(2013-05-05 08:01:46)

Denis Leary, Actor, Who Knew?!

This is a good crime thriller with an engaging central character and some decent action sequences. One question (you guessed it!)why isn't this on DVD?!

Mark Brantner

(2013-05-04 20:58:23)

Just as good as Tarentino

I had to wait for the credits to see that it wasn't a Quentin Tarentinoscript. Denis Leary and Joe Mantegna were great. I would have liked moredialog for Joe, but it kept you wondering "what is going on in his mind",juxtapositioning the constantly-chatty, but not really saying anythingLeary. I base my picks on whether I was entertained or not, rather thanlooking for messages or with a "critic-intelligensia" eye.I was entertained wholly by this movie and gave it a 10.

scfireman

(2013-04-03 12:51:24)

A wonderful concept and idea

With so many different "rules" of what werewolves and vampires are such as what kills them, what powers they have, and their general social culture, this movie is the first to successfully bring them all together into a complete package.

crystalart

(2013-04-02 17:18:27)

I was happily surprised...

...to find this to be more than a good film. It's close to "excellent"!It has an almost psychedelic quality. Leary is outstanding, and keepsthe viewer mesmerized with his ongoing dialog that twists, turns, andentwines itself within itself.Joe Mantegna is a great counterpoint to Leary and the two are perfecttogether.Enjoy this film as one that is different and borders on "unique".I bought it online for $2.25, and I consider it money well spent.Sometimes I take a chance and purchase a movie because of who's in it.In this case it really paid off!Try it! I know you'll like it!

Greg Belter

(2013-03-19 13:27:12)

Terrible

If there was a list to mark the worst movies in history (actually there ison this page), I think Underworld could probably top that list. Given,Denis Leary put on a great job, shooting people and making wisecracks, themovie had no direction and I don't even think the director knew what thehell to do with it. This script belongs in a wastebasket. When one manmakes your movie somewhat (remember I said somewhat) watchable.....there'sproblems.GRADE: F

hotelst

(2013-03-19 10:28:26)

See the original

This movie is an obvious rip-off of Underworld USA starring CliffRobertson. You owe it to yourself to invest a couple of hours and watchthe original. I found this one to be disjointed and hard to follow,with a lot of scenes that didn't make much sense. I'm not opposed toviolence in movies but this whole thing seemed to be nothing more thanan excuse to blow away one person after another, many of whom were onlymarginally connected with the storyline. With everyone else gettingkilled, all through the movie I wondered why Frank didn't just blowJohnny's brains out. He certainly could have and Johnny sure didn't actlike someone that could be trusted. Another thing that bothers me isthe sex scenes; why do these people have sex with their clothes on? Isthat supposed to turn us on? Surely they didn't think they had a shotat a PG rating. Nothing in this movie seemed to play out naturally. asif one were watching people in real life, instead it was done in aheavy-handed and shallow manner.

radio_tokyo

(2013-03-17 07:06:49)

What a great modern film noir.

This very underrated film is a great example of modern film noir. It isclassic Leary, and I heartily recommend it if you like your gangstermovies quirky and twisty. The ending is a shock, and the path to getthere, the story told by Dennis Leary's character is a wild ride. Givethis film a chance, it deserves it.I read a review which compared the film unfavourably to Pulp Fiction,it is unfortunate that title was mentioned on the back of the DVD,don't blame anyone but the marketing dept. Underworld has more incommon with The Two Jakes than Pulp Fiction. As you can see I lovedthis film, it gets a massive thumbs up from me.

elvaago

(2013-03-16 19:01:26)

Not a bad rip-off (spoilers included)

Spoilers!While this film is entertaining if you like violent mafia related movies,it's wholly unoriginal and confusing to boot. The main ingredient seems tobe Denis Leary being violent, causing violence and enjoying it all. Thisisalso the best ingredient. The other main ingredient is Joe Mantegna being,well, Joe Mantegna like he always is. Not bad either.But the plot is weak. It's Cape Fear combined with Pulp Fiction andReservoir Dogs. But the main rip-off has to be John Woo. For twoscenes.1) The scene in which the 7 hitmen shoot eachother is a classic John Wooscene.2) The final scene where the 4 people hold guns to eachother is basicallyaclone of the classic standoff scenes John Woo always uses.Furthermore, the scenes of the trunk copy John Woo. The usage of two gunscopies John Woo (Dan "Iceberg" Eagan) and the list goes on andon.But hey, not all movies can be original.

Adam

(2013-02-21 23:47:18)

They Have A lot To Say, But Can Leary Make It Interesting To Hear?

