Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Sub-Genre- Vampire
In Attendance- Me.
Cast Members of Note- Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, and Michael Sheen. And a 3 second cameo by everyone's favorite death dealer...
What's it about?- The third installment in the Underworld saga is a story about inter-species erotica... Can a wolf and a vampire find true love? Well, the answer is no, because vampires are pretty much stuck up and pricky, and willing to kill even their own kids to keep their bloodline "pure." Remind you of anything? Oh I don't know, Nazi's maybe?!?!?!
We know the story from the first movie; wolf boy loves vampire girl, vampire girls elder dad forbids such "ethnically diverse" scrumping, wolf boy gets locked up in chains, vampire girl tries to set him free, but dad puts a stop to that by grounding her... even in vampire circles kids get grounded. Parent's just don't understand.
I wont spoil the ending for you here, though if you've seen the first movie you know what's coming, but suffice it to say that Vampire/Lycan carnage ensues, and big time.
The Good- I really should learn not to listen to critics so much, because I put off seeing this because of poor reviews... boy did I miss out. This was a fun, bloody and interesting addition to the Underworld series, and is far better than part 2 was, IMO.
I though the absence of Kate Beckinsale would ultimately hurt a thrid movie, but Rhona Mitra made me forget there even was a Selene... She's hot, bad ass, hot and hot. And bad ass. Go watch Doomsday if you doubt her bad-assery... The girl kicks ass.
Bill Nighy is a hell of an actor and is great as always, but it's Michael Sheen that steals the show here; the guy is damn good, as evidenced by the success of Frost/Nixon. I guess overall what I'm saying is that with good actors, hot chicks, and vampires and werewolves, that you can't go too wrong.
The Bad- Some of the CGI was kinda cheesy, and I'm talking about the scenes where the wolves were running. It's a minor thing really, but it drives me nuts. Then again I hate CGI in horror films, so maybe I'm biased...
The Downright Horrendous- If you've seen the first two movies then you pretty much know what happens here, which doesn't allow for much tension or mystery. It is cool to see how it comes together, but we already know the ending. Kinda like Titanic...
The Gory- A Ton of Vamp vs. Lycan carnage; severed limbs, bodies split in half, gashes, cuts, wounds... add to that maulings, burnings, whippings and sword violence, and you'll have a bloody good time with U3.
The Naked- Some side boob and near nudity, but nothing more.
Best Line- "And we don't die often." or "I'll kill you. All of you!"
What did we learn?- Vampire elders tend to be dicks. Also, female vampires are always hot.
Rating- B+ Yes, I really did like this movie. It was light, action packed, bloody, and interesting. My slight issue with some of the CGI aside, I say go catch this one in theaters if you can, although I'm sure the DVD will be cool too. Either way, if you like the series, you'll like this one too.
Final Thoughts- Rhona Mitra is smoking hot.
