Underworld 2003

Critics score:
31 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Scott Von Doviak, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Dark Shadows for the Playstation 2 generation. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: Rather than a clever horror hybrid, the movie spends most of its energy channeling The Matrix. Read more

Charles Savage, Miami Herald: A loud and relentlessly overstated B-movie, and yet not entirely stupid. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: I've been waiting a long time to see a Shakespearean werewolf vampire movie and here it is. Read more

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune: Revels in more flash than fantasy. There's awful lot of story fat here between the form-fitting plastic jumpsuits. Read more

Anita Gates, New York Times: Achieves only loudness, aggressive confusion and one of the silliest head-splittings in film history. Read more

Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Echoes the muscular feel of Aliens, the relentless speed of The Terminator and the architectural colorlessness and operatic anxiety of Dark City. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Its sights are so transparently set on franchisehood that cynical is the only way to feel about it. Read more

Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: Alas, as is often the case with lower-end genre movies, the story cooked up by Wiseman and his friends, actor Kevin Grevioux and the film's screenwriter, Danny McBride, is decidedly less important than the look of the film and its influences. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: A vampire film for the new millennium -- bold, galvanizing and darkly stylish. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: A well-conceived, powerful movie, over the top for all the right reasons. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The sort of movie in which the head vampire telegraphs his evil by using a cell phone and dressing like the Kinks' Ray Davies in the early '80s. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: It's slick and technically well made, but also derivative and slow. Read more

Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly: A remarkably humorless movie, and not even the adroitly hammy Bill Nighy, as the vampire king, can leaven the overwrought seriousness of it all. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Pure hooey, but it certainly has a sense of humor (at least it seems like humor). Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The whole thing's more art-directed than directed, and the actors are clearly on their own. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: The movie is stylish and cruel, and mightily entertaining for certain covens out there. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Underworld captured my attention sporadically, but not consistently. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This is a movie so paltry in its characters and shallow in its story that the war seems to exist primarily to provide graphic visuals. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: By any reasonable standard, this dark vampire epic -- all massive overacting, cologne-commercial design and sexy cat suits -- sucks. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Could use script transfusion, or at least a few quarts of levity. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: 125 minutes is a long time to stare at a movie that's basically in bleached blue-and-white with occasional splotches of brick red. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: It's hard to recall a more sexless vampire flick. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Wiseman ... seems vastly more concerned with making a fashion statement than scaring the bejesus out of us. Read more

Time Out: These vampires have no teeth -- hell, they don't even fly. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Features some of the year's most laughable dialogue. Read more

Alex Pappademas, Village Voice: It takes a premise that should have made for primo goth froth ... and renders it (forgive me) bloodless, even when the corn syrup flows by the gallon. Read more