Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

I like both Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. They feel like the movies Paul W Anderson could have made if he (or the movie company) wasnt so obsessed with getting that fucking PG13 rating. Slick and violent, and it also featured the pleasant eyecandy that is Kate Beckinsale in a tight leather outfit. Yum. So, the franchise has to continue but as often is with sequels, the movie company want a large profit but it has to cost less and for some reason the directing duties go to the original movies cameraman or some special effects guy. In this case Patrick Tatopoulos, the creature designer from the previous movies. This usually ends in catastrophe.

But on the other hand, Underworld: Rise of the lycans actually manages to keep the original cast. Since it is a prequel you can bring back the dead, which means that Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Kevin Grevioux and Steven Mackintosh reprise their earlier roles in the series and just by doing that, it gets extra credit. The script doesnt really give them much to do other than to snarl at each other whicle wearing contact lenses that in some cases doesnt really seem to fit the wearer properly. Rhona Mitra plays Michael Sheens character's loved one Sonja, and although they dont really have that much of a chemistry together, Mitra is still great to look at in her warrior outfit. Tatopoulos does an ok job directing the whole piece and Ross Emerys bluetinted photography is gorgeous, with only the cgiblood not really working. The colour of it is too bright and stands out way too much, but it's so fake looking that I'm starting to wonder if its an aesthetic choice. We do get quite a lot of it and friends of comicbook violence will gorge themselves. So, it is an entertaining movie which is fairly entertaining, I will admit to that. the only problem is that the story isnt particulary interesting. It was good as a flashback in the first movie but stretched out into a full length movie, no. The plight of the enslaved lycans doesnt really engage, especially since they all look like extras in a Xena the warrior princess episode. Still, if you liked the first two movies there is a chance you just might like this one too. It contains decent amounts of violence, which is a good thing.