Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Underworld: Blood Wars Blu-ray Movie Review

Blood Clot.

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Underworld: Blood Wars comes sourced from a digital shoot, and the image is expectedly spectacular. It's clean but never feels glossy or flat. Detail proves excellent even under the film's darker, blue-heavy filtering. Black levels, critical to the film's visual success, are terrific; there's always excellent distinction between black attire and shadowy backdrops. Rarely do foreground clothes and background blacks merge into one indistinguishable element, and when they do, scene structure and darkness seem to dictate that be the case. Black leathery garments are wonderfully detailed when visible at an appropriately close-up level and in enough light to please. Skin details are naturally and finely complex, and skin tones are always the contrast to the black-and-blue visual stylings, presenting a bit pale, as expected of the vampires, but finding a sense of flush and fullness to some characters and particularly just standing apart from the background. Bright red blood is vibrant, too, and smaller examples of deeply saturated blues -- eyes, bullet tips -- are excellent. Very light macroblocking and banding are evident in a couple of shots, but generally speaking Sony's 1080p transfer is superb.

Underworld: Blood Wars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Underworld: Blood Wars marks yet another Sony title where the UHD earns an Atmos soundtrack while the Blu-ray receives only a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless presentation. It's also another case where the 5.1 track is terrific in its own right. Indeed, the sound presentation is dynamic, featuring full-bodied bass, excellent depth and range, and no shortage of exciting sound elements scattered all over the listening area. Action scenes are appropriately large in scale, filling the stage and pushing its boundaries along both axes. Gunfire pops and erupts from all over the stage with impressive bottom-end depth. Pops and crashes and various bits of chaos spring up from every speaker, effortlessly enveloping the listener in some of the film's larger-scale action sequences. But even the smaller-scale clashes, or fights between two or three characters, offer plenty of range, discrete effects, and effortless transitioning from one speaker to the next. Music follows suit, playing with plenty of width and depth; surrounds and the subwoofer are engaged throughout as notes spill into the stage with lifelike clarity. Atmospherics are impressively implemented, particularly some of the cold, blustery winds that rush through the stage as Selene and David approach the Nordic Coven. Clear, well prioritized, and center-focused dialogue, with light reverberation as environments permit, rounds a reference track into form.

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

Underworld: Blood Wars contains several featurettes and a digital graphic novel. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• 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 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 Blu-ray does at least come with the expectedly excellent picture and sound qualities. Extras include three character-focused pieces, a catch-all featurette, and a digital graphic novel. For franchise fans only.