (the scene from the trailers in which they fight on ice) and he receives help from Alexia, a vampire-turned-traitor who is Marius's lover, to kill Selene. While Marius and Selene fight, the ice beneath them breaks but is thick enough to support their weights. Selene is weakened by Marius and then Alexia appears from her back and stabs her with a sword. Selene falls down but she remembers Lena has shown her the process of "becoming" before and that she said "Water is the path", so she slips into the water and wakes up back in the castle, where Lena and David help her undergo that process of "becoming".
About the humans:
No, there are no humans in this one, only Lycans and Vampires. The screenwriter returned to the Vampire-Lycan conflict from the earlier movies, as if The Purge from Awakening had never happened. Or at least he avoided making it a part of the movie.
Its not just you. There was a particular scene that was a bit dark and it was hard to see the characters.
I get that the underworld color schemes are black/blue/grey but that scene was just too dark.
I also agree that its hard to say which is better between Blood Wars and Rise of the Lycans. The one thing they both have in common is that they draw on stories/events/locations/history/characters prior to the earlier movies.
I haven't seen it yet nor do I plan to but my opinion is that Michael being dead from blood draining is unlikely.
shareI would greatly appreaciate if you could edit your 2 posts on this board and use spoiler tags for the spoilery questions so that we won't ruin the surprises for those who don't want to be spoiled :) Thanks a lot!
Regarding your comment:
I think Michael is killed first, then drained. If you're interested in further spoilers, let me know.
I'm interested in further spoilers.
What's this I hear about Eve abandoning her mother?
Okay so:
Selene is fighting Marius near the end of the movie at the Eastern castle and a drop of his blood gets in her mouth and she is able to see images of Michael from the previous movies. Then Marius attacks her again so she locks herself in that training cage you see in the trailers to taste Marius's blood again. This time they show from Marius's point of view how Michael is layed on a table and screaming "I'm one of you" or something like that to Marius. Marius shoots him, then kills all the other members of his team by shooting them too. Michael is hanged upside down and Marius cuts him so that his blood can be spilled in a bucket under him. After that, they show really quickly how Marius stacks Michael's blood in little bottles. He injects Michael's blood from time to time to grow stronger. Moreover, after Selene's vision is over, Marius approaches her and shows her a little bottle of blood which he calls "the last bit of Michael". So that's why I think Michael is dead for good, although it defies the logic from Evolution, when Michael resurrects by himself cause of the hybrid powers.
About Eve:
Selene sent Eve away to protect her because she is hunted by both vampires and lycans, so keeping her with her would've put her in danger. Selene doesn't know where Eve is. But at the end of the movie, the very last shot is of Eve appearing from the fog and walking towards Selene, at the Nordic castle.
Ok thanks. I don't entirely agree with your logic. But your logic does make sense.
shareEven though your logic is sound, I still go by Michael's Evolution level healing.
shareI know what you mean, but I think they really wanted to write Michael off because Scott Speedman didn't want to return. I bet they consider the way they killed Michael in this movie a proper way to give him a closure, but they might have forgotten about the previous instalments and Michael's abilities.
shareMaybe.
shareI hope Michael returns in the sixth film.............
shareIt would be a pleasant surprise, but I only hope they won't screw up his comeback completely by making it too forced. I'm pretty sure Speedman won't return and I don't understand why they cast Trent Garett in this one if he's in it for literally 2 seconds, but we'll have to wait and see.
shareWe shall see.
shareYeah, your opinion is valid.
shareThanks for checking. :)
Did they give the name of James Faulkner's character? http://underworld.wikia.com/wiki/File:Blood_Wars_2.jpg
Oh, another question, about a spoiler I read: is Amelia David’s mother?
@philbert278128
Yes, his name is Cassius.
The answer to your spoiler question:
Without giving away any further spoilers, yes, Amelia is David's mother.
Now I'm curious... what's the further spoiler you mention? Maybe Thomas isn't David's father?
shareThomas is definitely David's father. We find out that Amelia is David's mother once we get to the Nordic coven. There is a character there who informs David about all of this. Amelia left David when he was a child in order to protect him. She also left him a single drop of her blood which he drinks and finds out about his past. And now because both Thomas and Amelia are dead, David becomes the inheritor of the Eastern castle.
shareHow was the score/music?? The Underworld movies have always had great music, especially in the end credits. Looking forward to the soundtrack.
shareI didn't take much notice, but I was surprised by their musical choices during the scenes in which the Nordic vampires fight. It was quite unlike anything I've heard in this series. I left as soon as the credits started rolling so I don't know how the music was in that portion.
shareDo they address the fact that humans know (or knew) about the vampires and lycans? Or is that completely ignored?
shareThe humans are not part of the story in this one. Only Vampires and Lycans, just like in the first movies. There may have been a quick mention of humans in the beginning of the film, when Selene narrates the events from the previous movies, but nothing else.
shareHow much would you rate it from 1 to 100?
