REVIEW: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

I am an extremely huge fan of vampires, but lately there have not been any good movies surrounding the pale-faced creatures of the night. After experiencing Twilight I had lost hope altogether. The seductive, articulated, aberrations of mankind turned into a bunch of sparkly teenaged CK models. So where does a vampire junkie to get his fix? Well look no further than Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, the prequel to the critically berated Underworld and . The fight for horror movie supremacy continues, or at least starts, in this case.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans starts off six centuries before the first Underworld with the aristocratic, but deeply flawed, vampires (or Death Dealers) slaughtering or enslaving anyone that shows even a hint of Lycan to them. However Viktor played by Bill Nighy, the main proprietor of the vampire coven, decides to spare the child Lucian played by Michael Sheen of the second generation of Lycans so he can continue the generation and enslave them. Because of their tame demeanor, however, Viktor's daughter Sonja played by Rhona Mitra takes a bite of the forbidden fruit, falls in love with Lucian, and secretly marries him. This is only the beginning of the story, however since this is a prequel it would ultimately be the beginning.

The story is the weakest part of the movie. Though the overall story line is completely iterative of the same old song and dance of the lowly pauper chortling with the unattainable princess and causing a world war. The mere pace of the movie keeps this from becoming too big of a problem because the story is overshadowed by the overall action of the movie and the scope of the environment in which the story takes place.

The characters in the movie fit well for the type of movie director Patrick Tatopoulos developed with most of the characters given English accents and speaking in an old English vernacular. However, there are times when writers Len Wiseman and Danny McBride, started getting a little too modern with the language, such as the scene where Raze explains to Lucian that he is afraid of him and Lucian's response is "Don't worry I don't bite, much". All in all the dialogue is fitting for the ancient gothic time period in which the story is set in so the fact that they fall off track a few tedious times in the movie is a menial complaint. What really stands out in this film is the scenery. It had a very ancient look to it. The gothic architectures and the blue and black lighting in the movie that heavily contrasts the pale white vampires and hugely shadowed the dark skinned Lycans is without a doubt a spectacle in itself. The beautiful vistas and mountain regions surrounding the castle are utilized extensively and frame an overall picturesque view of the vampires fortress with a slight amount o f grotesqueness. Perhaps it is just me but the very drab, depressing, rustic look of the vampire fortress is absolutely breathtaking. It heavily defies the outer landscapes, which are heavenward and vast. The action scenes in the movie are very well-choreographed. Whenever there is a fight scene in the movie, expect it to be epic. The actors move with such fluidity and swiftness, you would have thought they were natural born swordsmen and women. The action is very brutal and extremely graphic, certainly not for the weak of heart. Dismemberment abounds. I personally loved it but then again this is coming from someone who enjoys 80s gore flicks. The acting was done very well, though the dialogue was a bit cheesy at times. The settings were a sight to behold, and the action was extremely brutal and sometimes ghastly, and that is exactly what I expected from this movie. I went in knowing it all. The story was indeed the weakest aspect of the film, because if you have seen the first Underworld, you already know what is going to happen. But the execution is near perfected, and I will definitely be seeing this movie again before it comes out on DVD.

Contact Cedric Denson at crdenson1986@aol.com.