Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

That was an excellent one.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A fifth instalment and the series continues to grow more convoluted and formulaic with every new entry. Whilst acknowledging the hideous reviews this garnered, I was expecting the worst of the worst. Yet, surprisingly, I found this to be somewhat enjoyable. Maybe the declination of this franchise has melted my critical hypothalamus, or perhaps the silly entertainment was enough to occupy my mind. Regardless, this was fine. Selene is recruited by one of the last remaining covens to train new members in becoming Death Dealers. Double-crossing, tainted aspirations and an increase in convolution aids the ever raging war between vampires and lycans. The exact same formula is utilised much like with the previous entries. Selene hides from both races, a new antagonist arises and desires Selene's blood, a third act final battle and then finally leaving the story open for another sequel. Uninspired? Yes. Functional? Sure. Blood is thicker than this expositional narrative which lacks any sense of characterisation. There is not a single line of dialogue that has an ounce of personality. The vampire ancestry expands for no apparent reason other than to confuse you even more. The over reliant clunky CGI detracts from the authentic creature design and prosthetics that the Underworld franchise excelled at. The constant flashbacks, acting as archival footage, were jarring and a lazy method to convey exposition. However, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it was ever so slightly better than 'Awakening'. Beckinsale owns the role of Selene yet again. Dance actually had a sword fight this time! Pulver's campy antagonistic execution was a much required element given the abysmal villain in the previous film. The action sequences were filmed well without relying too heavily on effects and quick cuts. Bloody and gory with many *cue Mortal Kombat voice* fatalities! Let's be honest though, Blood Wars is not a good film...but I was never bored. Enough is enough though, no more please.

Funny how my hopes were low going into this film but it starts off pretty darn good - at least into the first half of it. But then the film adds super-saiyan vampires, roid raging werewolves and a boringly convoluted plot and yeah - I checked out. I must say I was a little disappointed because the Underworld series as more or less have had consistently good B-level action flicks. Whatever, it couldn't last forever because what's her name is playing a character who doesn't age while she is starting to age, because she is of course only human.

I was really hoping Blood Wars to be that film that brought the series back to Underworld 1 fidelity...but, to be fair, what we have to remember about the first one that made it so special to us was it was a whole new kind of vampire movie and one that was directly competing with the Matrix movies. At the turn of the millennium this was a whole new breed of action movie. The second movie then kept it fresh by giving us a little history, by taking us to the origins of current affairs, which would later serve as the foundation of Under World - Rise of The Lycans...which was a fantastic film.Awakening is where everything fell apart for me, but Blood Wars admittingly did a great job picking up where that appallingly/ abhorrent movie left off. They should have just consolidated elements of Awakening and Blood Wars together, leaving out the futuristic and laboratory/ research stuff that made Awakening feel too Resident Evil. Don't get me wrong, if vampires were real our government/ various organizations would be attempting to capture them and study them, but I think fans prefer that vampires largely remain phantoms and folklore to the eyes of humans fortunate enough to not meet one, while keeping this entire feudal war an underground, or "underworld" battle that only some isolated humans from time-to-time fall victim to. A reality that exists within our own, but is largely a secret. Once you spill the existence of Lycans and Vampires out to the militarized world of humans, it loses that mystery/ special feel to it...and that's precisely what Awakening started. Sure, humans were involved in Underworld 2, but they were Corvinus' men e.g. they could keep a damn secret. It wasn't some corporation doing research on Dracula --I mean, Corvinus blood.As mentioned in my title, Blood Wars was more enjoyable the second time around, but I really could not get past what they did to Selene's lips. What a silly thing to be stuck on. So much so, that I am considering turning down the saturation of my TV the next time I watch it, in hopes it reduces the pink lip gloss effect. Kate is always a beauty to behold...but why lip gloss? And what's with the fur coat? Vampires don't get cold! Other than those cosmetic/ costume choices it is an alright film, but I've always felt the series should have only ever been 80% about Selene, and her battling the corruptions within the Coven/s, and vampires/ lycans wanting her blood, post-Corvinus. It never should have been about a Michael, nor a child. Maybe they could have ended the series with a child, an heiress to Selene's Corvinus imbued blood, thereby setting the franchise up for a whole new trilogy...but alas this was not the hand we were dealt and, instead, now we have a big empty hole where Michael should be...and I don't even like him!

"Underworld: Blood Wars" is the fifth installment in a franchise that began way back in 2003. Nearly 15 years in, the series has devolved into little more than a rote, by-the-book enactment of all the vampire vs. werewolf silliness that has permeated pop culture in the period since. The only point of interest, while watching the endless battles that flesh out the script, is trying to figure out why a bunch of vampires and werewolves need to rely so heavily on high-tech weaponry and advanced firepower. Kinda defeats the purpose of being a supernatural being, doesn't it?Kate Beckinsale, Theo James and Lara Pulver take center stage in the drama, while Charles Dance and James Faulkner, two seasoned actors who look and sound as if they should be performing Shakespeare on some London or Broadway stage, really seem to be slumming it here. Hard to resist the pull of an easy paycheck, I guess.