Underworld: Blood Wars 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Underworld: Blood Wars 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 12, 2017

One of the most common reactions to learning of Underworld: Blood Wars isn't excitement, it's "they're making another one of those movies?" The longstanding franchise, previously four films strong and now with a fifth under its belt, has been a mainstay of the 21st century Action/Horror movie scene, right up there with another Sony property of some longevity, Resident Evil. The Underworld universe, which tells the story of the battle between vampires and werewolves that's not fought with fangs and claws but rather slow-motion stylized gunfights, has grown a bit long in the tooth, but so long as Kate Beckinsale is game for donning the black leather cat suit there seems to be no end in sight; a sixth film has been confirmed by series Producer Len Wiseman.

The "Death Dealer" Selene (Beckinsale) is a wanted woman, wanted by the Lycans for information as to her daughter's whereabouts and wanted by the Vampires for justice. The Vampire Semira (Lara Pulver) offers Selene the hand of peace in exchange for training a new wave of Death Dealer cadets. But she orders Varga (Bradley James) to betray the promise. He murders the recruits and Selene barely escapes with her life thanks to David's (Theo James) timely intervention. The pair, blamed for the deaths, find themselves on the run and travel to the frigid, distant Nordic Coven where they find refuge and prepare to fight the battle of their lives.

Blood Wars practically epitomizes the concept if "milking" a cinema franchise. The original was enjoyable. It was fresh, invigorating, its style perhaps more in the mold of The Matrix and less an original creation, but it was a good film that was far more creative than it was derivative. The series has since largely declined, Rise of the Lycans a blip on the radar of a steady stream of mediocrity. Blood Wars is desperate to eek out a reason for its existence, to justify yet again its blue-filtered bedlam of bullet-ridden violence. It never quite can. The story isn't particularly engaging, the action is infrequent and bland, and the characters are unimaginative stereotypes. Plot mechanics cover familiar ground of power-hungry individuals, betrayals, and gray-area battles between Lycan and Vampire. Even as the film begins with a recap of key plot developments from the previous films, all but the most die-hard Underworld fans are going to be a bit lost for the duration. The film offers no real perspective, nuance, or depth for newcomers or those just casually familiar with the franchise, and even the staple superficialities aren't enough to engender any real interest, either.

The film does shake things up a little with the introduction of the "Nordic Coven," a collection of white-clad, cold environment Vampires who offer a departure from the series' trademark black-and-blue production design. It's still dreary up there in their neck of the woods, but it offers a nice visual change-up that the series desperately needed. Still, it's just window dressing. Blood Wars is essentially the same movie the team has made before, though action comes less frequently and feels more stale while the character roster and mythology are so deep and intertwined and jumbled together that the movie almost requires a roadmap to get through. It's a fatal combination of complexity, the challenge of furthering the story where it doesn't really need any more expansion, and drab and less frequent gunplay that, even when guns go off or various enemies clash on the battlefield, the feeling of staleness and repetitiveness are absolutely unescapable.

Underworld: Blood Wars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Underworld: Blood Wars was reportedly shot at 6K, finished at 4K, and is presented on the 2160p UHD format with a true 4K presentation. The film makes for very good UHD material, even as the movie is rather dark and not particularly vibrant or home to images that reveal high level detailing. Still, there's a noticeable uptick in sharpness, stability, and clarity over the Blu-ray. The 1080p presentation is certainly excellent, but it's clearly inferior in comparison, at least in terms of crispness and clarity. The UHD is much sharper, so much so that the Blu-ray almost appears smeary by comparison. Skin and hair are much better defined and environmental supports across various backgrounds are sharper. It's a major refinement, but not a revolution; it's a fairly good example of the UHD format bringing added clarity and general robustness to an image. The color palette makes for a more interesting comparison. The UHD's HDR presentation is actually more reserved, adding to the film's already cold, bleak imagery. Take a look at a shot of Selene at the 5:35 mark. It's a good place for comparison for a few reasons. One, it's a facial close-up and embodies the structural improvements outlined above. More, it offers the series' standard-issue black-and-blue contrast against her face, red lips, a streak of red blood, and bright blue eyes. The HDR tones everything down. Skin is more ghostly pale and the red lips and blood are less punchy and deeply saturated. Such holds true throughout; it seems more fitting for the film's bleak visual style, but in sacrifice of what little color punch is available to it. As with most UHD discs, blacks tend to waffle a bit, pushing noticeably more pale here, but not significantly so. There's a little more breathing room and separation between darkened objects here, but the movie loses some of its impactful dark-end depth as a result, so the overall verdict is that the UHD is better in some ways (detailing, arguably color) and arguably worse in others (black level depth).

