Underworld: Evolution - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Underworld: Evolution



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
With Sony releasing the boxset this last week I'll be doing individual reviews for each movie of the boxset individually, and will be linked into the overview review with all the rest.

As a huge Underworld fan back in 2003 (the movie my soon to be wife went on a first date to see in an Oregon drive in theater for our very first date) I actually had a blast with 2006’s Underworld: Evolution. It was a sequel that hit the ground running and was just as good as the original in my opinion. Sure, it had some flaws, but it expanded on the Michael lore, and gave Selene her first power upgrade in a significant way (I like to joke that she levels up each movie). The original actors are back, and Marcus is a fun villain. These movies are much like the Resident Evil films in that they’re pure guilty pleasure movies, but at least here the sequel hasn’t started to degrade the series JUST yet.

After some background on the original characters from the early 1200s when Selene was “born” as a vampire and the lore about how Viktor (Bill Nighy) became a vampire lord and the creation of Marcus (the first vampire) and William (his brother, the first Lycan) came to be, we are then fast forwarded to the present times where Vampire/Lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) and Vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) are running for their life after killing Viktor in the previous film. However, Marcus (Tony Curran) has awakened from his slumber and he’s a changed man (so to speak). It appears that the Lycan doctor who was killed by Viktor during the last movie had his blood seep into the burial chamber of Marcus and turn HIM into a hybrid as well.

Now Selene and Michael are running from their lives and now they have ANOTHER hybrid to deal with, and not just any hybrid. They have one of the originals turned hybrid and he’s on a mission to free his brother William (the first Lycan, before Lycans could turn back and forth from man to beast at will) and unleash a nightmare on the world with a new breed of super hybrids that will wipe out the monsters once and for all. The only one standing in his way are out two protagonists, and Marcus’s own father (first of the immortals) who must band together to keep Marcus from unleashing a plague of unlimited mindless Lycans on the world before it’s too late.

Underworld: Evolution is a fun bit of escapist entertainment that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The movie keeps going with our heroes and amps things up a bit with Selene getting “leveled up” thanks to Alexander Corvinus into becoming an even bigger and badder monster on par with Michael’s hybrid nature. As much as I like it, I have to fully admit that this is pure escapist canon fodder for the masses. Watching black leather and corset bound vampire vixens go toe to toe with monsters and rack up the body count to epic proportions. There’s some fun lore, but this isn’t meant to be taken as something akin to Bram Stoker’s Dracula at all. It’s gorey, fun, showcasing Kate Beckinsale as a SMOKING hot vampire (with those twin full auto Walther P99s once more), and is meant to be the cinematic equivalent to hot pizza. Garbage, full of empty calories, but you just can’t help but eating half of the pie and gorging yourself. On it.




Rated R for strong violence/gore and some language




4K Video: Video:

Comparing the 4K UHD against the Blu-ray was rather shocking. I can not tell if Sony pulled out a native 4K master for this or whether it’s an upscale, but either direction take nets a rather drastic upgrade over the MPEG2 Blu-ray. The film had muddled blacks, definite compression issues, and wasn’t overly sharp. The 4K UHD is lovely with its grain structure, and the softness appears to vanish. Now don’t get me wrong, the film is still slightly soft due to the visual aesthetics of the franchise, but the movie’s icy cold blue tone is still there and shows PLENTY of shadow detail. I noticed some crush in the darkest of scenes (the whole series has it to some degree), but the increased clarity and black level saturation with the HDR application can not be gushed over enough. VERY nice upgrade over the ancient Blu-ray.







Audio:

The old LPCM track was a monster back in the day, and it’s only improved with the Atmos inclusion (although there is a 5.1 DTS-HD MA repacking of the original track included as an option on the disc). It’s got more space, and the sheer ferocity of the bass is not tamped down like so many other revisionist takes on LFE when upgraded to Atmos has happened to us (think War of the Worlds). The surrounds are wildly active with the whipping of helicopter blades, the screams of the victims, as well as the roaring Lycans smashing into things during the final battle. This is just a superb powerhouse of a track that I can’t help but grin when listening to it (just a spoiler, the entire series keeps up this quality level). There’s some moderate overhead usage with the Atmos speakers, but all in all, this is just a more finely nuanced version of the KILLER 5.1 LPCM track from 2007.






Extras:

4K UHD
• Trailer

Blu-ray
• Audio Commentary with Director Len Wiseman and Producer Patrick Tatopoulos and Second Unit Director Brad Martin.
• The Hybrid TheorY
• The War Rages On
• Bloodlines: From Script to Screen
• Making Monsters Roar
• Building a Saga
• Music and Mayhem
• Music Video: "Her Portrait in Black" by Atreyu

Final Score:
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Underworld: Evolution has plenty of blood, plenty of tight outfits, and more than enough stylistic action to keep fans of the original with a big smile over their face. I know this one got hammered when it came out as being sub par, but I personally don’t see it. The movie is every bit an equal to the original, and even though it’s not AS gothic or mysterious, it amps up the action and keeps the characters story flowing evenly enough to be a worthy popcorn flick sequel. The 4K UHD is head and shoulders over the aging Blu-ray with LPCM audio and a weak MPEG2 encode. Definitely recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Scott Speedman, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi, Steven Mackintosh
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Written by: Danny McBride, Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, Turkish, Hindi DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Hindi, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish
Studio: Sony
Rated: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
Blu-Ray Release October 26th, 2021

Recommendation: Fun Watch