Underworld 3 Rise of the Lycans
Or...When did Tony Blair getting so fucking hot??
Reviewed by Jessica Dwyer
Underworld was a decent enough film. It had a neat take on an old story and great visuals. The second film in the series, Evolution, wasn't so great. What was lacking in it was the great characters that were really the meat of the first film, Lucian and Viktor. These characters were great due to the actors who played them, and the fact they had the most interesting story to tell.
We got flashes of the story that triggered the war between the Lycan and the Vampires throughout the first film. And that was a story I'd truly enjoy watching. I never thought I'd get the chance but then along came Underworld 3's announcement and the gleeful word that Michael Sheen was going to reprise his role as Lucian (something I'd never thought would happen with the behind the scenes stuff between he and Kate Beckinsale, and director Len Wiseman.) Add to that the fact that he is now a fairly big name with movies like The Queen and Frost/Nixon under his belt...and you wonder why the hell he'd come back to play a werewolf?
Well, Michael Sheen is a genre fan it seems. He's recently said that he sees no difference between movies that some consider "classy" and genre flicks like Underworld. In fact, in his eyes people are more open to the moral or story being told in genre films because their imagination is really in full swing during these movies. And that my friends is a cool guy with a neat outlook on his industry. He's also a Neil Gaiman fan...so booya.
At any rate, Underworld 3 tells us that briefly hinted at story of what caused the war. We get to see Lucian and Sonja alive and in love secretly. We get to see Raze, the big badass African werewolf before he's a werewolf. And we get to see Viktor being a massive racist.
The new film is probably my favorite of the series. It has some amazing visuals and the CG and effects have improved since the first movie. The Lycans are far more active and you get to see more of them than ever before on screen. The acting is good, with Nighy chewing scenery with his fangs and Sheen showing off a pretty built body for having just played David Frost...not so much known with the sword wielding and ass whooping. The two of them go toe to toe quite well, and have a pretty neat match up towards the end of the film.
Rhona Mitra is acceptable as a re-vamped (pardon the pun) Sonja. I still suspect she's Steven Tyler's daughter (more so even than Liv Tyler in some of the shots we see of her.) Her scenes with Sheen do what they are supposed to, which is make you feel for these two star crossed lovers when you know its not going to end well. And when it ends, that's when Sheen really twists a knife. The man is good at crying and screaming in angst.
The battle scenes are quickly edited and have a lot of CG blood coming into play. But I loved finally getting to see some epic battles between the two species. The blue and grey color tones of the first two films are here in spades as well, showing the otherness of these two races.
I would have liked for it to be longer. That's my biggest complaint for the film. I could have stood more character development for Sonja, seeing how these two came to be lovers in the first place instead of just having it be a given. Who were the other vampires in the castle?
I have a feeling that since this film is already doing a decent take at the box office we'll get some more visits to the Underworld. This entry of course ends with the beginning of the war. We don't see any sign of Kraven (which is a blessing...at least to me. He was the most laughable character in the first two films) and we know he and Lucian strike a bargain. We know the battles rage over the centuries and there's a large chunk of time between this film and when Underworld takes place. So we have a LOT of material to work with.
If the filmmakers can get Sheen and Nighy back then they've got a great franchise on their hands. I say check this out.