Starring: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra

Directed by: Patrick Tatopoulos

Lakeshore Entertainment

The Official Site of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

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There’s not much to the Underworld franchise. Deep inside we all secretly want to see werewolves and vampires wail on each other with sub-machineguns and it gave us that plus Kate Beckinsale in a cat suit. I found the first movie to be cluttered with content. It became buried in its own back-story. The second, Underworld Evolution, stripped down the drama for a simple on-the-run action flick that focused on the highlights from the first one – gruesome, modern day action between horror’s two most classic monsters. I was relieved to see a franchise with so much potential find its satisfying comfort zone.

When news of a third Underworld film first hit the Internet I was excited about them continuing that pace. Finding out it was a prequel set in The Dark Ages squashed that excitement pretty quickly. The greatest appeal of Underworld has always been watching this age-old struggle in a modern setting. In 2003 this movie was practically marketed as “Monsters in the Matrix�. What happens when you get rid of the bullet time, shiny leather outfits and originality? Underworld: Rise of the Lycans happens. An age-old struggle set in an old age.

Rise of the Lycans tells the story of the werewolf uprising, transitioning from the slaves and daytime protectors of the vampires to a free race. Bill “I ran it under a cold tap� Nighy returns as Viktor, the oppressive ruler of the vampire clan who shows mercy in allowing the werewolf race to evolve and regrets his action after being confronted by Lucian. Lucian (played by a bearded Michael Sheen from Forst/Nixon) is the first of his kind. The first werewolf able to transform at will. He’s used to infect humans and help the vampires build their new army of housebroken werewolves. Both are interesting characters but not so much that I’d choose to show a picture of them. I went with instead, the woman that comes between them. Rhona Mitra plays Sonja, Viktor’s daughter and Lucian’s secret lover (creepy when you think of it as bestiality, even CREEPIER when you find out werewolves and vampires descend from the same blood line. I told you these movies work better when they keep things simple…) Sonja helps Lucian escape and build up his own army to free his kind.

It’s a great onscreen trio though I’ve preferred each in other roles. Sheen’s been in so many prestige pictures recently and I admire his willingness to return to the franchise that introduced him to Americans, even at the risk of a few too many ass shots and one ridiculous love scene. Rhona Mitra deserves more leading lady work but I couldn’t help but wish the vicious but vulnerable Sonja had the same presence as her character in last year’s Doomsday. Nighy is always a treat to see. He brought life to a CGI squid head so I trust him as a stoic old vampire.

As simple of a story as this is, it’s told very well and it looks great. Trading automatic weapons for crossbows might not seem like a fair downgrade but director Patrick Tatopoulos makes the most of the medieval weaponry with some beautifully inventive action that horror fans should love. I adored the Lycan escape sequence where the prisoners were corralled by heavy bolts bursting through the castle windows. They were certainly making the most of their chronological limitations.

The film’s only true failing visually is that they still have not mastered putting a convincing werewolf on screen. There’s a nice combination of practical and computer generated effects used throughout but if you asked me it’s just a back and forth of puppets and cartoons. At the same time this franchise continues to excel when it comes to the werewolf transformations. I love the organic popping of the bones resetting themselves all through the screams and growls of the morphing figure. Good stuff but not good enough.

The trip back in time to tell this story we’ve already been told in passing was far from worthless. Rise of the Lycans is a complete and exciting adventure but I can’t help but wonder what this means for the franchise in the long run. They’ve filled in the gaps but do things end there? Can they really jerk the audience through time again to a story in the future without there being some kind of backlash or does the future of Underworld rest in the more forgiving medium of Direct-to-DVD sales?

Rating: 6 out of 10 - Fun stuff but worth waiting for. This movie should have been an easy pay day for Sony at the box office and, while it did solid business, it was really overshadowed by, of all things, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. 2009 has been good year for box office business but from week to week I’m always surprised at what wins out.

Underworld purists should feel no shame in adding this to their shelves. For me though, after a couple times through I’d miss the heavy firepower and Lycans would do little but collect dust.

I like werewolves and vampires as much as the next guy but enough is enough already. There are other monster team-ups out there just waiting to happen and they’ll never get a chance until on of these Underworld movies really tanks. Seriously… I can’t be the only one that wants to see Underwater: Mummies in the Swamp. Make it happen Hollywood…

This one was a lot of fun to draw. I love trying different looks like this and my only real regret is that I confined the space to two panels. Had I let this go a little bigger there might have even been enough room for a shot of the two classic monsters making out! …Perhaps it’s best it turned out this way.

A quick reminder to cast your vote for which comic you’d like to see me tackle next, though I do hope to cram in one more recent release before the ghosts of movie’s past. If you’re enjoying these strips and this chance to have your say I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’m hopeful to make this a regular thing.

Thanks so much for reading!