While sitting down to watch “Brotherhood of the Wolf”( Universal, R), you could expect it to be some dark, complicated French movie involving gruesome murders and scantily clad women. Well, you’re almost right. It turns out that after the first half – hour, it’s not that hard to follow at all, and one soon becomes completely consumed by the film’s imagery and story.

Those of you who dread subtitles will be pleasantly surprised when you hear English voices. That’s right, all the lines have been dubbed in English. They don’t quite match the movement of the character’s mouths, but it’s easy to forget about after a while.

Anyway, the movie takes place in 18th century France, where an unknown beast is brutally slaughtering innocent people on the countryside.

About five minutes into the movie, we are introduced to our two heroes, Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan)and Mani (Mark Dacascos) in a visually brilliant fight scene. This is the first of many spectacular fight scenes, the best since “The Matrix.” It turns out that Fronsac has been sent by the King to hunt down this beast, and Mani is a mysterious Indian that accompanies him on his quest.

As the film goes on, the plot thickens to uncover a conspiracy and a secret society of religious mercenaries. There is also a little romance thrown in there that could have been left out. Why do directors think they have to throw romance into a movie to make it good? Aside from that, the film holds viewers’ attention the entire time.

For those concerned with the issue of dubbing, a few movies come to mind, especially the old school “Godzilla” movies. We all know how bad the dubbing was in those, but have no fear. The dubbing here is fantastic.

What really added to this movie was the cinematography and the setting. There’s nothing more beautiful to look at than the French countryside during a rainstorm, or even a snowstorm, and this is what we are looking at for most of the movie. The shots are dark and depressing for the whole movie, but that’s what makes it fun to watch.

The DVD has a few extra features, but not many. There are some deleted scenes, but the only one worth watching is an extension of the first fight sequence. Director Christiophe Gans didn’t think it flowed well with the rest of the movie, and since it makes the fight sequence a lot longer, it should have been kept in the final product.

“Brotherhood of the Wolf” contains bloody fights and gruesome murders, so viewers beware. The acting, action sequences and visuals are great, but the romance and opening minutes grow a little tiresome.