FIGHTS/BLOOD - MOVIE REVIEW 'Underworld: Awakening' delivers on action

by Bowie Ibarra

Well, considering 'Haywire' fell short in regards to a strong action finish, I had to take in yet another movie to wash the bad taste in my mouth from that horrible end to what was an alright action movie.

Underworld: Awakening delivered in spades.

The story revolves around Death Dealer Selene on the run yet again from the lycans.  She gets captured and experimented on over the course of several years before another mysterious captured vampire helps her make a break from the deep freeze she's been in.  The mysterious helper turns out to be someone very close to Selene, who she had no idea existed.  But the time spent in deep freeze has given associates of the lycans a biological advantage.

And then, the fight begins.

I watched it in IMAX 3D and was blown away by the cinematic convention.  The CGI was great and appropriate, and the action scenes were outstanding.  There was even a fight where Selene hits a move similar to Mistico/Sin Cara's 'La Mistica' on a lycan.  That was bad ass!

And the movie delivered on what I expect from a strong finish to an action movie:  A Boss Fight to the death.

The movie leaves a big loose end, but that's only to leave the door open to continue the story for what will be the inevitable sequel.

Here's my deal.  The story was great, it was simple to follow, and was action packed.  Did it need all the special effects?  Sure, if its available.  But Ray Harryhousen could have busted out the Claymation set and it still would have been outstanding.  The point is you have as a foundation a great story, and that's what counts.

So in short, if you're trying to pick between 'Haywire' and 'Underworld' this week, the answer is 'Underworld' for your movie dollar.

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the "Down the Road" zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His action/adventure story, 'Codename: La Lechusa' follows the story of a single mother who is also a hitwoman for a secret government organization.  It is available in paperback and Kindle here.  It's also available on other e-reader devices.

Network with Bowie at his personal website ZombieBloodFights.com.