It’s a bad sign when you get ten minutes into a movie and think, “oh, man, this is gonna suck.” Unfortunately that’s where I was with “Underworld: Awakening”, the forth in the “Underworld” series but only the third with the beautiful Kate Beckinsale. “Awakening” takes place 12 years after “Evolution”– remember “Rise of the Lycans” was a prequel.

At some point, Selene (Beckinsale) tried to save Michael, the vampire/werewolf hybrid she fell in love with, but instead they were ambushed and he was killed. Selene was captured and frozen so that humans could use her blood to try and find a cure for the vampire disease…or something like that.

So she wakes up, 12 years later, and finds a little girl, who shares the same traits as her beloved Michael. Guess what? She’s the daughter of Selene and Michael. Of course the humans aren’t happy that Selene has escaped and taken their little vampire/werewolf girl so they start hunting Selene, who gets some help from another vampire (Theo James). Together they must fight off the humans, who are using a serum to create a lycan army.

The problem with a series like “Underworld” is if– IF– the first works, the second is usually a copycat of what worked there and that was the case. For the third movie, they went back and did a prequel and while it wasn’t amazing, it wasn’t a train wreck. So with this one, you can just see they were looking for a way to continue to make money off the franchise and this is what was put together. Bringing back Beckinsale helps. She’s a much better actress than what is seen here but really there isn’t enough to work with. It’s almost scary to think of what they will come up with for the next and hopefully final chapter.

“Underworld: Awakening” is easily the weakest of the series so far…and yes, they leave it open for yet another movie. Kate Beckinsale as usual is fun to watch but she’s going through the motions here. The movie is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, taking over for Beckinsale’s real life husband Len Wiseman, who directed the first two entries. This time around here merely contributed to the mindless screenplay. The effects are pretty lame, the lycans especially look terrible. There is loads of violence with body limbs getting ripped off and organs getting torn out but it all feels very incomplete.

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