Vampires, werewolves and Kate Beckinsale.

What more do you need in a movie?

In “Underworld Evolution, the sequel to the 2003 hit movie “Underworld”, the story takes up exactly where the first movie left off. The war between the vampires and the Lycans is still going strong, and vampire Selene (Beckinsale) and vampire-werewolf hybrid Michael (Scott Speedmen) are on the run from Marcus, the last remaining vampire elder, who has also become a hybrid by accident when Viktor killed the Lycan physcian in the first movie and his blood dripped into Marcus’s tomb. They are in a race to discover why Marcus wants them, and how they can stop him from releasing a power greater than they have ever seen.

The movie starts out by going back to 1202 A.D., where the war between the vampires and the werewolves spilled out into the countryside. Viktor and Amelia, the two vampire elders who were killed in the first movie, are aiding Marcus, the first vampire, in finding his twin brother William, the very first werewolf. William, however, is out of control. He cannot revert back to human form, and destroys everything in his path. So his punishment, according to Viktor, is to be locked away for all eternity, where Marcus will never be able to find him.

Cut back to present day. The bodies of Viktor, Amelia and Lucian, the slain Lycan leader, are taken aboard a boat, where a mysterious man cuts Viktor open to find some sort of key inside his chest.

Meanwhile, Selene and Michael are being hunted by Marcus, who for some strange reason seems to be after the amulet that Selene took from Lucian. After tracking down the former historian for the vampire clans---who Selene had exiled and who had begun selling the deadly UV rounds to the Lycans---they discover that the amulet is part of a key that will open William’s vault, the vault that Selene’s father was commissioned to build.

Suddenly, things began to fall into place. The night that Selene’s family was murdered, Viktor had to silence her father, who knew far too much. But he was unable to kill Selene, who reminded him so much of his own daughter. Instead, he turned her into a vampire.

Now, aided by the mysterious Alexander Corvinus, the man credited for being the very first immortal and the father of both Marcus and William, Selene and Michael are on a race against time to stop Marcus from unleashing his brother onto an unsuspecting world.

The sequel did a great job in continuing the story line, and for uncovering bits of the past of both the vampires and Lycans. Also, the love story between Selene and Michael continues to grow, and Michael’s full potential as the very first hybrid is realized. And, finally, Kraven gets what he deserves. Fans of the first movie will enjoy it, but if you haven’t seen the first film, you may be a little lost.