Underworld: Awakening (2012)

I remember watching the first "Underworld" movie with Jay (from "We Came From the Basement") several years ago, and being impressed by the action direction that it took the vampire and werewolf mythos.  I recently sat down to watch the FOURTH movie in the series to see if the ride would still be enjoyable...

After spending 12 years in a cryogenic freeze, Selene is freed by a mysterious person, and begins a quest to seek out her lover, Michael.  Soon, however, she winds up fighting to save the vampire race from a new species of werewolves...

The premise is very strong in my opinion, and was certainly strong enough to support the characters, and action scenes in this movie.  The subplot of the company trying to find a vaccine to cure the vampires and werewolves was interesting, as was the subplot involving Selene discovering her daughter, Eve.  These subplots wove together nicely with the main plot to create a cohesive and engaging whole.

I also liked the characters.  All of them are unique, well crafted, and developed nicely throughout the film.  The acting was quite good as well.

Where this movie really shines is the action scenes though, which are fast, furious, and energetic.  Since this movie is essentially an action film, there is more action than story development- but since this movie is intended to be simply an exciting ride, that's to be expected.  This movie is exciting and fun.

And gore?  The super-werewolf transformation scenes are cool (especially when one blows up shortly after), and there's a really good shot of a throat ripped out by a vampire near the end I liked.

I probably won't re-watch "Underworld: Awakening," and feel that the franchise is probably nearing the point where it "jumps the shark," I would recommend it to friends to see at least once for fun.  I'm putting it in The Bad.