Ringing in the New Year....

....the wrong way!

During the latter part of 2012, I had the opportunity to watch a reasonable amount of good films including Seven Psychopaths, The Hobbit, Argo, and even Jack Reacher.  Overall, 2012 was a great year for film in my opinion, so towards the end I got a little frustrated that I didn't have more chance to blog about the films I was watching.  It was during time spent reviewing the films that I had been to see most recently, that the picture above becomes relevant.  I was idly scanning the movies listings to see if there was anything on worth watching.  Now you might argue that Underworld: Awakening (don't forget the colon), is not worth watching, but I have to admit a soft spot for the first two films of the franchise.  I'm also entertained by the way Len Wiseman parades his wife Kate Beckinsale around in his films, and fair play to the guy, who wouldn't?

So last night, I found myself watching this fourth instalment to the franchise, and I was disappointed.  With the return of Beckinsale, and the potential for Charles Dance to add a Bill Nighy style gravitas to proceedings, I was hoping for more.  I felt nothing for any of the characters, the story was throw away, and came to no real conclusion.  The final shot, panning out from the roof top where the characters are standing, with Kate spewing forth a monologue about the war not being over, was cringe worthy.  I'm sure that the intention was to leave the door open for future Underworld films, if they decide the horse hasn't been flogged enough later down the line.

Imagine my shock then, to find out that it was the most successful Underworld at the box office.  I appreciate that the first film was poorly received, and relied on a slow burning cult following to open the door for a second.  But for it to be pulling in bigger crowds 4 films down the line, I do find a surprise.  Even as an unlimited cinema card holder, this would be at the bottom of any potential watch list I might have.  It opened alongside Red Tails, Haywire, and Coriolanus, all of which I would have rather seen at the cinema, and it took more at the box office than the 3 of them combined!

I suppose the silver lining to this cloud is that there's always the chance that we'll see Kate don that infamous skin tight outfit once more.