Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Selene (Kate Beckinsale), accompanied by David (Theo James), reluctantly accepts an invitation to the Eastern Coven from Alexia (Daisy Head). The legendary Death Dealer is hunted by Lycans and vampires. Marius (Tobias Menzies), the new leader of the Lycans, is obsessed with capturing Selene’s daughter, Eve for her pure hybrid blood. On the other side, the vampires “signed” Selene’s death warrant, seeking retribution for Viktor’s (Bill Nighy) death. 

At the Eastern Coven, a council member named Semira (Lara Pulver), supported by Thomas (Charles Dance), and Varga (Bradley James), the head trainer for the Death Dealers, asks for Selene’s help. Cassius (James Faulkner), the leader of the council for the Eastern Coven, doesn’t trust Selene, but he eventually accepts Thomas and Semira’s proposal for clemency, Selene agrees to train the Death Dealers to prepare for Marius’ impending invasion, but Semira has other plans.

Thomas urges Selene and David to go to the Nordic Coven in Var Dohr. Selene and David are welcomed by Lena (Clementine Nicholson), and Vidar (Peter Andersson), the elder of the Nordic Coven. Vidar reveals truths about David’s past, and the identity of his mother, and Selene learns about the Nordic Coven’s sacred ritual. 

A secret ally from the Eastern Coven helps Marius, as he prepares to launch his attack on the vampires. Meanwhile, dissension and power struggles threatens the vampire’s chances of survival. Can Selene save the Eastern Coven and defeat Marius?

My Thoughts- “Leave me alone!”

Three surprising words coming from Selene, when she’s cornered and restrained by a group of Lycans. We’re talking about the fierce and scrappy Death Dealer, who never backs down from a fight, but things are different in Blood Wars. Michael is still missing. Selene’s own daughter wants nothing to do with her. Eve is the sole reason why Marius wants to capture Selene, and Selene unfortunately finds out about the crippling effects from Nightshade poisoning. On top of that, the vampires won’t be satisfied until they have Selene’s head on a silver platter. Selene is justifiably burnt out on the war. She’s clearly depressed, and it’s safe to say Selene is way past her breaking point here.

Selene loses the fire that’s necessary to fight, and towards the end, she loses the will to live. Her daughter disappears, death, betrayal, and carrying the burden of being an outcast amongst her own people. Selene goes through a lot in Blood Wars, one big road block after another. Kate Beckinsale delivers another solid and resilient  performance, showing more emotions for a character, who’s understandably struggling and broken. 

Lara Pulver nails Semira. Before Semira reveals her plans for Selene, it’s obvious something is off about her. She’s phony, devious, and Semira is obsessed with power. Semira is also a sensual character, using seduction as a manipulation tactic, a strategy that comes with mixed results. She’s not conflicted about what she’s doing. Semira fiercely and coldly goes after what she wants, with an arrogant smile on her face, and Pulver is an excellent addition to the cast.

Marius is coming! Blood Wars puts a lot of effort into building up Marius’ mystique. He is the greatest threat to the vampire race’s existence, because “there’s never been a Marius.” That’s what they want you to believe, but there’s still something off about Marius. 

No complaints about Tobias Menzies’ performance, and I understand Marius is supposed to be a disciplined, ruthless, and focused tactician. He demands civility from his fellow Lycans, ruling with a strong iron fist, but going by Blood Wars’ standards, Marius is supposed to be the be-all and end-all for Lycan/werewolf villains and leaders. That’s how Marius is presented, but if we’re comparing Marius to Lycan/werewolf adversaries from the past, can we really say he’s more imposing or frightening than Lucian, Raze, William, Dr. Jacob Lane, or Quint? I can’t answer that question with a resounding yes, so that’s a big problem. 

Underworld had a consistent streak for maintaining continuity, so what happened here? Going back to Underworld: Awakening, the existence of vampires and Lycans was exposed. The humans launched a purge or a cleansing, targeting both species. Vampires were living underground, and Lycans were supposedly on the brink of extinction. 

Selene tore through Antigen in Awakening. She killed A LOT  of Lycans, so why do the Lycans have a base of operations that’s located out in the open at a railway yard? Why are the vampires at the Eastern Coven living an unbothered life of luxury, complete with fancy parties? Yes, the Eastern Coven is supposed to be a fortress. I get it, but important plot points from Awakening are completely ignored, and there’s no dancing around it. 

Eve hates Selene now? Selene and Eve had a bad falling out. That’s obvious, but it’s a really weird shift after Eve and Selene had a strong bonding experience in Awakening, complete with both characters holding hands during the closing moments. 

