Shawna Movie Review: "Rise of the Lycans"

I liked it. A lot.

Okay, so they don't answer every question, and they rush through certain parts of the storyline....its still one heck of a storyline.

What we already know: Lucian, our werewolf protagonist, was a slave to the vampires. He secretly married a vampire....and not just any vampire, but the only daughter of the coven chief. Daddy got upset and the daughter is sentenced to death, along with her unborn child. Lucian (naturally upset over the death of his beloved), rebels and leads the werewolves out of slavery and into a war with the vampire nation.

What you don't know: how Lucian became the leader of the werewolves, was Viktor really a big and heartless jerk all along, and just how it all went down.

Well, you get to find out.

No big surprises for Lucian's character...he's pretty much how he was painted in the first Underworld movie, although it takes him a little time to take on the role of leader. Big surprise...just how the werewolf slaves came into being. Bigger surprise...Bill Nighy gives Viktor a bit of (dare I say it?) humanity...sort of....for a moment anyway. Nice reinaction of Sonja's sentencing and death, even though it is a new actress in the role.

Biggest wtf moment: this is a period piece set in the middle ages so why in the world are there chicks in the vampire court milling about in modern-day leather nightclub gear? They serve no purpose but as crowd filler and stand out like freaking sore thumbs.

The film kind-of zips through the first bit...all "this-is-this-and-that-is-that" dialogue and the like but then you fall into the flow of the film and enjoy the ride. A little confusing at the begining trying to find out just who some of the new characters are and how it all fits together but that doesn't last too long. The introduction of Raze and his first meeting with Lucian is very well done, and we see what a greedy little coward Tannis is, though he does have a redeeming moment, however brief-lived it is.

Selene and Kraven are NOT in the film....there is a 30-second overlay taken directly from the first film with a voiceover (also taken from the first film)to tie this prequel into the original film but that's it....nothing new, nothing revealing. Total cheat.

So if you liked "Underworld" I recommend seeing this one. There is a PG-13 sex scene in it where no body parts are shown but we know what is going down. I would say the R rating is because there is a lot of violence (apparently no one in medieval times swore). Heads are ripped off along with other bits of gore, however, most of the film has a blue filter run over it to simulate twilight and night hours...this helps keep the blood less graphic than your typical slasher films, though there are still a few total gross-out segments.

And yes Miya, Michael Sheen (Lucian)is still totally hot in my book....