Beckinsale Back to War with Lycans in 'Underworld: Awakenings'

Things are moving along just fine on the fourth installment of the "Underworld" franchise. Male fans of the genre couldn't ask for more. Kate Beckinsale is back as Selene. However, female fans have something to complain about as Scott Speedman has announced he will not be returning for any further installments as Lycan Michael. I on the other hand, couldn't care less about any of that. I want to see some cool vampire/werewolf battles and fun action sequences.

The newest chapter in the franchise is titled "Underworld: Awakening" and revolves around "vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species." So now, humans are getting in on the fight. That makes for an interesting new twist to the series.

"Underworld: Awakening" continues the story that was started with "Underworld" and the second installment, "Underworld: Evolution." 2009's "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" ventured into the past to tell the story of how the feud between vampires and Lycans started. Beckinsale's character was not featured in the film.

I've never been an avid fan of the "Underworld" franchise. I do like the films and distinctly remember thinking "Underworld: Evolution" was better than "Underworld" for some reason. I thought "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" was an interesting origin story that really didn't suffer from the absence of Beckinsale. That might have had something to do with Michael Sheen, Rhona Mitra, and Bill Nighy's presence.

The directing duo of Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein are helming "Underworld: Awakenings." They really only have two other films under their belt. First, they directed the Swedish film "Storm." The second one was "Shelter" which starred Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. From looking at the new trailer for "Underworld: Awakenings," it would appear they did their job and did it well. The footage and camerawork looks great.

The cast of "Underworld: Awakening" also includes Charles Dance ("Alien 3," "Last Action Hero"), Stephen Rea ("V for Vendetta", "The Crying Game"), and India Eisley ("Headspace," "Mother Teresa"). The movie was written by Allison Burnett ("Resurrecting the Champ," "Untraceable"), John Hlavin ("The Shield"), and J. Michael Straczynski ("Thor," "Babylon 5"). Len Wiseman produced the film. He directed the first two "Underworld films and produced the third one. It's set to hit theaters through Sony Screen Gems on January 20, 2012.

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