Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

I should have crushed you under my heel the day you were born.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the prequel to the previous two Underworld films. It tells the story about what led to the werewolf/vampire feud, with bloody energetic results.

In core essence this is Braveheart/Spartacus, only in CGI laden horror/action form. Michael Sheen buffs up into Karl Urban, who as Lucian (bad ass Lycan) leads his species to a bloody revolt, and Kate Beckinsale has made way narratively for Rhona Mitra, who sexes things up. The action is pulse raising and the Gothic designs and atmospherics are first rate, while the battle royale finale is fit to crown any genre film of its type.

Problems are evident, though. The constant flow of CGI blood bec...

No idea why the rating for this flick is hovering just above 50"%. As far as prequels go this one is brilliant. The first movie left a lot of gaps in the story, where did Lucian come from, what started the war, how did he get to be the lover of the King's daughter in the first place. While there is a lot of epic battles with the gore that goes with, this movie is easily the best movie in the franchise, which is minor heresy on my part since Kate Beckinsale is the quintessential vampire in my book. Rhona Mitra throws down hard as the rebellious daughter of the King, and her haughtiness and disdain are completely believable to the point we think that Lucian's love for her is unrequited. I can't go into it any more without spoiling the mo...