Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Best movie of this year hands down!

As Good As It Gets

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

J'adore l'univers. Je recommande vraiment cette saga.

In an attempt to shake the series, we no longer have Selene decimating vampires and lycans...she was too busy being a US marshal in Antarctica (translates to Beckinsale filming 'Whiteout'). Wiseman, McBride and new director Tatopoulos thought to bring back fan favourites Lucian and Viktor in an episodic chapter that still feels all too familiar. Detailing how the war against vampires and lycans started, it divulges in the forbidden love story of werewolf Lucian and vampire Sonja. I shan't spoil what happens, because the original film already did so. Quite literally a full on expositional flashback in the first 'Underworld' illustrated this tainted romance, did we honestly need to have a whole film about it? Personally, no. I can't quite remove the concept that this was simply just a filler in a franchise that is now declining. Despite the pointlessness of this chapter, it surprisingly does have emotion and is by far the best written story of all the entries. McBride was able to capture the secretive intimate relationship with a sense of impending doom, evoking sympathy towards the main characters. Michael Sheen gives an excellent performance as does Bill Nighy against a mediocrely monotonous supporting cast. Can't quite determine if Rhona Mitra was good...just seemed like she was mimicking Beckinsale's previous performances. The medieval production designs enhanced the dark Transylvanian environment and were well suited. The creature prosthetics remain authentic and continue the franchise's dependency on them. Unfortunately, some horrific transformation effects and green screen do detract from the quality of this prequel. The action scenes were messy, plagued with quick cuts and the constant flashing of lightning which makes them unbearably difficult to watch. An 87 minute runtime also seemed like 120 minutes, indicating that the pacing does drag particularly during the first two acts. This prequel has good intentions, for everything it does right it also horribly misfires on other elements.

Having been a big fan of recent made up world films with epic landscapes such as the hobbit and Lord of the rings I felt I had been spoilt to the point of no return and no film could meet them.Rise of the lycans for me is a great film. It builds the story quickly and gives you something to gradually sink your teeth into. To that end, it is not an easy watch as such but encourages enough thinking to keep you engaged and entertained. The action keeps you involved and the romance is limited but apparent. This element could have been further enhanced through acting as I feel the empathy element was slightly lacking. Except for this, the effects and action all seen realistic and the creatures appear very well considered and constructed. The backstory is great and since I had not seen any previous underworld it is very accessible as a series episode. The film makes me want to read about the background a little and almost makes me feel guilty for not doing so before.In summary the film is a well acted, thoroughly punchy action film with a good plot, story-line and effects. It will keep you entertained for the evening regardless of prior knowledge of the backstory or underworld series. Whilst it was not a horror film like I expected it gets my thumbs up.

The worst thing about this film is the excessive lip enhancement procedure that actress Rhona Mitra had done on her face. Every time she was on the screen I was completely distracted by her trout pout. Producers should put a clause in actor's contracts, saying that any body distorting surgeries and/or procedures will be grounds to fire them. I know people have the impression that larger breasts and lips are attractive, but so many of these celebrities go to extremes. It causes them to look bizarre, weird and unnatural. In addition to her crazy physical appearance, I thought Rhona Mitra was just the wrong choice for the part. Overall she's a lousy actress. With a different actress, this film could have been so much better.