Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  I went in to this expecting nothing good. No Kate Beckinsale?? How could it be good. well i was surprised. Solid sci fi/ fantasy with decent acting. Good effects and an effective telling of the backstory of the original Underworld.

• Jeff "

  
  A surprisingly decent and enjoyable film that is a departure from the previous two entries. I really didn't enjoy the second film, and I was skeptical about this one. I was surprised it wasn't a total waste. The film was better, but it also had its fare share of flaws. The… More
  A surprisingly decent and enjoyable film that is a departure from the previous two entries. I really didn't enjoy the second film, and I was skeptical about this one. I was surprised it wasn't a total waste. The film was better, but it also had its fare share of flaws. The film although interesting in its idea, shows that the filmmakers were struggling with the material that they conceived for this prequel. The film tends to try too hard at delivering a competent story. Despite its potential, the film never succeeds entirely at being a great film. The result is a decent popcorn flick that is much better than the second film, but is overdone. I feel they should just have stuck with the basics instead of over complicating the story. The Underworld franchise has always been about mindless action horror, but where most of the films fail is that the filmmakers tend to put far too much content in its story just for the sake of it. This is a decent third film, one that should appeal to fans of the series. I feel though that a lot more effort could have been put into the films plot to truly make in engaging. However, this series goes for mindless action first, effective story telling second. But the films have delivered anything truly great story wise either. This prequel is decent for what it is, but leaves a lot to be desired as well. Worth watching if you're a fan of the first films, but of all the Underworld films that really stands, the original is the best one to watch. Rise of the Lycans is a decent take at a prequel despite its flaws.

• Everett J

  
  "Underworld Rise of the Lycons" is a prequel, which tells the tale of how the war began between Lycons and the Death Dealers. The story was told in the first "Underworld", but here it is fleshed out, and shines a good light into the hatred between Viktor(Bill… More
  "Underworld Rise of the Lycons" is a prequel, which tells the tale of how the war began between Lycons and the Death Dealers. The story was told in the first "Underworld", but here it is fleshed out, and shines a good light into the hatred between Viktor(Bill Nighy) and Lucian(Michaeal Sheen). Lucien is basically Viktor's personal pet, and the Lycons are slaves to Vampires. Lucien starts a forbidden relationship with Viktor's daughter Sonja(Rhona Mitra), and Viktor is not to pleased. What would happened because of this starts a war that last centuries. I fully expected to not like this movie, which is probably why I waited nearly three years to watch it. However, I enjoyed it, and this it's probably the best of the three movies. The story is generic, and the effects are about the same. But, the biggest difference here is Sheen's performance. He's a great actor,and here he lifts the movie pretty much all by himself. Still, not a great movie, but it's a good watch.

• MisterYoda ?

  
  three stars

• EightThirty .

  
  04/08/2011 (ONLINE) <b>A GREAT PREQUEL!</b> I actually saw a decent fan-made version of this beginning with the "Rise of the Lycans" and blending nicely into "Underworld" as one flick. I always enjoy watching this, its so cool. The Lycans, the… More
  04/08/2011 (ONLINE) <b>A GREAT PREQUEL!</b> I actually saw a decent fan-made version of this beginning with the "Rise of the Lycans" and blending nicely into "Underworld" as one flick. I always enjoy watching this, its so cool. The Lycans, the Vampires, they are just all awesome! The action is flawless, the setting is bang on and the performances were just on the money for me. <i>Absolutely loved it and would highly recommend to those who love supernatural horror films.</i>

• Directors C

  
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Despite entirely missing the presence of the greatly likable Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Replacing her with Sonja (Rhona Mitra) a boring alternative female lead, the prequel in ways improves upon Underworld:… More
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Despite entirely missing the presence of the greatly likable Selene (Kate Beckinsale). Replacing her with Sonja (Rhona Mitra) a boring alternative female lead, the prequel in ways improves upon Underworld: Evolution and the original film. Rise of the Lycans shares the highly well executed action sequence editing that made the previous installments memorable and adds a comprehensible plot to the formula with less cardboard performances from the supporting cast. Michael Sheen is outstanding, as is Bill Nighy as the evil Viktor with a more emotional performance. Rise of the Lycans is quite simply a highly unnecessary backstory that unexpectedly impressed me. However as an Underworld fan, I am very glad it was made.