Underworld: Blood Wars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the Blu-ray features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, this UHD release of Underworld: Blood Wars offers a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Much like the video comparison, it's not fair to say it's substantially better, but the benefits are obvious from the get-go. The track essentially takes everything that's good about the 5.1 track and enhances it. The track feels bigger, wider, and fuller. The overall sense of space is increased, and it doesn't take long to realize the benefits. The action inside the tunnel at film's start opens up to a much more expansive area. Weapons zip through with an increased sense of movement and place, and, after the battle, dialogue reverberates with significant echoing, including filtering through the top layer. The effect seems a little overly pronounced in the name of increasing the sense of overhead diffusion, so much so that it sounds borderline tinny (which isn't unusual in an Atmos track), but it's fun and a good example of what Atmos can bring to a track. Rainfall more naturally engages the stage at the 35:40 mark, yielding a pronounced overhead effect absent on the 5.1 track. Action scenes enjoy increased activity, depth, and movement. Gunshots hit harder, objects zip faster and zoom with more intensity. Werewolf howls and growls play with increased oomph. In the most chaotic of battle scenes, the overhead element is less obvious and more supportive, generally. Dialogue remains a stalwart, firmly planted in the front-center (beyond natural reverberation) and enjoys expert prioritization, even through the film's most intensive sonic moments.

Underworld: Blood Wars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As with most Sony UHD releases, Underworld: Blood Wars contains no supplements unique to the 4K disc beyond the cast & crew photo tab and the collection of Moments: Selene (2160p, HDR, 13:16), Semira (2160p, HDR, 9:27), Lycans (2160p, HDR, 11:01), and David (2160p, HDR, 9:48). All of the supplements reviewed below may be found on the 1080p Blu-ray disc, included with purchase. This set also comes with a UV digital copy voucher.

• The Evolution of Selene (1080p, 8:09): A look back at the character throughout the series.
• Old & New Blood (1080p, 6:15): A closer look at the following characters: Thomas, David, Vidar, and Lena.
• The Evil Evolved (1080p, 6:07): More character exploration, this time featuring Cassius, Semira, Varga, Alexia, and Marius.
• Building a Blood War (1080p, 12:03): The obligatory catch-all overview that looks at how the film hearkens back to the original but finds its own identity, Anna Foerster's direction, visual effects, production design, costumes, and more.
• Underworld: Blood Wars Graphic Novel (1080p): The still-image graphic novel presented two pages per screen with music playing in the background.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Underworld: Blood Wars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Underworld: Blood Wars amounts to little more than franchise filler, a movie that's a step away from DTV fodder. It never sparks the imagination or tries to do anything different; even the Nordic Vampires offer little real reprieve from the series' trademark visual style. Action is bland, story mechanics are convoluted, the movie gives no real reason for the audience to care, particularly the casual crowd. This is a movie made strictly for the franchise's fanbase; anyone else is going to feel lost, and likely bored. Sony's UHD is excellent. Video is, by-and-large, a step or two above the Blu-ray, while the Atmos track offers a larger, more filling listen. No new supplements of note are included on the UHD. Worth a look for its technical presentation.