And how much do you think Rotten Tomatoes will finally land its real number for the rating and why?
Were there a lot of action scenes, I found that Underworld 1 and 2 have the best action sequences and do you feel that the latest has the same standard as those two or better or a little flat???
These movies are guilty pleasures for me and I could watch them over and over again, but objectively, this is how I would rate them:
Underworld - 55/100
Underworld: Evolution - 50/100 (more action-paked and fun than the first one, however not as good story-wise)
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - 45/100 (a little dull and unnecessary, also not as enjoyable)
Underworld: Awakening - 20/100 (bad from start to finish, I found no enjoyment in it)
Underworld: Blood Wars - 40/100 (rushed, no real momentum and bad in the technical departments, but they went back to the roots with the story and there was a clear improvement over Awakening) *opinion upon first viewing*
The Rotten Tomatoes ratings surprised me honestly. So the movies are rated like this:
Underworld - 31% ; average rating 4.7/10
Underworld: Evolution - 16% ; average rating 3.8/10
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - 29% ; average rating 4.3/10
Underworld: Awakening - 27% ; average rating 4.3/10
Now I completely disagree with the rating Evolution has. The movie is actually an improvement over the original in some aspects. It should've been somewhere in the high 20s at least.
Same with Awakening, the movie is terrible all the way through. I understand some critics liked it because the story wasn't convoluted at all and that it was mindless fun but we, fans, didn't want it to be that. I would give it a single digit rating or low 10s at best.
Now because Blood Wars tries to go back to what fans liked about the movies, but doesn't quite do it properly because of the execution and some pretty bad moments throughout, it could go either way:
- 20-30% (my personal rating)
- 10-20%
Upon my first viewing and knowing what the critics liked and what they didn't, I would predict a 22%.
Blood Wars treats its screenplay with superficiality. The action scenes aren't as good as in the first movies. That's what bothered me about Awakening too. The set pieces are still better in BW than they were in Awakening, but it still falls somehow flat.
WOW! Thank you, I was so very much surprised when I saw a very long reply to my comment.
Yes, what you said was right, Awakening is like the worst of the series, thought about going to Blood Wars today but I feel like Sunday may be the best day to watch.
I watched the trailer since the first day it came out and thought it was bland all the way through, but I knew it could be better than Awakening. Rise Of The Lycans was good but my life's just tired of origin stories.
Thanks again, hope I would fully enjoy the movie tomorrow.
And another quick question, will I see the 'blue' screen all over again? Cause it's pretty dizzy to me.
Yes, pretty much. I had problems with understanding what was happening on screen in some scenes in the second half but I don't know if it was my cinema's fault or the cinematographer's. Hope you'll enjoy it :)
share[deleted]
Does it take place 300 years after Awakening?
shareconsidering the cars and motorcycles and trains, technology has slowed if yes lol
shareWell some on the wikia seem to think it does because Selene said she had lived a thousand years.
sharethat could be estimating, or it could be that she was going on a thousand by the time of the original
shareUh she said she had been around 600 years at the start of the film series........ So I think she was just exaggurating.
shareUh she said she had been around 600 years at the start of the film series........ So I think she was just exaggurating.
shareAlso I don't believe Selene is stronger than Michael. No one can convince me otherwise.
shareYet another question from me, if you don’t mind. :D
Do you know who’s on the Council in the Eastern Coven? Maybe these four people, other than Semira? http://underworld.wikia.com/wiki/File:Semira_and_council.jpg Or is Semira a council member too?
Is Thomas a council member? Or did they ever indicate what role Thomas had in the coven?
Yes, I believe they were all part of the Council. If I remember correctly, Semira had just obtained her position in the Council as well. Thomas was not part of the Council, he was summoned by Semira at the Eastern Castle, after the Western castle, where he used to live, was attacked and destroyed.
shareOh wow, I hadn't heard that spoiler information. That's very interesting, thanks.
23 days and I'll be able to see it for myself!