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2008
4 articles from 2009
Blu-Ray Review: Prequel ‘Underworld: Rise of the Lycans’ With Michael Sheen
27 May 2009 3:06 PM, PDT
| HollywoodChicago.com
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Chicago – “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” is easily one of the weirdest movies of 2009. It’s a werewolf movie that plays like a variation on “Gladiator” or “Spartacus” with the foundation of “Romeo & Juliet”. Solid work by the excellent Michael Sheen nearly redeems the film but an awful screenplay, dull design, and plodding direction sink this bizarre prequel.
Blu-Ray Rating: 1.0/5.0
How many people were really concerned with how the blood feud started between the vampires and the lycans that served as the foundation for the Kate Beckinsale “Underworld” films? Enough to spawn this unusual prequel, detailing the history of this centuries-old rivalry.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was released on Blu-Ray on May 12th, 2009.
Photo credit: Sony
Lycans used to be slaves for the Death Dealers, the aristocratic vampires led by the vicious Viktor (Bill Nighy). In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucien (Michael Sheen) develops a romance
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- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
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Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (DVD Review)
13 May 2009 8:36 AM, PDT
| Fangoria
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The first thing that came to mind while watching Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (now on DVD from Sony Pictures) was that I had just seen Michael Sheen the night before in the excellent Frost/Nixon, and that an actor has to have a pretty good range to go from essaying the famous English interviewer/TV personality to playing a werewolf with a Spartacus complex. The second thing that crossed my mind was that while I’m not a fan of the first two UNDERWORLDs, and wasn’t eager to see this prequel, Rise Of The Lycans is an Ok movie and the best of the trilogy.
The first Underworld was a slick-looking werewolves-vs.-vampires flick that was light on character and heavy on CGI and Matrix influences. I felt the same about the follow-up, which I liked less. Trying to build on the original’s slim premise, Underworld: Evolution
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Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (Film Review)
23 January 2009 10:37 AM, PST
| Fangoria
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As a prequel to the previous two films in its trilogy, Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans doesn’t so much answer burning questions they posed as dramatize backstory that has only been spoken of before. And it raises a few queries of its own.
To wit, what exactly are the rules of werewolf transformation? There are a number of meaningful shots of the full moon, but it generally seems that the Lycans can assume beastly form whenever they please. The vampires (a.k.a. Death Dealers) who rule the medieval-ish land in which Rise is set keep the captive, enslaved Lycans from assuming hair and fangs with special collars—and yet hero Lucian (Michael Sheen) doesn’t go monstrous at certain points late in the film when it might be advantageous to do so, even though he doesn’t have a collar on.
Best not to ponder details like this
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The FX of Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans
22 January 2009 1:28 PM, PST
| Fangoria
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“Digital effects and animatronics are completely different,” says three-time Underworld producer Richard Wright on the set of Rise Of The Lycans, stating the obvious before continuing, “But sometimes they’re kind of melded together. In this film, we have basically three types of effects.
“We have the on-set gags like wirework—and there is a ton of that—as well as animatronics and special makeup,” Wright continues. “The director, Patrick Tatopoulos, has an effects company and started in the business doing makeup and animatronics, so there is a natural confluence. He has been involved in the first two UNDERWORLDs and was actually the production designer of the second film—a real Renaissance man. We’ve done a ton of animatronic effects on this film, and then we have the computer work, which comes last in this whole process.
“The problem,” he adds, “is that digital effects are getting so good
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2009 |
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4 articles from 2009
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