Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra
"Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans" is the third installment in the "Underworld" film series and is a prequel to "Underworld" (2003) and "Underworld: Evolution"(2006). The film is set in the 15th century and traces the origin of the 600 years old blood feud between the vampires and the lycans (werewolves).
Viktor (Bill Nighy), the ruthless ruler of the vampires, captures and uses lycans as slaves to guard his clan during the daytime. One of them is Lucian (Michael Sheen), a lycan who is born in captivity and raised by Viktor. As Lucian grows up, he and Viktor's daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra) are attracted to one another. One night, Sonja is attacked by a large pack of wild werewolves but is saved by Lucian. Instead of showing gratitude, Viktor has Lucian whipped and imprisoned for taking off his collar. The collars prevent the slaves from changing into lycan form. Lucian escapes, frees the other slaves and starts a rebellion against the vampires. If you have watched the first installment, then you should be well aware of Lucian's fate and the outcome of his relationship with Sonja.
I have to admit that although I know how things are going to end, I do enjoy the entire journey that leads towards the film's ending. First time director Patrick Tatopoulos (the creature designer for the first two installments) managed to deliver a fairly entertaining film although it offers nothing special and I seriously missed Kate Beckinsale and her super tight cat suit. The film however features solid performances by the lead actors, especially Bill Nighy.
The film's main drawback is the sword fight sequences which was shot using close-ups and quick-cut edits. This makes the fights disjointed and hard to follow. There is also a minor continuity issue between this film and the previous installment. In a flashback scene in "Underworld", Sonja (played by Jazmín Damak) is portrayed as blonde. In this film, she is played by Rhona Mitra who is a brunette. I understand that its just a minor issue and that Mitra is chosen because of her resemblance to Kate Beckinsale, but I feel that it is worth mentioning here.
In the end, it all depends if you're a fan of the previous two "Underworld" films. If you are, then you just might enjoy this movie like I did. Otherwise, you may find "Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans" as just average or even disappointing.
Score: 6.5/10
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