Selene is back, along with her guns, her violence and her leather-laced body that looks a lot like Kate Beckinsale. That right there is a huge selling point, along with a completely silly and pointless love scene that shows most of the British beauty - unfortunately, she's stuck in "Underworld: Evolution," a rather aimless sequel with less plot, less originality and less excitement than the original.

Beckinsale, in her first movie since playing Ava Gardner in a small role in "The Aviator," looks better than ever. She wears the same black outfit - or less - the entire film, and returning director Len Wiseman knows that this is all the movie has going for it. For good measure, shortly after Selene and her boyfriend, a hybrid mix of dog and bat (rather, wolf and vampire), escape certain death from a really nasty bat-creature, Wiseman throws in a soft core sex scene that has Beckinsale and Scott Speedman going at it, showing just about everything but the vital private parts. The scene is so out of nowhere (yet at the same time completely predictable) that it appears as though Wiseman watched his film without the scene, realized it was rather lame and then decided to show some skin.

Anyway, enough about Beckinsale... "Underworld: Evolution" begins where the last film ended, where Selene has made herself an enemy of the vampires she once belonged to after killing one of the elder creatures. On the run, she and Michael (Speedman) set out to do something or something else (I never really understood their plan), but find themselves pursued not by ordinary vampires but by the head vampire, Marcus (Tony Curran), who is more powerful than anyone can imagine. It seems that Marcus has it in himself to free his brother, the original werewolf, from eternal imprisonment, but his brother is also a bloodthirsty monster who could destroy the Earth if set free. Oh well. It is never explained how or why werewolves are immortal, or how the original werewolf is still powerful and mobile after being locked in a coffin for a thousand years, whereas the vampires take time to regenerate and grow to full strength.

The bottom line is Beckinsale has to stop doing movies that contain vampires and werewolves. The original "Underworld" was pretty decent, but "Van Helsing" was just a complete disaster. "Underworld: Evolution" isn't nearly as bad, and is exactly on par in terms of what I was expecting - a mindless action movie that is relatively entertaining besides a dull plot, rather disappointing special effects and sequel syndrome.

There is nothing in this movie that wasn't done better in the original. "Underworld: Evolution" is entertaining as long as you aren't expecting anything of substance, but would make a better rental than anything else.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.