Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

The 'Underworld'-franchise already had two fairly succesful films under its belt, so why stop there? Only this time, they went for a slightly different approach. Remember the story about why Lucian rebelled in the first film?

This is the tale of that event.

I would say there were surprising twists, but in truth: there aren't. Honestly, you could just skip this one and stick to the flashbacks in the first 'Underworld'-film and not really miss a lot. But hey, let's go into a little more detail, shall we?

In any case, it's clear now that this story takes place in Eastern Europe, because they mention the city of Brasov, a place that might sound familiar if you're at all into all things vampiric and know a thing or two about Vlad Tépes, the person on whom the Dracula-tale was based. Viktor is a warlord that presides over these lands and he and his army of vampires are trying to stop the spread of the rampaging Lycans, spawn of William and therefore uncontrollable. Until one day a boy is born to a werewolf mother. Turns out this one can control himself and turn into a wolf at will. The boy is named Lucian and though a slave, gets a slightly elevated position in the castle as blacksmith. But behind everyone's back, Lucian and Viktor's daughter Sonja are lovers, something that would not be looked graciously upon. It gets worse when Lucian saves Sonja by revealing he can get rid of his collar, and then things just get catastrophic for the lovers as Viktor is unable to put his love for his daughter above his stupid principles about pure blood and the like.

Nothing new, nothing special. But does that mean this film is not worth checking out?

No.

You see, this one is a lot more about character than the previous two and that is in large part thanks to Michael Sheen, who is back as Lucian. Now he can be a great actor and here, even though the story and setting are rather silly, he shows this. He is the focal point of the story and he is by far the most accomplished in bringing the conflict he has to screen. It also helps that he has to go up against Bill Nighy, who is a little less cartoonish than last time, but still a joy to watch. Maybe the weakest link is Rhona Mitra as Sonja. It's not that she doesn't try, but her character is written to be so like Selene, it's a little weird. That is explained away later, when a reason is needed as to why Viktor spared Selene in the first place (because she reminded him of his daughter), but still.

The focus is a lot less on the horror and more on the action set pieces. You can feel bad about this, but it is a logical step. We've all seen the werewolf transformations by now. And here, the film does fall a little short. Most of the werewolves are now CG and their movements start to become too fast, too light. The transformations don't look as good anymore and the few practical werewolves look rather a lot like expressionless plastic. Maybe the heads were cheaper and used less movement, but at times, it really shows that they went for the quick and cheaper option, which is a shame.

All in all, it's not a bad film and it can be enjoyed, especially if you like the franchise. But if the first two weren't your cup of tea, you can easily skip this one.