Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Marva-nova
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Ben Hattrell
Having been a big fan of recent made up world films with epic landscapes such as the hobbit and Lord of the rings I felt I had been spoilt to the point of no return and no film could meet them.Rise of the lycans for me is a great film. It builds the story quickly and gives you something to gradually sink your teeth into. To that end, it is not an easy watch as such but encourages enough thinking to keep you engaged and entertained. The action keeps you involved and the romance is limited but apparent. This element could have been further enhanced through acting as I feel the empathy element was slightly lacking. Except for this, the effects and action all seen realistic and the creatures appear very well considered and constructed. The backstory is great and since I had not seen any previous underworld it is very accessible as a series episode. The film makes me want to read about the background a little and almost makes me feel guilty for not doing so before.In summary the film is a well acted, thoroughly punchy action film with a good plot, story-line and effects. It will keep you entertained for the evening regardless of prior knowledge of the backstory or underworld series. Whilst it was not a horror film like I expected it gets my thumbs up.
ScourgetheDarkClaw
This film was my first foray into the Underworld film franchise. I'd known about it for a long time, and I always wanted to get into it. However, it wasn't until last year (2016) that I really decided I wanted to give the series a go. I knew of how the critics weren't major fans and stuff like that, but I knew the films had a major fanbase. Now, believe it or not, the film that got me into this series was I, Frankenstein, the film based on the graphic novel by Kevin Grievoux, who stars as Raze in this film. Unlike many, I quite enjoyed I, Frankenstein, and I decided to try and obtain the Underworld films through my library. Knowing this one was a prequel, I began here, and boy was I not disappointed one bit. Everything, from the action scenes (especially during the big battle between the Vampires and Lycans) to the acting (mostly the performances by Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Kevin Grievoux, and Rhona Mitra), were great. There were some flaws, including a few of the special effects, but I'd rather not nitpick. I LOVED this film, and I can't wait to watch the rest of the films.
Prismark10
A prequel that takes you to the origins of how the Lycans came into being a force. Lucian (Michael Sheen) is the first werewolf born who could return to human form instead of turning into a wolf and never turn back.Vampire king Viktor (Bill Nighy) decides not to kill the infant Lucian, a mistake he acknowledges at the time but uses him to create an army of slave Lycans to protect the vampires from other werewolves.What Viktor did not count on was his daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra) would fall for Lucian and rebel against the vampires. In short this film is a variation of the forbidden love story set in medieval times and also without Kate Beckinsale.The film is more of an action horror, the producers of the Underworld franchise have got the actions scenes and CGI template laid down to a fine art. The trouble is not always great action, just derivative and some dodgy CGI.The film was shot in New Zealand but they still managed to make it look like some unnamed Gothic East European city. It might had been cheaper if they just shot it in Eastern Europe.
hall895
Kate Beckinsale was quite clearly the best thing the Underworld franchise had going for it. Making an Underworld movie without her was either very bold or very stupid. Happily, with Rise of the Lycans, that decision proved to be more bold than stupid. Yes, Beckinsale is missed. No, this movie is not as much fun as the first installment in the series. But there are enough good things here to make this movie a worthy addition to the saga. It may fall short of the original but it is at least on par with, probably even a touch better than, Evolution. And Evolution had Beckinsale in it so that's saying something!Beckinsale is not here because this is a prequel, her character of Selene has yet to enter the story. This movie takes us back to the origin of the Lycans, the werewolves who retain the ability to transform back into human form. Lucian, who we know so well from movie number one, is the first Lycan. And that's good news because that means Michael Sheen is back. In the first film, told from a vampire's point of view, Lucian was the bad guy. Here we see things through Lycan eyes, Lucian is the hero. And Sheen gives a very powerful performance, he is indeed an inspiring hero. But if we are meant to sympathize with the Lycans in this movie, and we clearly are, who's the bad guy? Welcome back vampire elder Viktor, played as in the first film by Bill Nighy. Viktor, as any fan of the saga knows, is quite a nasty piece of work. And Nighy plays the part with gleeful relish. This is one of the hammiest performances you'll ever see, laughably over-the-top. But for this kind of film it actually kind of works. We're talking about vampires and werewolves here, let's not take things too seriously.Sheen and Nighy draw most of the attention. The other key role goes to Rhona Mitra. She plays Viktor's daughter, Sonja, who is of course in a forbidden romance with Lucian. We know how that story will play itself out but it's interesting seeing the journey to that story's end. Mitra gives a solid performance, though certainly not as memorable as Sheen or Nighy. She's obviously meant to be this movie's Beckinsale and while not as great as Kate she holds her own. Even if we already know much of the story heading in this film still manages to entertain and spring a surprise or two along the way. In some ways though the film does disappoint. The scale of the thing seems rather small, almost entirely contained within the vampire fortress. The action is, after what we've seen in the first two films, overly familiar and repetitive. And oh so dark. Yes, vampire stories have to unfold at night but honestly this film is shot in such a dimly lit way it's often impossible to tell what's going on. And there is the sense that the movie ends just when it should be getting good. We see the rise of the Lycans, the start of the war we've heard so much about. And then it's over. There's so much more we already know about the story that we could have seen on screen. The movie could have gone further. We could have seen some more of that war. We could have seen that famous confrontation between Lucian and Kraven. And of course we could have seen Selene. This movie leaves a lot on the table. Though if the worst thing you can say about a movie is that it leaves you wanting more that's not so bad.
