Short Review

The third film in the Underworld series brings to life the backstory of how werewolves—a.k.a. Lycans—became the blood enemies of the vampires. Hardly anything here would surprise anyone who paid attention the first time around. In fact, Rise of the Lycans is so true to the flashbacks in the first Underworld that it’ll spoil the plot twists for anyone who sees ’em out of order. Once we figure out that Sonja (Rhona Mitra) is the daughter of Viktor (Billy Nighy), it’s clear why she’s so reminiscent of Selene (Kate Beckinsale, absent apart from a cameo)—and we know what’ll happen to Sonja, as well as to Lucien the Lycan lord (Michael Sheen, Oscar-nominated for Frost/Nixon) and every other familiar face. Lycans isn’t bad; it’s just unnecessary. It breaks no new ground in story, action or visuals. If you’re a fan who’s content with that, go get your fix, if you haven’t done so already; otherwise, catch the first two on DVD and wait for this to hit Blu-Ray. Feather River Cinemas, Paradise Cinema 7 and Tinseltown. Rated R