Underworld (film): Difference between revisions

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The main plot revolves around the struggle between the Lycans, a former slave race to the vampires, rebelling and the latter vowing to exterminate them. All because Lucian, a Lycan, and vampire lord Viktor's daughter fell in love and conceived a child. Viktor ordered her killed to ensure the [[Hybrid Monster|"Abomination"]] would not come to term. Lucian escaped and the rest, as they say, is history.

In the modern day, Lycans have been "hunted to near extinction", or so the Vampire nobles think, but in reality they are gathering in numbers and planning on wiping out the vampire leadership with a plot to create their own hybrid on the eve of the vampire elders switching power. This is where Michael comes in. He is, among the descendants of the Corvinus clan, the only one with the genetic makeup capable of letting him be turned into a vampire ''and'' a werewolf. Normal humans can only be turned into one or the other; trying to "mix" causes death. Selene, a vampire Death Dealer with a personal vendetta against all werewolves, notices the Lycan's botched kidnapping of Michael, and helps him escape capture. Along the way, they begin to fall in love, an issue that gets all the more complicated when he gets bitten and starts turning into a werewolf. Can their love survive their species' natural hatred?

 

 

* '''''Underworld''''' (2003) introduces the basic setting, as well as the main characters: Selene and Michael, who are caught in the conflict between Viktor's vampire court and the rebellious Lycans led by Lucian.

* '''''Underworld: Rise of the Lycans''''' (2009) depicts the origin of the Lycan rebellion against their Vampire masters, sparked by the [[Star-Crossed Lovers]] Lucian and Sonja, Viktor's vampire daughter. [[Foregone Conclusion|As may be expected from a prequel]], it has a [[Downer Ending]].

* '''''Underworld: Awakening''''' (2012) is set approximately 12 years after ''Evolution'' and revolves around Selene, fresh out of torpor, trying to find her and Michael's daughter in the midst of [[Broken Masquerade|the extermination of both Vampires and Lycans at the hands of humanity]].

 

Not to be confused with [[The Underworld]], [[Hell|that underworld]], ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'', the band [[Underworld (band)|Underworld]], [[Coronation Street|this one]] or a [[Metro Specific Underworld]], which it may loosely reference.

{{tropelist}}

* [[Abnormal Ammo]]: Silver bullets are to be expected, but special liquid silver nitrate bullets are used to prevent the projectiles from being easily removed. The Lycans, for their part, have developed UV rounds for use against the vamps.

* [[Ancient Conspiracy]]: Both the masquerade setting itself, and ''within'' the vampire clan under the noses of its members.

* [[Anticlimax]]: In the first movie, a Lycan starts to transform and it looks like it's going to have a knock-down drag-out fight with a vampire. Said vampire is quickly knocked down and torn to pieces.

** And in more traditional anticlimax fashion, the final fight. The entire movie is spent building up how absurdly, ridiculously powerful the blending of Vampire and Lycan would be. And he is, at first... until Victor suddenly starts [[Worf Effect|Worfing]] him so that [[Mary Sue|Selene]] can be the one to [[Boring Invincible Hero|effortlessly]] finish Victor off.

* [[Anti-Villain]]: By the end of the first movie, {{spoiler|Lucian}} is a villain only by virtue of being on the opposite side.

* [[Black and Grey Morality]]:The whole vampire werewolf conflict, also ''Rise of The Lycans'' and ''Evolution'' are the only films with the protagonists can be argued to be the more heroic participants in the conflict, rather than the guys with the current viewpoint.

* [[Big Bad]]: Viktor in the first movie and ''Rise of the Lycans'', Marcus in ''Evolution'', Dr. Lane in ''Awakening''.

* [[Bottomless Magazines]]: Selene's automatic pistols must just be magical, roaring with one continuous noise as they spew bullets like water out of a hose. Her infamous [[Bullethole Door|Bullet Hole Trap Door]] is only one example.

** The stunt itself was no picnic. Kate Beckinsale states in the commentary that the shrapnel from the broken floor tile was exploding into her face.

** Inverted with the bottom of a rapidly descending elevator in ''Awakening''. {{spoiler|The elevator lands on her, but the bullets made the floor weak enough (and she's ''tough enough'') that it doesn't particularly bother her.}}

* [[Every Helicopter Is a Huey]]: Very nearly averted in ''Evolution'' - the helicopter shown in long-shots is a modified SA 360 Dauphin that just happens to [[The Coconut Effect|sound like]] a Huey. Unfortunately, sometime between the helicopter landing and [[The Squad]] piling out the back, it's turned into a Huey anyway. In an apparent compromise, the prop used after it inevitably crashes and turns into a [[Helicopter Blender]] looks like some unholy fusion between the two.

* [[Evil Brit]]: Seemingly played straight with Lucian in the first film. But then subverted when it turns out {{spoiler|he isn't the villain, or at all evil.}}

** The werewolf doctor in ''Underworld'' has a family tree showing the dates for the Corvinus family dating back to the 5th century AD with Marcus Corvinus.

** And then there's Alexander, who reveals himself to have been the father of the original Marcus Corvinus; still alive after approximately 1600 years.

* [[The Masquerade]]: It's revealed in the second film that Sir Derek Jacobi and his merry men have been following the vampires around and cleaning up their mess. They even mention bribing witnesses to keep their mouths shut. {{spoiler|The fact that Markus kills all of them is probably what led to the [[Broken Masquerade]].}}

** [[The Unmasqued World]]: In ''Awakening'', humans have [[Broken Masquerade|found out about vampires and lycans]] and started hunting down both of them. Selene, while breaking into a sporting goods/gun store, sees vampire and lycan teeth on sale.

** Selene, which means "moon".

* [[Mono-Gender Monsters]]: Going by the movies, there was exactly ''one'' female Lycan, Lucian's mother, who was infected while pregnant. Though presumably the virus is just as contagious to both genders, the use of this trope was [[Justified]] as the vampires wanting only male lycan slaves.

[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]

[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]

[[Category:Film]]