A hero is reborn in ‘Underworld: Blood Wars’

CEBU, Philippines - An immensely gifted English actress who has proven to be one of the industry’s most versatile and charismatic performers, Kate Beckinsale returns in the fifth installment of the fan favorite sci-fi fantasy, “Underworld: Blood Wars,” where she reprises her role as the iconic action hero Selene.

“Underworld: Blood Wars” follows the next generation of Vampires and Lycans (a breed of Werewolves) and the war that continues to wage between the two species. In the film, Vampire Death Dealer Selene fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that has betrayed her. Aided by her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must end the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.

For Beckinsale’s character, the stakes have never been higher. “There’s been this longstanding feud between Vampires and Lycans but in Blood Wars, Selene’s very much disenfranchised from both factions,” the actress explains.

“She’s not really part of the team of vampires anymore and she’s on the run from everyone. Selene’s tough and incredibly inventive about killing monsters and all of that, but her motivation has always been love. In Blood Wars, it’s the love for her daughter Eve that keeps Selene going.”

“Blood Wars” pushes Underworld mythology into exciting new realms while drawing on the strengths that continue to thrill fans 14 years after the series’ inception.

“The thing that makes ‘Underworld’ so successful is the fact that you’re immersed in this vampire world which is not real, and yet the drama between all these creatures is universal,” says direcor Anna Foerster. “I hope audiences are wowed by the action but I also hope people enjoy where Selene goes emotionally. After all this fighting and hardship, at the end she comes to a place where she has a new outlook on life. Selene is ultimately a tragic character, but if she can also evoke hope for audiences, then I think that’s a pretty big thing.”

Beckinsale expects “Underworld: Blood Wars” to satisfy a key expectation for fans of the franchise by showcasing Selene at her most warrior-like.

“All sorts of horrible things happen to Selene but then she manages to dispatch everybody because she gets really pissed off,” the actress says.

In between the fast and furious combat scenes, “Underworld: Blood Wars” offers a darkly thrilling cinematic vision of uncommon integrity.

“It’s difficult these days to get a genre movie of this type made if it’s not based on an existing comic book or video game or something like that,” Beckinsale muses.

“‘Underworld’ is original, and given the fact that it also has a female lead there are a lot of reasons I feel really privileged to be one of those few women who gets to do this kind of movie. I think audiences like to see women taking names and kicking ass but I also think at this point, there’s a historical legacy element to ‘Underworld’ that people find appealing.”

Columbia Pictures’ epic action thriller picks up in the aftermath of 2012’s “Underworld: Awakening” in which Selene discovered that she had a daughter, Eve, with her former lover, Michael Corvin. At the end of the film, the reunited mother and daughter embark on a hunt for the missing father.

“Selene is on the run and is having a difficult time being reunited with her daughter,” says producer David Kern.

 The mother-daughter team get separated along the way and Selene meets up with another ally from “Awakening,” David (Theo James).

 “Together, Selene and David are trying to find the daughter that she’s been separated from,” Kern continues. “And they get clogged up with a new Lycan, Marius, who is a bad-ass dude, much like Lucian [Michael Sheen] in the first film, but even scarier and nastier and more dangerous.”

 The imposing character of Marius is a Super Lycan and he is lusting after the blood of both Selene and Eve as he bids to become the most powerful being of all, and to bring a final victory to the Lycan species. Marius is played by “Game of Thrones” star Tobias Menzies.

 “Underworld is a really exciting series that gives you really amazing opportunities as a filmmaker, visually and creatively, to create a new world,” shares director Anna Foerster.

 “With ‘Underworld,’ you have rules that are very specific for the story and for the franchise, but you can veer off from that. On purely the visual and creative side, it is extremely exciting.”

 One of the rules to which the director refers to pertains to the visual style, with all of the “Underworld” films to date defined by a near-monochromatic color palette, heavy on blue and black.

 “There is a certain expectation there but within that there is a playfulness to take advantage of,” says Foerster. (FREEMAN)