• Phil H

  
  Hmmmm double edged sword hehe I liked this for its imagery and ideas, my love for vampire and werewolf films sways me to the dark side and I can't help but love the blood dripping, hairy moon walking action :) Problem is although there are some nice lycan moments of battle… More
  Hmmmm double edged sword hehe I liked this for its imagery and ideas, my love for vampire and werewolf films sways me to the dark side and I can't help but love the blood dripping, hairy moon walking action :) Problem is although there are some nice lycan moments of battle action and great misty dark looks there are just so many silly moments and things that just don't add up. For starters I have these questions.... 1. Why does Viktor have blues eyes yet no others vampires do? 2. Why do the vampires need protection from the lycans? protection from what? 3. Why do they need lycan slaves? 4. Why are most lycans long haired men? no females? 5. When Viktors daughter was put to death why didn't Lucian just turn to lycan form and free her? (as he did when he attacks Viktor after her death, he breaks his chains without a problem) 6. How come Raze (big black guy) can just rip dungeon doors off at the final battle sequence? why didn't he just do that at first to escape? 7. What happened to the human nobility? 8. Why were there humans chained to the back of the human nobility's wagon? (where we meet Raze) There are just so many questions that spoil the film, I also hated the endless stream of armour clad vampires that just live to die from lycan attacks, much like stormtroopers hehe The film is good and does complete the trilogy nicely but its very holey plot wise. The effects are nice, lots of cgi of course but its reasonable, some slightly risky lycan cgi in places but the vampire makeup and costume is excellent, Nighy's blues eyes really pierce the darkness. I just wish to see more of the vampire background in the underworld universe, vamps around the globe, how the species started originally, their higheracy or nobility outside Viktor etc.. I could watch a fourth about the vampire origins :)

• Brad W

  
  Underworld Rise of the Lycans was a decent film and in my opinion the best in the series. It is a prequel to the original and was in my opinion the most interesting. Michael Sheen play Lucian, the first Lycan who disobeys his adoptive vampire father Viktor (Bill Nighy) and goes and… More
  Underworld Rise of the Lycans was a decent film and in my opinion the best in the series. It is a prequel to the original and was in my opinion the most interesting. Michael Sheen play Lucian, the first Lycan who disobeys his adoptive vampire father Viktor (Bill Nighy) and goes and saves Viktors daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra), which Lucian is in a relationship with. After that, its the Lycan slaves against Viktors vampire army. The werewolf effects were very poor, it was very cheap looking, unlike the other Underworlds. I enjoyed the acting in this version, Micheal Sheen, Rhona Mitra, and Bill Nighy are very good and dramatic. The plot was actually interesting, even if many parts were very slow. The movie had no guns as it did before, instead in this version we have medieval weapons and crossbows, which are just as bloody, but there is more story in this movie than action, and for me, that was a little sad. Underworld Rise of the Lycans was the best in the series, even with many flaws.

• Conner R

  
  This was a movie made for the fans of the previous two movies and serves as an elaborated back story for all the characters we've grown to love. This gives us back the acting talents of Michael Sheen and an even more evil Bill Nighy, but also introduces Rhona Mitra as Sonja.… More
  This was a movie made for the fans of the previous two movies and serves as an elaborated back story for all the characters we've grown to love. This gives us back the acting talents of Michael Sheen and an even more evil Bill Nighy, but also introduces Rhona Mitra as Sonja. While it's sort've weird not having your two protagonists in the movie, it's still really well made. This is something that most people wanted to see because the Lycan/Vampire world is so cool to look at. This certainly delivers on that end; the gothic landscape is amazing. While you can tell that there was a tighter budget for this, they did a great job with what they had. Most of the special effects look fine and the style is similar enough to what Len Wiseman set up that it's very acceptable as an Underworld movie.

• Shawn E

  
  This film is just a major disappointment to any fan of the Underworld series. It feels nothing like the first two movies and without the great acting of Kate Beckinsale the film also feels quite boring. In my opinion this whole prequel movie was unneeded and a waste of time because… More
  This film is just a major disappointment to any fan of the Underworld series. It feels nothing like the first two movies and without the great acting of Kate Beckinsale the film also feels quite boring. In my opinion this whole prequel movie was unneeded and a waste of time because anyone who had watched the first film in the series knew the whole plot.

• moon r

  
  Any sci-fi worth its salt does so because its actually a commentary on its time. The subtext to this series: the racial question. Has society solved this consideration? Good sci-fi usually asks that one consider your own possible answers.