I picked up this movie for a few dollars at a local discount store intown. It advertised Denis Leary & Joe Mantegna, plus the box promised"In the style of The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs". I bought itand threw it on my DVD shelf, not really thinking about it. But lastnight I was in the mood for some crime, so I threw it in.I really don't know what to say. The film just kind of falls flat witha whole lot of unnecessary dialogue. I think they were trying to go fora Tarantino thing by having incredibly long scenes of Leary explainingwhere he wants his money to go or the beauty of Rodgers andHammerstein, but while somewhat humorous in the end it just seems likepadding. That's not to say Leary makes it boring, quite the opposite.Leary is well known for his tirades. And for what he has to work with,he actually keeps the long dialogue bits somewhat watchable.Joe Mantegna does his best, but his role just isn't very well written.He's mostly there to be a quiet straight-man for Leary's insaneramblings. When given a chance he has shining moments, but those arefew and far between.But as for the rest of the film, it just kind of falls flat without anyfanfare. The script is too long and kind of confusing, if only for thefact that major plot points are surrounded by stilted dialogue chunksso you can't really pay attention to grab hear them. Editing is very bythe book, however there's a few aesthetically pleasing moments oflighting and direction that might surprise you.All in all, if you're a strong fan of either Leary or the modern crimegenre, it's worth a look for only it's hour and a half run time. But ifyou have something better or just not in the mood, this film isn'tgoing to turn any heads.

dostfez

(2013-02-21 12:34:00)

Great Film!

Why everyone in general knocks this movie is beyond me. No it's not thegreatest gangster film ever made, but is certainly far from the worst!It'sDennis Leary's show, and he does an outstanding job. Sort of like afunnier, quirkier, and slightly less hard boiled version of Pulp Fiction.Again NO it's not the Godfather or Goodfellas, and is not a "classic" Itisa minor gem that deserves far better than the lousy 4 point something itgets here. Check it out and decide for yourself! for fans of the genre youwon't be wasting your time.

(2013-02-04 19:19:02)

For the price, how can you go wrong

I think this movie is pretty damn good for what it is. Its a pulp crime story about a guy who gets out of jail and starts talking care of old business. Things aren't ever that easy, and with a sub plot in tow, violence breaks out around every turn. If you liked Leary in suicide kings then you should like this. I'm waiting for the DVD, but for the low price how can you go wrong.

(2013-02-04 14:58:07)

Great, Leary plays a great crimenal

Leary back from jall and whats to even the score with a couple of mobsters in one night.

Sean

(2013-01-28 16:53:05)

This is what action seekers have been waiting for

It's sleek, sexy, and filled with heartpounding action. It is everything a man like me has been waiting for. And I'm thrilled that their making another one

Jesse Williamson

(2013-01-27 23:34:02)

Heavily misunderstood comedy!

This is one of the best black comedies that I have everseen!Oh, it's highly, highly, highly underrated!I've found the tape in action and in drama, but never incomedy,where I feel that it belongs!Take for example the first scene involving the Red Car: Slow buildup,absolutely bloody execution, glass and flesh everywhere; and then anapproving nod and the gunner exclaiming in nonchalant fashion "This isgonnabe the best goddamn father's day I've ever had."It doesn't stop there. We have the execution of a beyond-amazinglybeautiful girl (Traci Lords) for nearly nothing other than a boredantagonist's whim; we don't even really know if she's suspected ofcheatingon him... he's just... bored.Add to this a hilarious bar scene that might begin something like "a bunchof assassins walked into a bar..."... they're tired of waiting, so theycleantheir guns... they're bored at the delay, so they shoot the bottles;they'refrustrated at their employer's procrastination, so they pull out automaticweapons and unload on the bar, the bartender... and finally the outrighthilarious shot of the scariest of them putting a gun to his head: theyshooteach other.Yes, it's terribly violent; yes, it's not for everyone. But this is theoneof the most fabulously overlooked films ever! Awesome!Check it out, but ignore the section you found it in.

(2013-01-20 08:02:42)

A Gem

This film is really the close cousin of another film called "Trigger Happy"with Richard Dreyfuss, anyway, this film is set in the same Other Universe,one where there are no police and no rules. Johnny Crown (Leary) is out toget the people who turned his father into a vegatable and all hands point tothe mysterious Frank Gavilan. Some have said that this is a Tarantino or John Woo wannabe, no way! Thewriting by Larry Bishop is frequently hilarious (he also wrote TriggerHappy), he keeps the action moving, from Leary's endless one-liners to theidea that the man who put a bullet in his fathers head might be just tooclose to home.Cool moments in the film include Ned (who killed Ed) going back to hisroots, this means getting rid of everything, including money, jewels, carand Traci Lords, the hitmen shooting up the bar for something to do and thatsandwich!It came out in the wake of Pulp Fiction, but other crime movies came outthen too, good ones at that: Trigger Happy, City Of Industry, AlbinoAlligator etc.Underworld might be obscure, I own the video, but I'll never trade it inuntil I get the DVD (unavailable in the UK), that's how good this film is. Absolute gem. 10/10

(2013-01-19 23:21:35)

Extreme silliness, but worth a rental

I originally saw the tail end of this film on cable television, many years after it was released, but upon re-viewing, found it to be a great exercise in satire--namely, the mob movie scene. It borrows large doses of Tarantino, but remains strictly a Denis Leary feature.Whether or not that's a bonus is up to you, but he's on the money in this film. There are a few exchanges that had me gut laughing in their inanity, and even if the film's a bit too long, I still think it belongs in the guilty pleasure box.

