Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

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Horrorphile - January 2009

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

January 19th 2009 00:16

Set more than a thousand years before the present day events of Underworld (2003), Rise of the Lycans (2009) tells the story of the how the war between the Death Dealers (vampires) and the Lycans (werewolves) came about. Expanding on the original storyline by Len Wiseman (who directed the first two movies), Robert Orr and Kevin Grevioux, and directed by creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, Rise of the Lycans is a medieval melodrama with much gnashing of teeth and piercing of eye.

Viktor (Bill Nighy in typical scene-chewing form), holding Vampire court, has a problem on his hands. His daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra) has fallen in love with the hybrid, Lucian (Michael Sheen), whom he has enslaved as a blacksmith. Lucian is the first of the Lycans, able to transform at will into a savage werewolf. Viktor has used this rare and inexplicable bloodline to create a race of slaves.

Michael Sheen as Lucian

But the marauding werewolves are waiting for Lucian to break free of his moonshackles and lead them in a battle to destroy the Vampire Empire. But it won’t be easy. Willful Sonja will cross her father and betray him, and come between the Immortals and the savage beasts, igniting a war that will last for centuries.

Bill Nighy as Viktor

I was rather disappointed with Rise of the Lycans. I had enjoyed Underworld to a degree, probably more the look and feel of the movie, but was bitterly disappointed with the sequel Evolution (2005). This prequel carries the visual style – it seems all three movies were shot in “Blue Vision” – but carries far too much dialogue. Almost ever scene seems weighed down with too much dillydallying. More action, less conversation! Then when the action comes it’s edited so swiftly if you blink you’ve missed something.

Rhona Mitra as Sonja

All the major sequences involving the werewolves are CGIed, and I’m not impressed. The whole thing looks like a video game, and I’m sure there will be one, if not already. I don’t feel any real menace from those howling beasts, simply because I don’t believe they’re actually there, they’re a digital pastiche. Obviously it would be very difficult and expensive to create all the werewolves as actual creature costumes/animatronic effects, so therein lies the hairy rub.

Lucian gets a little tetchy ...

While the production design and costuming is impressive, most of the movie rests on the performances of the three leads, and rest assured they’re solid, although one could argue the histrionics start to get in the way. Along with Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen, Kevin Grevioux returns (from the first two movies) as Raze the Lycan enforcer. As a bridging nod to the first movie, moody mutant mercenary Selene (Kate Beckinsale) appears at movie’s end in that familiar crouch, the wind and the rain whipping at her trench-coat.

... and things turn a little hairy

There is some decent carnage, but for a movie that deals with vampires and werewolves at war, there’s surprisingly little bloodshed. Methinks the producers made sure the movie would receive a soft-R rating; even the sex scene between Lucian and Sonja, which should’ve been powerfully carnal and deeply passionate, is disappointingly tame and coy - bestiality without the bestial edge. Let it be said, I’m a huge fan of original Lara Croft model Rhona Mitra, but hey …

Viktor comtemplates the plight of his daughter over a goblet of vintage blood

Rise of the Lycans will no doubt be appreciated by those who relish the realm of Underworld and want to know more about the arcane history, as the prequel was always devised as part of a planned trilogy. Watching the first movie Underworld (now the middle movie) with Lucian and Viktor in angry, desperate moods, will add much fuel to the movie’s burgeoning cult following.

Rise of the Lycans Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen

Viktor and Lucian at steely loggerheads

I thoroughly enjoyed the trailer to Rise of the Lycans, and watching it again it makes for a fantastic short movie. Shame the feature didn’t capture anywhere near the same intensity, it just felt like one long blue movie, but without the warm aroused flesh … if you get my drift.

Here's the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

7 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

January 19th 2009 02:33

It looks just like Sparticus with dogs instead of slaves.

I did like the first film. It was stylish and cool with a girl in tight leather. What could be the down side?
The problem was for a horror story it was not particularly scary or disturbing. It was action and adventure than anything.

However as a movie it did entertain.

I am yet to see the second and the third and I hope that it is not like the Matrix trilogy where each film became steadily worse due to over production and dehumanizing the characters down to the level of stereotypes.

Comment by David O'Connell

January 19th 2009 06:04

Screen Fanatic

Excellent review Bryn, but I'm positive I'm going to give this one a miss after the first two abominations. Despite the cool look and general hotness of Kate Beckinsale, the downside was how utterly humourless and boring they were. I don't see how the characters could be any more dehuminized than they were - they never displayed so much as a sliver of humanity!

Poor Rhona Mitra, first Doomsday, now this.
Bill Nighy too, he's brilliant, but what the hell is he doing in this?

Comment by Bryn

January 19th 2009 11:22

Horrorphile

Damo and David ... yes, dehumanized is exactly right.

Comment by Jason King

January 19th 2009 20:53

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

Cool review Bryn, kind of what I would expect of a 3rd Underworld movie. I enjoyed the 1st one, second one was a bit borderline and I will watch this only because I want to see more vampires and warewolves. For some reason the text is half cut off in the article when the right collumn loads. Laterz

Comment by Bryn

January 19th 2009 22:15

Horrorphile

Jason, cheers mate, the text is fine on my computer, although the youtube clip breaches the right column margin.

Comment by Kleonaptra

January 20th 2009 00:57

Kalikapsychosis

Text is cut off for me too Bryn, and it was on one of your other posts too.

It was the first one (now the middle one) that I found hollow - I fully enjoyed the second, but I wanted to know so much more about hybrids and Corvinus. Like, they say if Marcus dies, all the vamps die, so does that mean at the end there is only Selene left in vampire kind? And Michaels 'endless' powers, lets see them! It was good to see Selene really going at it in that one - like, whats with her fainting from blood loss in the first one? Never seen a vamp do that in book or movie. Get skinny and weak and savage someone maybe, but FAINT? You gotta be kidding me.

So I was disappionted we were going back in time not forwards, but its all dark and gothic so Im sure I'll love it.

Ditto on loving Selene's costume. I want one. Black leather bodice, oh yeah!

Comment by Anonymous

January 23rd 2009 22:34

Just to clarify: killing Marcus did NOT kill all the other vampires. That was a lie perpetuated by Marcus to discourage Viktor from killing him.

This was explained (although perhaps not clearly enough) in the second movie.

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