The violent, centuries-long feud between the Vampires and the Lycans moves into a devastating new phase in Underworld: Evolution, the blood-spattered sequel to Len Wiseman s 2003 action-thriller.

If you haven t seen the first film, then you ll struggle to follow its successor, even with the cornucopia of flashbacks that litter the narrative.

Not tha Evolution makes a great deal of sense, even with intimate knowledge of the mythology established in Underworld.

In his haste to cram as many thunderous action sequences into the sequel, screenwriter Danny McBride throws logic and plausibility to the (were)wolves.

Vampire warrior Selene (Beckinsale) and newborn hybrid Michael (Speedman) spend inordinate amounts of time scouring for weapons that have little effect on any of their monstrous foes.

"A soft-lit, softcore sex scene briefly interrupts the carnage"

The characters run into trouble rather than away from it, if only to provide Wiseman with copious opportunities to film his real-life wife, Beckinsale, in slow motion, pouting and shooting as only a buffed PVC-clad heroine can.

Blood and entrails glisten in every frame and Wiseman delights in showing the creatures dismembering each other in gloop-drenched close-up.

A soft-lit, softcore sex scene briefly interrupts the carnage, permitting Wiseman s camera to caress every exfoliated inch of his wife s lithe frame.