Underworld Awakening

This past Friday marked the release of Underworld Awakening. The 4th installment of the franchise and the follow up to 2006's Underworld Evolution.

Breakdown:


Directors:
Mans Marlin & Bjorn Stein

Stars:
Kate Beckinsale (Selene)
Theo James (David)
Micheal Ealy (Detective Sebastian)
India Eisley (Eve)
Stephen Rea (Dr. Jacob Lane)
Charles Dance (Thomas)

Genre: Action
Rated: R
Run-time: 1hr 29mins
Released: 1/20/12

Plot:

The story picks up six months after the events of Evolution. The war between Vampire and Lycan has changed. Humans now know that these races exist and set to exterminate both of them. Realizing that there is little hope for them Selene and Michael attempt to flee however things go awry.

I like the idea of humans entering the war between Vampire and Lycan, but the movie didn't really do much to build on this. Throughout the course of the movie, this idea just seems to get lost. With this movie the focus here is on action. Awakening is the most action-packed of the series. The fight scenes are frequent, over the top and stylish. It will definitely keep you engaged.

Visuals & Sound:


Let me start by saying there is absolutely no reason to see this in 3D. The majority of the scenes in this movie are so dark, you might not even notice some of the effects, so save you money. The CG was good, but nothing spectacular. The Vampires' blue eyes give them a menacing and supernatural look. Some things looked a little awkward, especially the transformation of some of the Lycans. The sound is good and is well used throughout the movie. This was most noticeable in the scene between Selene and Quint. Overall Awakening has an ominous and dark feel that lasts through the entire movie.

Performances:


Kate Beckinsale reprises her role as Selene who is the focal point of this movie. Her performance was serviceable. She does bad-ass well enough, but when not punching their faces in, her interactions with most of the other characters come off a bit stiff.

I thought India Eisley did well as Eve. Although I never felt the deep connection that Selene and Eve are supposed to have, Eisley displays just enough range to make you care about her character.

Micheal Ealy's performance as Detective Sebastian is largely forgettable and empty. As the movie started, I was intrigued as to what part he plays, but by the end of the film I didn't care.

Theo James plays David, the prodigal son of Thomas. David is a young and brash vampire that aides Selene throughout the movie. James performs well enough to be believable but not truly memorable .

Rating:


Underworld Awakening is a good action film. Beyond that there isn't much else other than watching Kate Beckinsale jump around in a skin-tight rubber suit for an hour and a half, which I am a big fan of. This movie isn't going to win any type of awards for its story. The plot is predictable and plays more like an afterthought. Additionally there is such a focus on Selene and her actions that it stunts the growth the other characters in the film. The action scenes are great and ultimately make this movie worth seeing for action fans. I give this one 3 stars out of 5.

First Impressions Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

The demo for the much anticipated Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning was made available this week for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network gamers alike. When I first started playing the demo I had lukewarm feelings about the game, and playing through the demo hasn't changed that. Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning promises to be a new type of single player Action RPG. It brings together the creative talents of game designer Ken Rolston, artist Todd McFarlane, and New York Times best selling author R.A. Salvatore.

Breakdown:

Platforms: PS3, Xbox, & PC
Rating: M for Mature
Genre: RPG
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: February 7th, 2012


Graphically this game reminds me of Fable. Characters look cartoonish and environments are filled with lots bright colors. It doesn't have the same polished look as a Final Fantasy or Mass Effect. Character creation is nice providing for a lot of customization options. There are plenty of NPCs to talk to along the way, however your character doesn't have a voice. Much like Dragon Age, players must choose from a list of different responses. This isn't the most engaging experience as you character almost seems like a mute when interacting with other characters. Additionally, conversation was glitchy as many times characters voices didn't sync up with their lips.

What will set this game apart from other RPGs is the action packed game-play. Combat is based on a combo system in which players are free to build combos using both weapons and magic. Fighting in the demo was fun, however I could see how it could get repetitive in the full game. Hopefully the talent trees will have enough diversity to keep combat fresh.

The demo was pretty solid aside from the glitches. To me the game feels more like a jumble of borrowed ideas rather than a finished product in its own right. Once you complete the demos main mission you are given 45 minutes to explore the landscape. So players can really get a good feel for the game. While Kingdoms of Amalur doesn't excite me as much as  other RPGs on the horizon, I think its worth a look.