Reviews: Underworld : The Rise of the Lycans (2009) Movie Review
Subgenres: Supernatural, Thriller, Vampires, Werewolves, Epic Battle, Mutants, Sci-Fi
Where does Underworld : The Rise of the Lycans (2009) stand among horror films? Our review examines the scares, pacing, and what makes it unique in the genre.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) is a 1h 32-min rated R American action-adventure fantasy-horror film that was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand; Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand and Roxboro, North Carolina, USA. Director Patrick Tatopoulos (Underworld (2003), Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), I Am Legend (2007)) did an okay job executing this film that receives an average score of five from me because I neither love it or hate it. Rise of the Lycans pays homage to some scenes in Spartacus (1960) amongst other prison movies, but Rise of the Lycans is, however, comparable to Romeo and Juliet with just more bloodshed and action. The acting was horrible, but I found myself liking the movie regardless, and I think that is due to the storyline although it was bland at times and did not contain much of a plot. There was no chemistry between the actors or empathy. The special effects were not all that good so do not look forward to that, and the CG werewolf battles are not any better.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans revolves around the story of Lucian who was the first werewolf born that had the ability to take human form and was also the first to be called a Lycan. Lucian (Michael Sheen - Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Underworld Midnight in Paris (2011), Frost/Nixon (2008)) was raised by an elder vampire name Viktor. Viktor (Bill Nighy - Love Actually (2003), Hot Fuzz (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)) wants to breed a race of Lycan slaves that will help guard the coven’s fortress during the day and the work for the vampires at night.
The human nobles ask Viktor to protect them from the beasts/werewolves, and Viktor agrees to protect them if the humans give him silver that he will use to keep his slaves under control. Lucian and Viktor’s daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra - Shooter (2007), The Number 23 (2007), Hollow Man (2000)) fell in love and became intimate in their adult years without anyone knowing. Lucian escapes one night to rescue Sonja, who is reckless from his werewolf brethren. Viktor was angry that Lucian escapes although it was to save his daughter and locks Lucian away. The movie progresses to being an emotional story where Lucian fights for his love and Viktor is one mean father.
This movie has a good storyline but was executed wrong, had the wrong cast whose acting was mediocre and did not have a good special effects team. This movie had the potential of being something better but lacks many qualities. I enjoyed the storyline and gave it a five because of that. It was an emotional story, more like Romeo and Juliet where true love fights for each other and one of them dies.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Underworld : The Rise of the Lycans Rating Scores
- Our Score: 5/10
- Overall Score: 4.76/10
- IMDB: 6.5/10
- MetaCritic: 4.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 3.0/10
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