Selene then awakens some 12 years later, having been captured by Dr. Lane and Antigen, the company he now runs, and she discovers she's been kept in stasis while they use her for testing. She makes a bloody and brutal escape from the facility, only to discover a futuristic world completely different from the one she lived in what seems like only moments ago. She keeps seeing events in her mind as though she is seeing out of the eyes of another and quickly realizes that another creature much like herself is terrorizing the area, but is it Vampire or a now thought to be extinct Lycan?
Selene, along with David (Theo James), a young Vampire who helps her along the way, soon discover a dangerous young girl, called Subject 2 or Eve (India Eisley), who also happens to be the one who freed Selene from her icy tomb. As Selene comes to fully realize who - or what - Eve is, she also realizes that Antigen, along with other forces, are trying desperately to get the girl back and will stop at nothing.
In order to protect them, David insists that Selene and the girl come back to his coven, run by his father, Thomas (Charles Dance, Game of Thrones), who is none too happy to have these strangers breach his secret lair. Meanwhile, it seems that Dr. Lane and his son, Quint (Kris Holden-Ried), have a very dangerous secret agenda at Antigen. When Subject 2 is swiped by Antigen, Selene will have to team up with Detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy, FlashForward) and her fellow remaining vampires to save the girl, battle the lycans and elude death. The end of the film leaves us on a cliffhanger about Michael, assuring another installment of Underworld.
Overall, this was my least favorite Underworld film, but that isn't meant to disparage Underworld: Awakening. The film is good and completely action-packed, I just wasn't as fond of the human/Vampire/Lycan interaction as I have been with just the Vampire/Lycan conflict of the past films. I also preferred the old-world feel of the previous films, as opposed to this new and modern world where Selene must learn to exist. I will say that it is amazing to see Kate Beckinsale slip right back into the role of Selene and she is more bad-assed than ever in this film. Supplementing the cast with actors like the amazing Charles Dance and Stephen Rea is a good move, and Theo James looks to be a fine addition as well. India Eisley did a good job as Eve, but she looked really weird when she was morphing out into her monster self and, honestly, she just looked really silly, even though she was supposed to be the most dangerous and volatile one of all.
Special features include about an hour's worth of featurettes covering the film, such as Beckinsale's reprisal of her role, cast interviews, the new aesthetic of Underworld: Awakening, the newly revamped Lycan suits and the stunts. There's also a blooper reel, commentary, a music video, and a picture-in-picture feature where you can watch Underworld: Awakening, while seeing trivia tidbits and snippets of past films. It's fun for a fan of the series.
Overall, if you've been keeping up with the Underworld mythos, you'll want to see Underworld: Awakening. It was shot in 3D and looks super fantastic because of it, whether or not you have a 3D TV. The high-powered action is there, but it just has a different feel than past films. Since it's a bridge to the next film, you'll want to see this new stage in Selene's life, just be prepared for a different sort of Selene than you've seen in the past - a stone-cold killer who's protecting a kid.
