AN IMMORTAL BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY.

Vampires and werewolves (called Lycans) have battled each other for centuries; Selene (Kate Beckinsale), who belongs to the former race, falls in love with a human (Scott Speedman) who turns out to be special.

This feels like an adaptation of a game, but it is supposedly an original creation. Still, you get all the trappings of that medium, as constant battles rage between two species in a dark, fictional city.

Nothing new here and the movie goes on too long, but Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy are having fun and the fights are often exciting.

2003-U.K.-Germany-Hungary-U.S. 121 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Len Wiseman. Cast: Kate Beckinsale (Selene), Scott Speedman (Michael Corvin), Michael Sheen (Lucian), Shane Brolly, Erwin Leder, Bill Nighy, Wentworth Miller. 

Trivia: Alternative version runs 134 min. Wiseman also contributed to the story. The filmmakers were sued by an author and a gaming company claiming copyright infringement; the case was settled out of court. Followed by three sequels, starting with Underworld: Evolution (2006), and a prequel, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009).