They could have at least kept Kevin Grevioux (don't know if I spelled his name correctly) on board as an adviser considering he co-wrote the first film and had a major part in the first and third film(s). They had all the time in the world to make it a decent romp since Beckinsdale wasn't even in the third film. Don't even get me started on the lame cgi Scott Speedman appearance. Yeah, he's so busy they couldn't have got him in there for an actual five minute cameo.

Awakening is my #1 WORST of 2012 flick. Can you tell?

what were you looking to see that you didn't get?
Also what did they offer that you found so unappealing.

Very curious about the dichotomy between our reactions.

The continuity of what came before it was thrown out the window. This was supposed to take place after part 2, but then they used the "in the future" device, which totally killed it for me. That's the main reason why they used that plot device, it seems. "Hey, we don't really know what story to tell, so we'll just fast forward it 12 years and go from there." It's bad enough that the franchise was never known for being "well written," but now even less so. It's a cop-out.

The lack of werewolves or anything remotely scary was gone. It was Selene butchering SWAT guys for the most part. Hell, even the super lycan was lame.

I was hoping to see something like Blade or Blade 2, where Selene is basically a "Daywalker." She has all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses. The fact the film was also less than 90 minutes didn't help either. I remember the director's cut of the first film being 132 minutes or something.

It was a hackjob all around.

Well that explains it
Pretty much everything you hated is exactly what I liked about it. Especially the brisk lean pace. It has a very simple (chapter) to tell and doesn't BS around, dragging things out and inflating them with more import than they need or deserve. That's a big plus in my book.

In a way it reminded me of the 70s Planet Of The Apes movies, where each film went in a totally different direction. Sometimes this worked better than others, but on the whole I always thought it made for a unique and fascinating series. Yes, this film is nothing like the first or second. However I think they have a far richer, more interesting playground to work in now that's not as constricting as the seemingly endless eurotrash vs eurotrash paradigm of the first two. They could push this thing in a lot of different directions that might alienate some fans- but I'm on board if they want to get even more creative here.

The ultimate premise of this franchise for me is "hot chick/monsters/action" That's it. Deviate too much from that (as in hot guy/monsters/action) and then I'll check out. Awakening however hit those marks well for me, while being refreshingly different from the first two. That's all I needed.

I'll stick to the Resident Evil franchise for my hot chick/monsters/action from now on.

Awakening missed the point of what had already been set up in 3 films worth of material. It's not even a well made film., It's all choppy and badly edited, imo.

Just saw this for the first time this week. Even though I hadn't seen any of the Underworld films and I've never been a huge fan of vampire or werewolf movies, I was willing to give this film a try because I was hungry for a 3D movie. I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. It had a ton of action, great surround sound, and cool 3D effects. (Of course, Kate Beckinsale in her tight leather jumpsuit didn't hurt.) I then bought the first 3 Underworld films to learn the history surrounding the feud. I definitely like Awakening the best 'cause it was the most action packed in the series and the least Goth. I like Rise of the Lycans second best. It also had a lot of action, and I liked Michael Sheen's performance. It also had more traditional-looking (hairy) werewolves. (I don't care for the director's vision of almost hairless lycans with slightly cat-like faces.) The first 2 films in the series are a bit too Goth for my taste, and I was underwhelmed by the look of the hybrid creature Michael turned into in the first film. I liked the uber lycan in Awakening though for his sheer size.