Review by Peter Syslo
UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS (2009) is the third film in the UNDERWORLD trilogy. This installment is a prequel to the other two films and it tells the story of the events that led up to the war between the Vampires and the Lycans. I thought that the film was pretty good, I enjoyed the mythical aspects of it, and I liked the gothic atmosphere, but I also felt that the film seemed limited by the predetermined storyline. In fact, the only true drawback of the film was that there wasn’t any new material added to the tale. For a fan of the series it is nice to see the backstory of these characters, but I wanted that very familiar story to be taken in some new directions and it left me waiting for it to reach that “next level”.
UNDERWORLD: ROTL is directed by Patrick Tatopoulos and is written by Danny McBride, Dirk Blackman, and Howard McCain. The movie stars Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, and Kevin Grevioux.
The picture takes place centuries ago, when the aristocratic Vampire civilization was thriving. The first bloodline of werewolves were uncontrollable, due to their nature, and they roamed the woods surrounding the Vampire castle. Viktor (Nighy), the leader of the Vampires, did some some tinkering/co-mingling with the werewolves and some of his human slaves and he created a new breed of werewolf that could shift back and forth between wolf and man. The first of this new breed was Lucian (Sheen) and henceforth, this new bloodline of werewolves became known as Lycans. Viktor realized the power of this new creation and he continued to breed Lycans as slaves and as protection from the original, feral werewolves. Well, it turns out that Lucian and Viktor’s daughter, Sonja (Mitra), wound up falling in love and it is revealed that she is with child. Realizing that Sonja needs a better life, and after finally having enough slavery, Lucian leads some of the other imprisoned slaves in a revolt and a small faction of them escapes. Eventually, Lucian wishes to free the other slaves and free Sonja, but he is subdued by Vampire politics and the cruel Viktor. Unfortunately, the true fate of Lucian's beloved Sonja lies in the balance and it is the start of greater events to come.
I liked UNDERWORLD: ROTL. Even though the story was predictable, I thought that the film was well done. It wove in the material of the first two films very smoothly and all of the pertinent connections were made. It fills in all of the details that lead up to the beginning of the war - which stemmed from Sonja’s death – and it does create that whole “other worldliness” that you would expect from a story of this sort. In a way, the film is a mix of fantasy, action, and horror and it successfully preserves the mythology and identity of the Vampires and Lycans. In a nutshell, I feel that it is a pretty good addition to the franchise, though I do feel that it is geared more towards fans of the original two films (someone who isn’t familiar with the franchise will be asking a lot of questions and may not enjoy it as much).
Apart from the lack of any plot twists and turns, my only other criticism of the film is that it was a little too dramatic at certain points (almost operatic at moments). What I mean by that statement is that there are a few instances in the film that are reminiscent of the “This is Sparta !” line from 300. Some of Lucian’s proclamations about being Lycans and some of Viktor’s snobbish Vampire rhetoric pushed the dramatic envelope a bit, but fortunately these were only occasional instances in the film and they didn’t take away from the overall story.
Gnawing through the flesh: UNDERWORLD: ROTL was a good film and it is a nice completion of the trilogy. The storyline is pretty much mapped out and there isn’t a whole lot of new material added. Rather, the film focuses on fleshing out the details set forth in the first two films and it fills in the gaps. As with the previous two UNDERWORLD films, ROTL is a treat for the eyes (as is Rhona Mitra) with awesome cinematography, top-notch set design, and smooth-as-silk integration of practical and CGI effects. Speaking of the effects, this film wasn’t as gory as the first and second films and I kind of liked that. It did have an appropriate amount of blood and gore, but it didn’t feel out of place or gratuitous. Last but not least, I do have to mention that the acting is very good. I felt that the stunning and statuesque Rhona Mitra gave one of the best performances in the film (as the strong yet passionate Sonja), and Mackintosh, as Tannis (the Vampire Historian) played a perfect, sneaky Vampire politician. Of course, Nighy and Sheen's performances were also great and they were fun to watch as the two leads, Viktor and Lucian (despite the fact that a few of their lines were a bit over-dramatic). So, if you are a fan of the UNDERWORLD films, if you like comic book films, or if you like the fantasy and horror genres in general, you might enjoy the film. I give UNDERWORLD: ROTL a 7/10.