Underworld 3 : Le Soulèvement des Lycans

"Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" is the third movie of the Underworld series and in this one we are back in time where the race of aristocratic vampires had Lycans as their slaves and we watch how they rise up against the cruel vampire king and what happened next.

I liked this movie because it was something really different from all the other vampire movies and I also liked the thing that it turned us so back to show us how the things were there and how all this things started from the beginning of them. The interpretations of Michael Sheen who plays as Lucian, Rhona Mitra who plays as Sonja and Bill Nighy who plays as Viktor were simply outstanding.

Finally I have to tell you that I strongly recommend this movie such as all of the Underworld movies.

This is a prequel and an origin story of how the Lycans were born. Lucian (Michael Sheen) is the first werewolf born to take human form. Normally, werewolves turn into vicious animals and never turn back. Instead of eliminating the possible future threat, vampire king Viktor (Bill Nighy) decides to use him to create an army to protect the vampires from the nuisance of the werewolves. Viktor's daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra) would fall for Lucian, and help him lead a rebellion against the vampires.

It's a bit of a shock to not have Kate Beckinsale or Scott Speedman. Kate has some narration at the beginning. After I figured that out pretty quick, the story is watchable on its own. Rhona Mitra is a gorgeous actress. She just doesn't have the same level of loveability of Kate Beckinsale. Michael Sheen strips off his shirt and does a really good job. It's a fairly simple story. It's just maybe not what I was expecting.

A medieval tale of the genesis of the Lycans, and how Lucien was born, into the middle of a frying pan, before jumping into fire, making his life rather dire, setting free his fellow brethren and undoing what had been done.

Alas, without Selene, it is an empty can of beans, just an ordinary kind of tale, blows quite limp with a wet sail.

It's only downhill from now on, as the franchise ruptures, the bloods gone, not quite knowing when to stop, perpetually draining a good plot, leaving a husk, a shallow spectre of what was.

Be nice to know what the point of it all is too, aside from megalomania.

I came back about an hour ago from the 3:45 showing here in Toronto. I've seen the first two movies, and I have to say I'm glad they brought back Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy; the second film just wasn't quite the same without those two. Lucian is the character you love to sympathize for and Viktor is the character you love to hate.

I'm so very glad the story was more focused on Lucian as it's a nice change from Selene and Michael being in the spotlight (not to mention Michael Sheen's arguably superior acting ability). As for Rhona Mitra, I won't say she was better than Kate Beckinsale but I can't say she was any less of an asset. Not only did she look great, but she executed her lines superbly. I will however say that I find Sonja's character much more interesting than Selene's. The chemistry between Lucian and Sonja was much better than that of the chemistry between Michael and Selene.

The story was much more intriguing, emotional and tragic than that of either of the previous two expeditions (this being of course subjective), as many who recall the flashbacks presented within will agree. It was also faithful to the material, and it's good that they didn't compromise for the sake of "improving" the story.

Overall, I can't think of another prequel that brought such raw emotion to the table, and regardless of the fact that Len Wiseman was not directing this one (though he was at the helm in other ways), you wouldn't know by watching it as it did a good job maintaining the same feel as the first two. The score also added to a lot of the emotion.

In regards to the possibility of a 4th movie: if they choose to continue on from this prequel as I think they should, they should bring in Amelia as she is one of the few characters that has yet to be explored fully.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans : In this prequel we get little of Romeo and Juliet and a dash of Spartacus. The vampires have bred themselves a race of Lycan slaves to guard them during the daylight hours, but when Lucian, the favored pet of Viktor the ruling vampire, falls in love with his daughter things go bad rather quickly. The CGI werewolves are leaps and bounds better than their previous incarnations in this series and the only CGI complaint I have is to the occasionally bad CGI blood spray. Rhona Mitra makes for a hot vampire, and Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen return to chew up some nice scenery. After watching the big battle one is forced to ask the question that pops up after watching any of the Underworlds movies, "How did the Lycans lose the war?" Seriously, the vampires in these films are as fragile as a 1978 Ford Pinto.