• Film C

  
  Although i dont think this is as good as the first two its still really good and interesting prequel! i love the cast, michael sheen is gorgeous and amazing and Bill Nighy is amazing as well. i did love this movie is entertaing interesting, exciting and action packed. Its how a… More
  Although i dont think this is as good as the first two its still really good and interesting prequel! i love the cast, michael sheen is gorgeous and amazing and Bill Nighy is amazing as well. i did love this movie is entertaing interesting, exciting and action packed. Its how a vampire and werewolf movie should be like and its amazing and completely worth a watch! The prequel goes into the detail about bill nighy's character and daughter that yo ufind a little bit about in the first two underworlds, this movie completely focuses on the love of the vampire and werewolf. Rerally good totally worth a wtach!!

• _kelly .

  
  I've finally seen it and I genuinely like it. I didn't think I would dig it because usually medieval sbackdrops bore me, but this flick was a rare exception. I expected basically nonstop swordfights and it pretty much was just that, but the bits of plot wedged here and there… More
  I've finally seen it and I genuinely like it. I didn't think I would dig it because usually medieval sbackdrops bore me, but this flick was a rare exception. I expected basically nonstop swordfights and it pretty much was just that, but the bits of plot wedged here and there were actually more compelling then how this story was told in prior entries. When this film was announced, I was disappointed that the franchise was touching on prequel territory, the synopsis of which had already been divulged in the first two films. But seeing it, the writers did far better than I expected and actually added some worthwhile details to the Underworld story. And it's fantastic to see Bill Nighy playing VIctor is his glorious prime. Definitely recommended to action AND horror fans, and for those who like bloody battles and darker fantasy settings, this is a must see.

• Dead A

  
  The first one was better than this one.

• Al S

  
  A thrilling, exciting, nail-biting and satisfying prequel to this sensational and action-packed horror series. The best film in the franchise. It's stunning, pulse-pounding and adrenaline-pumping from the start to the finish. It goes back to the origins of it's original… More
  A thrilling, exciting, nail-biting and satisfying prequel to this sensational and action-packed horror series. The best film in the franchise. It's stunning, pulse-pounding and adrenaline-pumping from the start to the finish. It goes back to the origins of it's original story and brings something new and exhilarating. An awesome epic adventure that's loaded with mind-blowing action, bloody epic battles, great special effects and with strong performances by its dedicated cast. Bill Nighy gives an utterly brilliant and chilling performance. Michael Sheen is terrific. Rhonda Mitra is fantastic.

• Dean !

  
  Not quite as good as the first two films. You kinda know what happens from them anyway. Still decent, good SFX and action scenes. If you like the others you should be ok with this.

• Dean M

  
  This prequel in the origins of the centuries-old blood feud tale between the Death Dealers (vampires) and their onetime slave, the Lycans (werewolves) is way cool that reminded me from the flashback of Michael's vision in the first film. When two tribes go to war and sexy Rhona… More
  This prequel in the origins of the centuries-old blood feud tale between the Death Dealers (vampires) and their onetime slave, the Lycans (werewolves) is way cool that reminded me from the flashback of Michael's vision in the first film. When two tribes go to war and sexy Rhona Mitra fills Kate Beckinsale's tight costume nicely (and bears more than a passing resemblance to her predecessor) as the requisite eye candy balance to all the monsters, blood and gory transformations. Impressive with the creature effects and striking gothic production design. And the same cast from <i>Underworld</i> series, but except Beckinsale and Scott Speedman.

• Derek D

  
  Much better than the second entry, but still not as good as the first. Good idea to go for the prequel thing than try and stretch out the series anymore.

• E.J. B

  
  Definitely the most enjoyable Underworld movie, Rise of the Lycans focuses on Lucien and Sonja. Their story was pretty much told in the first Underworld, but here it"s told in a bit more detail. You get to see Victor for the evil jerk off that he has always been. MIchael Sheen… More
  Definitely the most enjoyable Underworld movie, Rise of the Lycans focuses on Lucien and Sonja. Their story was pretty much told in the first Underworld, but here it"s told in a bit more detail. You get to see Victor for the evil jerk off that he has always been. MIchael Sheen gives a great performance! I know acting is not a requirement for this film, but he's such a great actor. He draws you into the story. I would have loved to see a film series about just his character. Great fight sequences. Nice werewolf morphing sequences, and a fitting conclusion make this a good rental, especially if you're a fan of the Underworld series. Just don't expect to see much Kate Beckinsale. Remember, this story takes place before she was around.

• Josh L

  
  My first experience with this franchise and I was pleasantly surprised. Special effects aren't very good, but I liked the story and the characters. The acting is solid as well. Genre fans will definitely like it.

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