Underworld: Awakening is the latest addition to the popular supernatural action franchise - one that retains the series' staple ingredient (namely, Kate Beckinsale kickin' butt in a black leather catsuit) but mixes things up by bringing on newbie directing duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein to work from a screen story crafted by Underworld staple writer/director Len Wiseman.

The trailers for Awakening have all succinctly outlined the film's narrative setup and teased its (now, trademark) brand of hyper-stylized action, as is being brought to life in 3D this time around. Today, we have an extended TV spot for the flick that features plenty of fast-paced violence, but also touches on a certain important plot point that's been somewhat glossed over in previous theatrical promos.

Awakening picks up with Beckinsale's vampire warrior gal character, Selene, after she has been kept in cryogenic suspension for over fifteen years. Selene awakens (what else?) to find a world where humanity is actively hunting down and wiping out vampires and lycans alike - not to mention, engineering a deadly race of Super lycans that are twice as large (and powerful) as their predecessors. Suffice it to say, Beckinsale's onscreen counterpart has her hands full, battling armed humans and bulky shape-shifters alike.

Check out Selene in motion in the Underworld: Awakening TV trailer below:

Screenwriting duties on Awakening were handled by the likes of Wiseman, J. Michael Straczyinski (Babylon 5, Thor), Allison Burnett (Autumn in New York, Untraceable) and John Hlavin (The Shield); so, collectively, that crew boasts a moderate-quality, if not altogether encouraging, collection of films to their credit. Fortunately, the storyline for Awakening reads as being a pretty straight-forward and non-convoluted means to set the stage for Beckinsale to perform plenty of (deadly) acrobatic moves and fight a variety of both human and vicious CGI monster enemies.

The action sequences in Awakening all seem to have been lit, shot, and edited comptetently enough. However, most of the film's 3D effects come off as pretty standard and gimmicky in early footage - though, they should look somewhat more convincing on the big screen, if only because the movie was actually shot using RED EPIC 3D cameras (ie. the same technology being used on The Amazing Spider-Man and The Hobbit).

Underworld: Awakening will open in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters around the U.S. on January 20th, 2012.

Source: Screen Gems