Key Insights
- Franchise Overview: The Underworld series blends gothic horror with action, featuring a war between vampires and werewolves.
- Mythology Expansion: Over five films, the franchise introduces complex bloodlines and supernatural elements.
- Ranking Results: Each movie in the series has been ranked based on quality and impact.
- Iconic Characters: Kate Beckinsale’s portrayal of Selene has become a defining aspect of the franchise.
Vampires, werewolves, and impossibly skintight PVC. What’s not to like? With a hefty helping of Blade and The Matrix, the Underworld franchise turned an ancient war between vampires and werewolves into a full-blown gun-toting action franchise. With Kate Beckinsale front and centre as the deadly vampire Death Dealer Selene, the series quickly carved out its own gothic corner of early-2000s genre cinema.
Over the course of five movies, Underworld expanded its mythology considerably, introducing ancient bloodlines, vampire elders, Lycan rebellions, hybrids, betrayals, resurrections, and enough supernatural family history to make your head spin. The quality definitely varied along the way, but there’s something about this world that kept us coming back.
So, with more than two decades of Underworld behind us, let’s take a look back at the entire series and see where all five movies land when ranked from worst to best.
5. Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)
Still hunted by both Vampires and Lycans, Selene is pulled back into the war when Lycan leader Marius seeks the whereabouts of her daughter. With the vampire covens facing extinction, Selene must once again fight to protect those closest to her while confronting enemies from every side.
By the time Blood Wars rolled around, the Underworld mythology had become so tangled that you almost needed a flowchart to keep track of everyone’s bloodline, betrayal, resurrection, and supernatural upgrade.
Kate Beckinsale remains completely committed as Selene, Charles Dance brings his usual authority to Vampire elder Thomas, while Lara Pulver has a great time chewing scenery as the scheming Semira.
Yes, the movie still offers plenty of swords, guns, Lycans, and icy Vampire politics, but there’s a definite been-there-done-that feeling hanging over everything. Another powerful Lycan wants hybrid blood. Another Vampire faction betrays Selene. Another supposedly safe sanctuary turns out not to be particularly safe. The movie keeps piling on new mythology, including a snowy Nordic Vampire coven and another power upgrade for our girl, but very little of it feels as memorable as what came before. Although there’s been talk of another movie over the last decade, this one appears to be the end of Selene’s journey.
4. Underworld: Awakening (2012)
Selene awakens after years in captivity to discover that humanity has learned of the existence of Vampires and Lycans and is determined to eradicate them both. While navigating this dangerous new world, she also discovers a young hybrid girl whose existence makes her a target for multiple factions.
After the events of Evolutions, humanity has discovered the existence of Vampires and Lycans, leading to Selene being cryogenically frozen for over a decade and separated from Michael. Speaking of Michael, Scott Speedman doesn’t actually appear in this one, aside from some archival footage from the first two movies.
Awakening strips away much of the operatic intrigue of the earlier movies and turns Underworld into an almost pure action picture. At barely 90 minutes, there’s definitely less substance here than before, and the colder sci-fi look loses some of that signature gothic atmosphere. Although the revelation that humanity is aware of these supernatural creatures is an interesting way to shake things up, the movie never explores the idea as deeply as it could have.
That said, if you’re still into Selene going full action-hero, there’s plenty to enjoy, including a massive super-lycan that causes some serious carnage.
3. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
Before Selene entered the war, the Vampires ruled over the Lycans with an iron fist. When Lycan leader Lucian falls in love with Viktor’s daughter Sonja, their forbidden relationship helps ignite the rebellion that will eventually become the centuries-long war between the two species.
A prequel without Kate Beckinsale sounded like a questionable idea at the time, but Rise of the Lycans wound up becoming one of the strongest entries in the franchise. In fact, I was even tempted to place this above Evolution, and I can certainly understand why some would.
A big reason for this is that it puts Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy front and centre. Their performances give the franchise’s ancient history far more weight than you might expect from a supernatural Romeo and Juliet. We already know how Lucian and Viktor’s story ends; yet the movie manages to make the tragedy compelling anyway. Rhona Mitra also makes a strong impression as Sonja, whose relationship with Lucian gives the prequel some genuine emotional stakes. It’s smaller and less stylish than the first two movies; however, the stripped-down medieval setting makes it one of the series’ more distinctive entries.
2. Underworld: Evolution (2006)
With the Vampire hierarchy thrown into chaos, Selene and Michael find themselves hunted by Marcus, the first Vampire and one of the most powerful immortals ever created. Their search for answers uncovers the origins of the Vampire-Lycan bloodlines and a centuries-old family secret.
In true sequel fashion,Evolutionwastes very little time picking up where the first movie left off; going bigger, bloodier, and considerably more bonkers.
The mythology is greatly expanded with Marcus (Tony Curran), who is introduced as the first vampire; William as the first werewolf; and Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) as the first immortal. Curran makes Marcus one of the more intimidating villains of the series; particularly once he fully transforms into a winged vampire monstrosity. Say what you will about this franchise; however, practical creature effects still hold up wonderfully—particularly in its earlier films.
Evolution also benefits from Selene and Michael becoming a genuine partnership rather than spending their entire runtime circling around one another. It may lack some of that first film’s mystery; however,Evolution</em compensates by going absolutely all-in on its mythology— for better or worse.
1. Underworld(2003)
For centuries vampires and werewolves—known as Lycans—have been locked in a secret war. Vampire Death Dealer Selene discovers that Lycans are hunting a human named Michael Corvin; leading her to uncover secrets that could change everything she knows about this conflict.
The film was released at an era obsessed with black leather; industrial nightclubs; blue color grading; and slow-motion gunfights—the first Underworld (2003) movie proudly wears its era—and that’s a huge part of its appeal.
Kate Beckinsale immediately makes Selene an iconic action heroine while Bill Nighy steals every scene he gets as Viktor—the deliciously sinister elder vampire. The mythology occasionally threatens to swallow up everything; however that complicated lore is also part of its charm. Slick; stylish; violent; and just ridiculous enough, Underworld (2003) remains one of its best entries in this franchise.
Your Turn
The perspective here suggests that each installment in this series has seen diminishing returns; however now it’s your turn! Let us know how you would rank each film in comments below!
The post Every Underworld Movie Ranked from Worst to Best appeared first on JoBlo.
