Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene in Underworld: Blood Wars. To date Blood Wars grossed 81.1 million worldwide, pulling in negative reviews from The New York Times and Rotten Tomatoes. Underworld is a horror story of the greatest supernatural creatures battling through the centuries for dominance and survival. Van Helsing is another film Kate Beckinsale worked on in which vampire and werewolves share the same script. Let’s review each film leading up to Blood Wars, for this is the fifth film in the series…

The first Underworld was released in 2003, in the action/horror category as Blade was closing his film series in 2004. Underworld’s impact was big enough to become a solid foundation for the future films. Selene is a death dealer on the hunt for werewolves, in belief that they killed her family centuries ago. In this film, the Lycans/werewolves, are searching for a human with a unique strain of DNA that will allow the two supernatural species to blend successfully. This union will create a new hybrid immortal, stronger than both the vampires and werewolves. The wanted human is Michael Corvin, who is a direct descendant of the immortal gene. Michael is eventually bitten by both species. He takes on a dark blue appearance with the vampire dominance compared to the next film where his face takes on more of the Lycan species.

It was revealed to Selene that it was not the werewolves who slaughtered her family but her coven vampire elder Viktor. Upon killing Viktor, Selene along with Michael are wanted among the Underworld.

Evolution is the next movie in the series where Marcus, the first and most powerful vampire is awakened. This movie is a mix between the past and the present for we see the beginnings of the vampire and Lycan race. Alexander Corvinus is introduced to the story as the source of the immortal virus. Through the events of the first film, Marcus is mistakenly awakened with Lycan blood thus transforming him into a hybrid. Unlike Michael’s hybrid form, Marcus is able to take on a batlike appearance, making him more powerful than his normal vampire state. Through the blood memory of the of the Lycan and Kraven, Marcus set out to free his brother from centuries of captivity. After witnessing the change Lycan blood did for him, Marcus believed vampire blood could turn his twin brother William into a hybrid as well, with the chance of him transforming back to human form once again. Evolution reveals the importance on why Selene’s family was killed for they built the prison William was held in along with its location. With these key events, Selene, Michael and Marcus was eventually led to Alexander Corvinus. Marcus seemingly kills Michael, then impaled his own father for the key to his brother’s prison. Before dying, Alexander offers his blood to Selene turning her into a carrier of the original immortal virus. Selene’s strength increased pass any elder and gained the ability to survive in sunlight once again. Upon William’s freedom, the brothers were confronted by Selene and Michael. Michael was able to overpower and kill William because of his hybrid state, a form William failed to receive in time. With her new powers, Selene brought Marcus to his death along with his brother. Selene and Michael are now the last two immortals with the original virus, is it possible that Selene could become a hybrid as well? Is it possible, through his blood, Alexander could have resurrected Lucian, Amelia and Viktor when he was examining their bodies?

The Underworld series went into the past with the Rise of the Lycans. This film expanded on the origin of Lucian and the love affair with Viktor’s daughter Sonja. We discovered Lucian was the first Lycan, able to revert back and forth from his animal state, unlike the werewolves William created. With this discovery, Viktor used Lucian to create more Lycans like himself as daytime guardians for the vampires, in the manner like slaves. As Lucian grows up under Viktor, Lucian also grows close to Sonja. They are secretive lovers for some time, up to Sonja becoming pregnant with Lucian’s child. With this, Viktor ordered Sonja’s death in front of Lucian, for he forbade the blending of the species. With the help of the survived Lycans and the werewolf horde, Lucian acted his revenge on Viktor, nearly killing him and destroying his coven. Viktor, the hibernating Marcus and Ameila, and the historian Tanis, were the only survivors of the retreat. One confusing point was Lucian and Sonja is not of the original Corvinus bloodline. Since their blood was mixed within the child, Sonja and the fetus would not have survived either way, right? Also, why wasn’t a sequel made for this film? The sequel could have been a backstory of when Kraven misled the coven into believing he slain Lucian. This backstory would also show Viktor eliminating Selene’s family thus making her a vampire. That story didn’t make it to the big screen and could have been a great addition to the series. Hopefully we will see this film in the future………

Awakening is the next movie to follow Evolution, where the humans became aware of the Lycan/vampire species, declaring termination on sight. Selene and Michael are captured among all the other immortals. The importance of their apprehension was confusing for how would anyone know of their increased powers, when all the witnesses were deceased? Awakening revealed that Selene and Michael had a child named Eve, who was the first born, perfect hybrid. Eve is linked to her parents where they can locate one another with mental eyesight. The Lycans are studying Eve’s genetics to find complete immunity from all forms of silver. Along the way, a new hybrid Lycan is created using the original blood of Corvinus, much like Selene’s transformation to Corvinus blood. Would William have taken on this monstrous hybrid appearance as well if he received blood from his father Alexander? Selene gains a new ally named David, who replaced Michael in the male lead role to Selene. In the ending of the film, the mental link that Selene and Eve saw is believed to be Michael finally escaping his captives.