Slugabed

(2013-01-10 13:44:44)

Mister Stinky-Friend

This movie is so bad, they wouldn't buy it back at my local used CD/DVDstore. I only own it because it came in a box set which I bought for themasterpiece "Deadfall". The store bought back the other two movies I wasselling from the four disc set, but they wouldn't buy back Underworld,andthose other two movies redefined rank, so what does that say about thismovie? So I tried to sell it back to another store, that even bought backbudget DVDs that you could buy for a dollar at a local store, but theywouldn't buy back Underworld either.This movie is bad on every level, and is one of those that came out inthepost-Tarantino-clone glut of the mid 90's. The only slightly redeemableelement is Dennis Leary telling Joe Montegna, that he's a "stinky friend"and calls him "Mister Stinky Friend". That line is so delightfullyhorrible,that I can't help but quote it at least once a week when describing astinkyfriend. But now that I've enlightened you with that quote, you don't havetogo thru the pain of watching this movie.

scrapmetal7

(2013-01-10 02:32:36)

See this movie!!!! It is well worth it!

I love this movie. I love the mood, the cinematography, the settings,the music, and the cars. I love all of the actors. I love the script.This is the kind of movie in which the viewer may not know exactlywhat's going on for awhile, but that's OK. Just sit back and enjoy. Youas the viewer are supposed to be confused throughout the first act, andare supposed to try and piece together the information for yourself. Bythe middle, if you paid attention, you know what's going on, and canfollow the film to it's conclusion.What it's about: Two underworld figures form an uneasy alliance as oneof them, a possible psychotic, just paroled mystery man, searches for aman named "Richard Essex", and marks names off his "naughty/nice" list.PS) If you liked this movie, you will also like a movie called TRIGGERHAPPY, or alternately, MAD DOG TIME, also written by Larry Bishop. Ithas a huge cast, that includes Jeff Goldblum, Richard Dreyfuss, DianeLane, Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, and many others. Check it out! PS #2) If you want to watch this in a great marathon of good unknown'90's movies, watch it with THE IMMORTALS (Eric Roberts) and WILD SIDE(Christopher Walken). Please take that recommendation with theknowledge that all of these films have violent and sexual content.SPOILERS below: The backstory going in, if you want to dive in withouthaving to figure anything out initially, is as follows: Frank Gavilan(Joe Mantegna) is a successful nightclub owner and organized crimefigure. Johnny Alt (Dennis Leary) is his best friend since childhood,but they haven't seen each other for a long time, because Johnny's beenin prison, until Father's day, the night this movie begins.Frank has an alliance with Ned Lynch (Larry Bishop), who's also big inthe underworld, but not as big as he wants to be. After a long time,Ned has finally gotten his own crew to be as big, and control of asmany good rackets, as he's dreamed, and feels he's ready to make somebig moves and cement his status.Everyone's afraid of the deadliest crime figure in town, Richard Essex.The night Johnny Alt is released from prison, finding Richard Essex ishis highest priority.

(2012-12-19 02:34:10)

Great movie

A Must see. The movie is full of memorable lines, twists in the plot, and a 'things to do list'

(2012-12-18 20:20:39)

Denis Leary kicks ass

I saw this movie at my friend Joel's house, and the first time I saw it I didn't get it but I got it the 2nd time. I was half asleep the first time, anywho, It's just about Leary and he kills all these guys who tried to kill his dad and he's especially looking around for a man named Richard Essex( Joe Mantegna), now Mantegna is Frank and Leary is Johnny Crown or Johnny Alt, the 2 have a bunch of nicknames. Larry Bishop is Ned Lynch( Bishop also wrote the screenplay) and later he kills LEary's father and then there's all this mobsterinbetween stuff. Leary takes Mantegna to see Anabella Sciorra for therapy, becuase the two had been in love and by this movie they still are( Mantegna is a lady's man, let's say that). Leary has an insider who kills off his "hit list" and Mantegna and Leary go around doing Leary's " things to do list". Leary knows Mantegna's Essex but he doesnt want to tell him. They go to The Underworld where Leary, Mantegna are up against Bishop and Jimmie F. Skaggs( Leary's insider, but who turns on him). This movie is very violent and very bloody. I don't know how manguys get killed in the beginning but Leary just plows um over like sushi. lot's of twists and turns and the story keeps itself up there. Abe Vigoda( who plays Mantegna's father) is never cooler.