Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) – on rental. This really is the third of a trilogy of movies, of which the first installment was in 2003 and turned into a cult hit. What’s the trilogy about? Well – vampires and lycanthropes, or werewolves for those of us who’re not fans of fantasy fiction or Dungeons & Dragons, are engaged in a several century old war.
The first two installments starred Kate Beckinsale as a mean black leather-clad dual pistols wielding vampiric assassin caught in the middle of a tussle of power between vampires and lycanthropes. The third movie though is a prequel and relates events that were briefly remarked on in the first two movies. Basically, how the vampires were lords and masters over their lycan slaves before the latter had enough and rebelled.
That said, while the general plot outlay of Rise of the Lycans is easy enough to follow for newcomers to the series, the subtleties won’t be fully accessible unless one has been following the series. There’re bits of information revealed in the film that references character motivations and dialog in the subsequent two films.
Rhona Mitra – ex Tomb Raider model LOL – replaces Beckinsale, and pulls a harder, leaner version of the leather-clad dominatrix than Beckinsale. Mitra was previously in small film parts and TV series, so it’s nice to see her finally get a leading role on the big screen. Bill Nighy and Martin Sheen – stalwarts of the other two films in the trilogy – return though.
As with horror-action films and the mythological thing about sunlight being fatal to vampires and werewolves thriving at night, the show is plastered in blue and dark tones throughout. Not a terrifically colorful picture by any means. There’s also quite a bit of blood and gore, but nothing especially unusual for a film of this type either.
Story wise though and possibly because of my familiarity with events in the sequel movies, the film didn’t really generate much excitement for me though. It’s competently made and the two returning actors and Mitra seem comfortable enough in their respective roles, but for a horror-esque film, I sure didn’t wince.
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