While none of the Underworld movies were critical darlings, 2006's Underworld: Evolution got the worst reviews of them all, and here's why. Critics may not have liked the Underworld franchise, but audiences by and large did, with the series as a whole raking in nearly $540 million worldwide, on an average production budget of $41 million. That doesn't put Underworld in the exalted profit realm of something like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or The Conjuring franchise, but it's definitely a total to be proud of.
As successful as Underworld has been, and as loyal a fanbase as it possesses, the overall franchise definitely fell victim to the law of diminishing returns, never really crafting a sequel fans felt equaled the first film. Along the way, an unpopular prequel saw Rhona Mitra unsuccessfully try to replace Kate Beckinsale as the protagonist, Scott Speedman abruptly leave the series behind, and an increasingly convoluted mythology that often got in the way of the still fairly good action scenes.
Of all those problems though, why is Underworld: Evolution the entry that critics most dislike, just barely edging out 2017's Underworld: Blood Wars for that title? The answer basically boils down to a sequel full of sound and fury, ultimately signifying nothing.
Underworld: Evolution Is a Loud, Obnoxious Chore to Watch
One of the main complaints critics have with Underworld: Evolution is that it's a relentless visual and aural assault, a criticism also often thrown at other blockbuster franchises like Transformers and and Resident Evil. While some might find that idea appealing, the critical sentiment was that Evolution's nonstop chaos was being used to try and disguise just how little the sequel's story and characters actually had to offer. Without reason to get invested, the action and attempted thrills fell flat.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
With leads who strain to manage one facial expression between them, and a cinematographer who shoots everything through the same steel-blue filter, "Underworld: Evolution" is a monotonous barrage of computer-generated fur and fangs.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Director Len Wiseman, formerly of the music-video world, is still stuck on music-video logic: Throw in awesome-looking stuff, throw in more awesome-looking stuff, don't worry so much about connecting anything.
Underworld: Evolution's Story Is Pointlessly Convoluted
Additionally, critics felt that the story Underworld: Evolution did attempt to tell was hard to follow, and seemed to be convoluted solely for the sake of trying to make things feel more complex and layered. On the surface, the plot might seem somewhat complex, but there's little there of much actual significance to appreciating or understanding what the sequel has to say. In other words, the script clearly wasn't where the most time and energy went on Underworld: Evolution, with director Len Wiseman content to merely provide a framework for lots of vampire vs werewolf fights. Those are fun, but with nothing behind them dramatically, can prove tiresome and shallow.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
"Underworld: Evolution" is a double-Diet Coke movie: If you need to step out for a minute, you might miss a random impaling or computer-generated human-to-werewolf transformation, but don't worry -- there'll be another one along shortly. And the plot is so convoluted that missing even five minutes at a stretch won't make any difference in your comprehension of the story.
Paul Arendt, BBC
Underworld: Evolution is so dedicated to its ludicrously convoluted plot that it takes half an hour to explain what the hell is going on. If you didn't see the first film, you won't have a hope of following this one, and even if you did, there are gaping holes. Why, for instance, are we suddenly in the Russian wilderness? And do they really have 24 hour restaurants out there?
Stephen Metcalf, Slate
For roughly two hours, two competing tribes—vampires on the one hand, werewolves (or “Lycans”) on the other—hunt each other down, utter some beautifully enunciated gibberish (about pendants, ancient feuds, and crossed bloodlines), then gore each other silly. I dare anyone to follow the plot, which manages, like some ill-baked meringue, to be both too light on the surface and too densely clotted underneath.