Blood Wars is next in Underworld timeline where the Lycans have driven the vampires down to extinction. In Awakening, it was believed both species were suffering extinction but really the Lycans had the winning side. Marius is the new Lycan leader, with enhanced Lycan abilities. In the end of Awakening, the audience believed Michael was escaping his icy prison when really, he was being abducted by Marius and his men. Marius gained his new powers by draining the blood from Michael then creating a serum from it. David is revealed to be Amelia’s son, thus making him the heir of the Eastern Coven. Selene gains additional abilities from the Nordiac Coven, in the process killing Marius and avenging Michael. Eve finally is brought in the ending of the film for she was still mentally linked to Selene even though Selene was not linked to Eve. Through all the events of Underworld, Selene becomes a powerful elder. Will Michael ever return to the Underworld franchise? Producer Len Wiseman claimed there is a 6th film in development, what could be the story plot for this film? Will Selene’s powers increase even further? What will become of the Lycans now that two of their most powerful leaders have fallen? Blade was rumored to become a crossover feature for Underworld but was declined. Do you believe Blade could bring back the high interest in the Underworld franchise or would he hurt it even further?

How did you like SpiderMan: Homecoming? To date, the film grossed $880.9 million with War for the Planet of the Apes being released a week after. Spiderman is introduced in Civil War by Tony Stark during the attempted capture of Captain America and Bucky. This film expands on the relationship between Peter and Tony, even portraying events that led up to the battle in Civil War. This is not an origin story of Spiderman, more of an origin on his future involvement with the Avengers.

The Spider suit was one of the highlights of Homecoming! As found in the comics, Stark created suits for Spiderman to further enhance his crime fighting abilities. The traditional blue, red and black design was kept, but was upgraded with Stark’s technology. The technology allowed Spiderman to execute the different web abilities we know from the comics. Various combinations such as taser web, rapid fire, web grenades even the famous web wings were utilized during different sequences. The spidey mask was enhanced with thermal mapping, facial recognition, navigation, even a user interface called Karen. Karen functions with the suit like J.A.R.V.I.S does with the Iron Man armors. At the end of the film, Tony created another suit for Peter in hopes of him joining The Avengers. That suit didn’t receive much screen time, for Peter declined Tony’s offer of membership. What type of upgrades does that suit have that we haven’t seen yet on-screen?

What was your take on Michael Keaton playing the Vulture?? This was also a highlight for the film because Batman was an iconic role for Keaton in the cinematic universe of DC Comics. Now crossing into Marvel Comics, Keaton portrays the cinematic version of Vulture, who is a salvage owner in New York City. His team was responsible for the cleanup after Loki‘s attempt to conquer the planet in the first Avengers film. After being put out of business, Toomes and his employees kept some of the alien technology to create weapons for the underground market. The Shocker character was also involved in this film as a member of Toomes’s team. The Shocker was portrayed by actor Bokeem Woodbine. Do you think the Shocker was necessary for this film?

Now, the question that everyone has asked: who do you think was the ultimate Spiderman between Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland?? Toby was able to portray the wall crawler in a 3 movie series which grossed $2.4 billion worldwide. These 3 films were a big hit for the character Spiderman in the cinematic universe and Marvel Comics. Next, Andrew Garfield became web slinger in the Amazing Spiderman 1 and 2. These two films grossed $1.4 billion dollars worldwide. Andrew’s version of Spiderman was to be a reboot trilogy, only to be replaced by Tom Holland’s Spiderman. Instead of another origin story, Tom’s Spiderman is being incorporated with the other characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe namely with the Avengers. If you read the comics, you would know Spiderman is involved in the upcoming war against Thanos. Let us know what you thought of this third installment of Spiderman in the comment section below. Also
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Movie Review!!

Suicide Squad was released on August 5th, with $267 million made on its opening weekend. When first released, Suicide Squad was set to have a R rating. With various scene cuts, the film was level down to PG-13 like Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Why again? Deadpool held no punches back with its R rated release and the film became a huge win for Marvel Comics. Many comic fans have mixed feelings for the film, more negative than positive. Many feel the story or threat for the Suicide Squad could have been better. What was your take on the film?

The Suicide Squad is a group of dangerous criminals collected together by Amanda Waller, to take on assignments designed for no return or assignments to place blame on the criminals if spun out of control. These outlaws are individuals brought down by Batman, for the exception of Captain Boomerang, who is a criminal that commonly battles The Flash. The Flash makes an appearance in this film, but only briefly. Will Smith took the role of Deadshot, which is a change in character ethnicity like Laurence Fishburne taking the role of Perry White in Zack Synder‘s Superman. This movie is the reason Will Smith turned down Independence Day: Resurgence. Do you think Will Smith should have done the Independence Day sequel instead of this movie?

Batman also had a small cameo in this film, which were flashback memories with DeadShot and Harley Quinn. Even Ben Affleck made his small cameo at the mid credit scene, showing Bruce Wayne on his mission to form his super team of heroes. Affleck’s Batman is the first character to cameo in different films other than his own feature film. Is Batman the center piece for future DC films?

This film introduced the third Joker on film, which was portrayed by Jared Leto. This style of Joker is very different from the previous ones. This Joker has more of a rock star element, with the tattoos, silver teeth and jewelry. It was suggested that this Joker is actually Jason Todd, the former Robin, with few hints mentioned in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. What’s unique about this film is the history and developing relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn. Do you think this was an excellent portrayal of the two lovers? Do you think this is the last we’ll see of the Suicide Squad, or will they return in Batman’s solo film?

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