Underworld : Rise of the Lycans

• Genre : Action, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller...
  
• Running time : 92 min.
• Director : Patrick Tatopoulos
  
• Studio : Intelligent creatures
  
• Screenplay : Danny McBride, Dirk Blackman
  
• Cast : Michael Sheen, Bill Nighty, Rhona Mirta, Steven Mackintosh..
  

The first Underworld was good, the second one was a disappointment… But the third is, in my opinion, surprisingly better than the first two combined. Going into this movie, I wasn't expecting much, especially after the disaster that was Evolution. Evolution lost everything that made Uw1 so good – the story, the characters, the dynamic between Lycans & vampires, the love story of Selene & Michael, and even the music. It seemed to focus around Selene kicking butt and mindless explosions and gore.

But this movie totally blew me away. I'm writing this review over a day after I've seen it, and I'm still jittery from how good it was.

You need to remember, this thing would never be a real success because of the sheer non-necessity of it. This story is told effectively enough in Underworld as flashbacks and history, to actually need a feature length showing us it all again is just overkill. That said, though, I really enjoyed it. The tone remained, the aesthetic stayed true, but the Beckinsale factor was missed—no, not because of her looks, but actually her acting. Something about her lent a vulnerability to the character, a softness that showed a bit of humanity behind the vampiric power. With Rhona Mitra, you just get the hard-edged badass, leaving the reality of her falling for a Lycan all the more implausible.

One must give credit to the series on a whole for staying relevant and true to itself. I think that if it became anything less, some sort of caricature being churned out by the Hollywood machine, none of the original talent would have bothered to return, no matter what kind of cash was thrown their way. Bill Nighy is the kind of guy that definitely doesn't need to be doing action films anymore. After reading interviews with him following the initial film, he complained about the sheer physicality of the role and the amount of training he had to experience. Yet here he is, six years later, still getting into the dungeon water with swords and wirework, completing the story that he began. And by his side is an actor who's star has risen to the A-list, Michael Sheen, bringing credibility to a genre film that usually doesn't deserve it, let alone contain it. The Lycan leader, Lucian, is the role that brought Sheen into America's consciousness and you have to think his friendship with the producers and his belief in the material got him to reprise the role.


It is that credibility that makes the series so popular, though. Ever since the first film, billed as a horror, gore flick, surprised by being something of substance, the mythology has taken on a life of its own. Its subtle spin on the immortality yarn was fresh enough to intrigue and rooted in reality to be relevant. This installment may actually hurt because of its time period taking place centuries ago. The neat gadgets and garlic clove bullets are replaced with medieval armor and whips, swords and horses. However, it works if you have embraced the complete story at hand. We always knew that the feud began ages ago, these two races do live forever after all, so to see it play out does excite on some level. We were shown a taste of it in Underworld: Evolution, but here it becomes reality.

The reason that fact is also a detriment leads us to Rhona Mitra. In my mind I always saw Sonja as this girl who had love and compassion in her heart. Someone who saw beyond the cold, cruelty of her father to realize what combining the bloodlines could do for the peaceful harmony of their races. I thought of someone like Beckinsale, a former human that still held a shred of morality in her body, a softness to see why Lucian would fall for her. What we get from Mitra, and it is what she does, is a pureblood vampire, born and raised to kill. She is so steely-eyed and stone-faced that while her brazen attitude with her father and need to protect her people works remarkably, the moments when she needs to tear down her shield ring false. I don't necessarily blame her as much as casting. The filmmakers saw that young men wanted to see a hot woman kicking butt and didn't realize the other layers Kate's Selene added to the overall tone of Underworld. As an action film she is perfect, but as a story of love and a future above prejudice and civil war, there is just something lacking.

Michael Sheen then attempts to do it all himself, showing incredible range with just a silent look at a vampire guard abusing one of his kind. Grabbing his arm to stop the whip, his eyes show the seriousness with which he makes the transgression, but also the pleading warmth for this monster to show a little compassion and respect. You can only beat someone so much before they either can't work anymore or they wake up to the fact they are strong enough to stand their ground and fight. Sheen's Lucian tries so hard to force those feelings of revolt down in order to keep his affair with Sonja alive, but sometimes the master's lashings can be withstood only so long. His dynamic with Bill Nighy's remorseless—although he shows some weakness in abandoning his daughter—bureaucrat is felt. It becomes old school versus the new and a beginning to the long war yet to be forged against the two.



Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is by no means crucial viewing for the series to make sense, but it also isn't something to completely dismiss. Showing what we knew fully adds a layer that may or may not effect how you view the other two installments afterwards. If nothing else, it answers some questions about how each character became whom they do. I'd almost recommend seeing it just to experience the origins of Raze. Kevin Grevioux is one of the series' creators and killed himself off in the first film only to be resurrected here in the past. His history is an intriguing one and probably the only surprise I had watching, unthinking that how he becomes Lucian's right-hand man could occur as it does. However, it makes perfect sense and actually creates a whole new level about the relationship between immortals and humans. It's just one more thread to bolster the mythology and add some depth to an already fleshed-out premise.

The sex scene -- not as bad as the one from Evo, but we could've done without it. If I had a say in the matter, I would say just edit out the last part. Those who have seen it will know what I'm talking about. While very original, it made everyone go "WTF."

Luka -- not quite sure what was up with her character, but it was kind of a meaningless character that they introduced…

A couple of scenes or shots were a bit awkward… like Lucian falling off a cliff with two vampires – it seemed like that scene from Psycho when Martin Balsam's character falls down the stairs… Some of the dialog was off – either cheesy or too predictable.

WAY TOO SHORT! I know a lot us would've liked to see more development in Sonja & Lucian's relationship, and starting it where it did just kinda left some us going "…?"



RHONA MITRA. From the beginning I've been supportive of her taking on the female lead. The writers did a good job with her – independent, strong, witty, rebellious without being annoying. She played the character extremely well! Going in I didn't think I would be so attached to her character at all – and I wound up liking Sonja more than Selene in the end (and this is saying a lot!). Sonja has more depth than Selene did (especially after Evo). Kudos, writing staff and Rhona.

Chemistry. I couldn't help but feel so much for these Sonja and Lucian, characters that weren't even on my "top three" until the end of this movie. Now they're at the top. Their relationship, although rushed, was truly touching. I found myself invested in their fates and getting emotional over something I knew was coming.

The writing was pretty good – better than Evo. There was a story, and the dialog did justice to all the characters. Tanis and Viktor, who I was afraid I would wind up hating now that Kraven is not there, were written in a way that you just had to admire and love the more. The addition of Raze, as well as some clips from the first Underworld tied ROTL with the first one.

The acting. I think there may have been one weak character, and the rest of the cast worked well together and alone. Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Steven Macintosh, Rhona Mitra, and all the supporting cast were superb. You simply cannot ask for a better ensemble!

The music, in my opinion, was added at the right time/scenes, at the right volume. The score and soundtrack have the same feel as the first movie (which it should, considering it's the same fabulous composer).

Bill Nighy as Victor and Michael Sheen as Lucian hold this movie together like super-glue. They are both riveting. You will forget about the generic plot, the constant darkness (which can generally be a strain on the eyes) and will fall in love with the lead couple. Knowing they are doomed makes it better in a way. Their chemistry was great! I never understood why exactly Selene and Michael were a couple by the end of the first movie. It was like the pretty girl has to pair up with the pretty boy before the credits roll, which was acceptable then. Sonja (Rhona Mitra) and Lucian are a very different story though. You feel their heartbreak and the intensity of their relationship through the length of the film, even though you don't see how they actually came to be together.

Steven Mackintosh and Kevin Grevioux as Tannis and Raze respectively have very little time on screen, and are good enough to make you wish you knew more about their characters.

The action scenes were good, just as long as they should be and above all, did NOT look like animation. There are a couple of scenes where the entire audience will collectively wince, but are not so bad that someone sensitive to movie gore (like me) would not be able to watch.


One thing remarkable about this film is the fact that when it's over, you will go back home, watch the other two and find you like them much less than you thought you did. Especially the second one, since it lacks the two best things about the franchise- Victor and Lucian. It brings out the flaws in the other films since you WILL compare them! You can't say that about a lot of prequels/sequels.

The beginning and the ending… I would not change a thing. It was perfect. The beginning is a wonderful introduction to the movie, and the ending is a nice connection to the first movie.

I think this movie worked out so well because it has a nice mixture of what made the first two movies good in my opinion. It had most of the original cast and characters, a strong female lead with a strong male counterpart, it wasn't so long that it lost your interest, and it had a strong enough plot line to carry the movie in spite of a few weak points.

Overall, this was a pleasant surprise for devoted Underworld fans that waited 3 years and 3 days to see it, and any new-comers that were looking for a decent movie to watch in theaters.

My Rating

Underworld : 7.2/10