DVD Corner

Underworld: Awakening Blu-ray Review

“Underworld: Awakening” is the latest entry in the seemingly endless franchise.

Selene (Kate Beckinsale) has her hands full in the fourth installment of the “Underworld” franchise. Not only have humans waged war against vampires and Lycans, but a new breed of Lycans are on the loose and the shady Antigen medical corporation is after Selene. As you can guess, Antigen captures her for experimental purposes. As you can probably also guess, Selene escapes. She later learns that she has a daughter (who is being sought by Antigen as well) and that her Lycan lover Michael is missing. To no surprise, the angry Selene wants to protect her daughter and find Michael and won’t let anyone stop her from doing so.

Despite being popular at the box office, the “Underworld” franchise continues to underwhelm with the fourth (and possibly) worst installment. The characters are paper thin (still), the CGI is mostly pitiful, the action is video game esque (which might be an insult to video games), the editing and cinematography are  headache inducing, the movie has more flashing lights than any other film in cinematic history, and, worst of all, the “story” is nothing more than a glorified set-up for an inevitable fifth film. Yes, ‘Awakening’ is basically just half a film. It sets up a story and doesn’t even follow through on it. How cheap is that?

Summary: “Underworld: Awakening” is strictly for “Underworld” fans.

Video/Audio:

The film, which is presented in 2.40:1 1080p, looks absolutely crystal clear in Blu-ray. I was especially impressed with how well the darker scenes looked.

The 7.1 DTS-HD audio track is a little disappointing. The action is nice and loud, but the mumbling dialogue scenes are a little too quiet for my taste.

Extras:
* Ultraviolet Digital Copy.
* Music video for Lacey Sturm’s for “Heavy Prey.”
* Sony trailers.
* A 3 minute blooper reel.
* A talkative commentary by Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein, Richard S. Wright, Gary Lucchesi and James McQuaide.
* “Building A Better Lycan”- A visual f/x centric featurette about the Lycan creations.
* “Selene Rises”- A near 13 minute featurette about Kate Beckinsale returning to the franchise.
* “Resuming The Action”- A featurette about the action and stunts.
* “Awakening A Franchise, Building A Brutal New World”- A featurette about the 3D Red camera and the production design.
* “Cracking The Underworld: Picture-In-Picture Experience”- Clips and trivia. Not worth your time.

May 17, 2012 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Kate Beckinsale, Underworld 4, Underworld: Awakening Blu-ray Review