NateWatchesCoolMovies Larry Bishop wrote three films in his career so far. The flashy but hollow Tarantino produced biker flick Hell Ride, the excellent pseudo gangster piece Mad Dog Time, and a little seen, mob fantasy film called Underworld. It was his his first effort, and it's a nice, bloody entry with some great actors and a dark, slow paced tone. Bishop has a very particular way with words that can be off putting and unnecessarily convoluted, as seen in Hell Ride. It's not for everyone, as we are subjected to extended sequences of characters speaking in cryptic, almost poetic passages, until it erupts into shootouts and long awaited physical conflict. Mad Dog Time is a little less dense, whereas this one is super compact in its story, spending most of the running time focusing on three primary characters just.. talking. Luckily, when you have Denis Leary, Joe Montegna and Annabella Sciorra as your three leads, you can make compelling work of little going on on the screen. Underworld takes place in the same flashy, almost dreamlike gangster world that Mad Dog Time did, and yet it's a little dirtier, as if it came from the other, nastier side of the tracks than the Rat Pack esque Mad Dog Time. Leary plays hotshot mobster Johnny Crown, fresh out of prison and on the hunt for a rival gang that murdered his father in cold blood. He slinks around dingy, dank urban street and dimly lit night clubs, embroiled in a spiralling plot that reaches pretty far beyond his simple need for revenge. Along with him is Joe Montegna playing a guy so mysterious he's got three different names, any or none of which may be his real one. Annabella Sciorra plays the tough moll and psychiatrist (!) Dr. Leah in that smirking, seductive fashion that only she can do. Other dirtbags involved in the whole violent circus are Dan 'The Iceberg' Eagan (James Tolkan, scarily stoic), wiseass villain Ned Lynch (Larry Bishop) and lizard like psychopath 'Smilin' Phil Fox (criminally underrated character actor Jimmie F. Skaggs, RIP). It's low key, it's different, but the plot is giddy, verbose fun, speckled with enough panache and vicious violence to keep genre fans happy.

merklekranz This entire movie takes place in the dark, which is unfortunately where it leaves the viewer unfortunate enough to waste his time watching "Underworld". This is exactly the kind of movie that is easy to hate. It introduces endless characters with no development. People we don't know are getting shot for no reason. The film is supposedly hip, but in reality is nonsensical, long, boring, self important crap. No police are involved, even though gangland assassinations are taking place on a schedule that makes Al Capone look like a small time hood. The dialog is repetitive nonsense that has nothing to do with what is on the screen. This is a totally failed film that should be avoided. - MERK

scrapmetal7 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 exactly what's going on for awhile, but that's OK. Just sit back and enjoy. You as the viewer are supposed to be confused throughout the first act, and are supposed to try and piece together the information for yourself. By the middle, if you paid attention, you know what's going on, and can follow the film to it's conclusion.What it's about: Two underworld figures form an uneasy alliance as one of them, a possible psychotic, just paroled mystery man, searches for a man named "Richard Essex", and marks names off his "naughty/nice" list.PS) If you liked this movie, you will also like a movie called TRIGGER HAPPY, or alternately, MAD DOG TIME, also written by Larry Bishop. It has a huge cast, that includes Jeff Goldblum, Richard Dreyfuss, Diane Lane, 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 the knowledge that all of these films have violent and sexual content.SPOILERS below: The backstory going in, if you want to dive in without having to figure anything out initially, is as follows: Frank Gavilan (Joe Mantegna) is a successful nightclub owner and organized crime figure. Johnny Alt (Dennis Leary) is his best friend since childhood, but they haven't seen each other for a long time, because Johnny's been in prison, until Father's day, the night this movie begins.Frank has an alliance with Ned Lynch (Larry Bishop), who's also big in the 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 as many good rackets, as he's dreamed, and feels he's ready to make some big 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 is his highest priority.

Frogg-2 If there was a list to mark the worst movies in history (actually there is on this page), I think Underworld could probably top that list. Given, Denis Leary put on a great job, shooting people and making wisecracks, the movie had no direction and I don't even think the director knew what the hell to do with it. This script belongs in a wastebasket. When one man makes your movie somewhat (remember I said somewhat) watchable.....there's problems.GRADE: F