The vampires want justice for Viktor’s death. Okay, but what about Markus? Selene murdered Markus in Evolution, but they never mentioned his name here. Selene killing TWO vampire elders is supposed to be a big deal, so essentially erasing Markus was kind of a weird choice. 

Five films in, and William still takes the top spot for the best wolf form/design for final boss werewolves. Marius transformation? He’s big, towering over Selene, and Marius retains some of his human features in his werewolf form. Yes, it’s another big change for the main villain, but this one didn’t do anything for me. It’s another form that heavily relies on special effects, and when you see the close-up shots, it just looks really bad.

A pair of women are apart of Marius’ clan. One woman clearly works on the armory and all the tech stuff, but she only has a few lines of forgettable dialogue. Maybe it’s just me, but I wish they would’ve done more with their characters. Make a bigger deal out of women joining the ranks of Lycans, because it’s almost to the point, where they’re just background extras, and it’s easy to forget about them (their characters also don’t have names), as the story progresses. 

The decision to go with two villains has its setbacks. Occasionally, Blood Wars feels like two movies in one. Marius and Semira’s stories could’ve stood on their own for two separate films, because there’s more than enough material for their characters. Both outcomes for the final battle at the Eastern Coven fixes some of the problems, but Blood Wars teeters on the edge for a story that’s too much of a jumbled mess. 

Switching to some positives for Blood Wars, I’ve always been a big fan of Var Dohr, and everything about the Nordic Coven. Underworld digs into its rich lore to introduce a vampire coven that’s noticeably different. The Eastern Coven is a lavish coven, full of egos, petty in-fighting, and everything is darker, including the decor and the wardrobes. 

The Nordic Coven? White is the color of choice. It’s not so much a representation of good vs evil, or light vs the darkness.  White fits perfectly with the Nordic Coven, because it’s a peaceful coven, where all the vampires work together as a unit. Vidar is a calmer and more enlightened leader, and you’ll see similar character traits in Lena. The Nordic Coven, isolated deep in a frigid location, works as a refreshing setting for Underworld. There’s something oddly cozy about Var Dohr and the Nordic Coven’s ancient and rustic style, a quiet castle forgotten by time, filled with vampires, who are ready to fight, when the situation calls for it. 

Blood Wars has its problems. A useless and unnecessary secret relationship between a vampire and a Lycan, the story has a fair amount of holes, and the conclusion for Michael Corvin is too weak and disappointing. 

There’s more absurdity in Blood Wars. One moment that’s hard to forget about happens during the final battle. Marius and David, eyes locked, are slowly walking towards each other, they’re shooting nonstop, and every bullet hits. It gets better, because they push the bullets out of themselves, with big growling roars. I know it’s not the reaction they were going for, but I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Blood Wars mostly redeems itself with a satisfying conclusion. Lara Pulver, James Faulkner, Clementine Nicholson, and Peter Andersson are all good additions to the cast. And Varga has a punchable face, so a big thumbs up for Bradley James’ performance, as Semira’s smarmy and pompous lackey. Blood Wars also introduces something new for the Death Dealers. The rookie Death Dealers have a hi-tech training facility, equipped with moving holograms of werewolves for target practice!

The fight scenes and the action sequences are hit-and-miss. Overall, Blood Wars lacks the previously established electric pulse, and the spark for fast-paced and stylish action scenes. Still, I can pick out a few good ones, including the one on one fights with Marius and Selene, and David vs Semira. The battle at Var Dohr is another good choice. It’s Lycans and their machine guns going up against the Nordic vampire’s shields, swords, and crossbows, a bizarre battle, but it works.

We’re inching towards ten years since Blood Wars was released. Is this it for Underworld? The final adventure for Selene? Blood Wars wasn’t set up, or presented as the grand finale for Underworld, but you won’t see any cliffhangers here, and they closed a lot of open loops. David establishes himself as a stronger and more confident character. The identity of David’s mother is revealed. Selene hits another higher level of power, and Selene gets the big reunion she was looking for, after surviving one tough hurdle after another. And Blood Wars ends with the selection of THREE new vampire elders!

Blood Wars is a flawed film. You could say it’s the weakest entry in the series, but Selene’s story finally comes full circle. She gets the big happy ending after enduring a hellish series of events, and there’s a sense of relief for Selene during the final moments of the movie. It’s a mostly complete ending, if Blood Wars is the final chapter in Selene’s journey. Blood Wars actually gives fans closure, even if things weren’t intended to go that way. In the end, if Blood Wars winds up being the last stop for Selene, you can safely say she was more than ready to finally ride off into the sunset. 

Rating- 5/10