I watched “Underworld” last night. (Between this and “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” I’ve completely lost track of how much gunfire I’ve witnessed.) It was not the best movie I’ve watched. (Although, I must say, Kate Beckinsale. Mmmmm.) But it was definitely highly entertaining. (Again, the massive amount of violence and bloodshed was very cool, particularly one final, very wonderfully grotesque death scene.) It’s sort of “The Matrix” meets “Blade” (with, according to J, a little “West Side Story” thrown in.) A lot of the shots were quite picturesque and atmospheric, beginning with the opening gun-battle in a crowded subway station.

But back to Kate Beckinsale. (I promise I won’t drool too much.) She was honestly mesmerizing as vampire-warrior Selene. What struck me the most was that her character makes me completely think of the character Door in Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. (I have not watched the miniseries, as I’ve heard that, while admirable in its faithfulness to the source, it might still be disappointing because of the inherent difficulty of transferring the contents of a book to film.) In fact, “Underworld” as a whole made me think of Neverwhere (and, perhaps, the final chapters of Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams, involving the St. Pancras Underground Station in London, but that is neither here nor there.) While “Underworld” was heavy on gore and ammunition rounds, Neverwhere (though true of Gaiman’s other works) emphasizes wonder and fantasy. Obviously, it’s difficult to compare the 24 frame-per-second pace of a movie reel with page-turning, so that probably accounts for the slower feel to the book, because the circumstances are just as shadowy and violent in Neverwhere as it is in “Underworld.” While not as gruesome and action-packed, Neverwhere is definitely just as dark and surreal—with worlds and entire civilizations hidden from humans, despite the fact that it’s all right there in our midst (a theme that “Men in Black” made blindingly obvious)

So I’ve got to read Neverwhere and perhaps even brave the mini-series (if I can find it somewhere.)