Review of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) by Tawsif R — 08 Jun 2012

Look, I love Edward Cullen and was entertained by the Twilight film. I'm engrossed by the prospect of more films, even though the books ended up being generally satisfying but not thrilling. So while I can lust after Edward Cullen but leave his morose love interest Bella, I would class myself as a fan of the films. However, the real vampiric action is over in the Underworld films.

The latest in the series, Rise of the Lycans, is a prequel to the first two films, telling the beginning of the war between the vampires and the werewolves. With only a tiny but satisfying cameo by Kate Beckinsale, you'd begin to wonder if Rise will be as good as the first two, but it is! It has the brilliant Bill Nighy as the insidious vampire Viktor, a role that is plumped up compared to the first two films. Michael Sheen also returns, as Lucian, who fills out his leathery costume and nude scenes very well, for an actor who is well known and celebrated for art house and low budget dramatic classics such as Frost/Nixon and The Queen.

Rise rocks, maintaining the thrill ride of the modern-day-set first two films despite going back a few hundred years. It sounds great. It looks great. And I was hooked from start to finish. In fact itâ??s so good you can almost forgive Rhona Mitra, as Viktorâ??s doomed vampire daughter Sonja, who is in love with Lucian, her grossly swollen lips!