Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Director:

Patrick Tatopoulos

Writers (WGA):

Danny McBride (screenplay) and
Dirk Blackman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

An origins story centered on the centuries-old feud between the race of aristocratic vampires and their onetime slaves, the Lycans.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Slave | Werewolf | Prisoner | Prequel

Cast

Michael Sheen	...	Lucian
Bill Nighy	...	Viktor
Rhona Mitra	...	Sonja
Steven Mackintosh	...	Tannis
Kevin Grevioux	...	Raze
David Aston	...	Coloman
Geraldine Brophy	...	Nobleman's Wife
Leighton Cardno	...	Fearful Lycan
Alex Carroll	...	Young Lucian (as Alexander Carroll)
Elizabeth Hawthorne	...	Orsova
Jared Turner	...	Xristo
Jason Hood	...	Death Dealer
Mark Mitchinson	...	Nobleman
Tania Nolan	...	Luka
Craig Parker	...	Sabas
Timothy Raby	...	Janosh
Larry Rew	...	Kosta
Peter Tait	...	Gyorg
Olivia Taylforth	...	Young Sonja
Eleanor Williams	...	Teenage Girl
Edwin Wright	...	Death Dealer Captain
Brian Steele	...	Big Lycan / Creature Performer
Shane Brolly	...	Kraven
Kurt Carley	...	Creature Performer
Richard Knowles	...	Creature Performer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dale Pavinski	...	Lycan soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Patrick Tatopoulos

Writing credits (WGA)
Danny McBride		(screenplay) and
Dirk Blackman		(screenplay) &
Howard McCain		(screenplay)
Len Wiseman		(story) &
Robert Orr		(story) and
Danny McBride		(story)
Kevin Grevioux		(characters) and
Len Wiseman		(characters) &
Danny McBride		(characters)

Produced by
Beth DePatie	....	executive producer
Kevin Grevioux	....	co-producer
David Kern	....	co-producer
Gary Lucchesi	....	producer
James McQuaide	....	executive producer
Eric Reid	....	executive producer
Tom Rosenberg	....	producer
Skip Williamson	....	producer
Len Wiseman	....	producer
Richard S. Wright	....	producer
Richard Wright	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Haslinger

Cinematography by
Ross Emery

Film Editing by
Peter Amundson
Eric Potter

Production Design by
Dan Hennah

Art Direction by
Brendan Heffernan
Gary Mackay

Costume Design by
Jane Holland

Makeup Department
Debbie Clark	....	makeup artist
Linda Hal Couper	....	makeup artist
Jeff Flitton	....	special makeup effects artist
Connie Grayson	....	hair technician
Marjory Hamlin	....	makeup designer
Jean Hewitt	....	make-up and hair
Glenys John	....	make-up and hair
Bliss Macgillicuddy	....	makeup artist
Devie Panchia	....	make-up and hair
Cristina Patterson Ceret	....	contact lens coordinator/painter
Miranda Raman	....	make-up and hair
Richard Redlefsen	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Richard Redlefsen	....	special makeup effects artist
Celeste Strewe	....	make-up and hair
Khanh Trance	....	special effects hair: Tatopoulos studio
Deb Watson	....	key makeup artist
Hannah Wilson	....	key makeup artist: second unit

Production Management
Steve Demko	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Grinder	....	first assistant director
Nick McKinnon	....	second assistant director
Kimble Rendall	....	second unit director

Art Department
Warren Boswell	....	carpenter
Antony Cattermoul	....	carpenter
John Chitty	....	carpenter
Phil Chitty	....	construction supervisor
Carmen Chow	....	concept artist
Marino Coates-Chitty	....	carpenter
Will Coombes	....	carpenter
Colin Elms	....	stand-by props
Jeff Errico	....	storyboard artist
Kristos Focas	....	assistant sculptor
Alistair Gillies	....	prop designer
Andrew Hastings	....	carpenter
Brendan Heffernan	....	concept artist
Chris Hennah	....	art department manager
Seth Keys	....	carpenter
Steven Key	....	carpenter
Vincent Lucido	....	storyboard artist
Tom Marsh	....	carpenter
Geoff Mayne	....	carpenter
Johno Morton	....	carpenter
Neil Murray	....	assistant sculptor
Roger Murray	....	propmaker
Chris Overmeer	....	carpenter
Ricky Plant	....	carpenter
Jules Rosenberg	....	carpenter
Jason Shepherd	....	carpenter
Jon Tack	....	carpenter
John Ternent	....	carpenter
Richard Vlasich	....	carpenter
Nick Weir	....	property master

Sound Department
Michael Babcock	....	sound designer
Michael Babcock	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael Babcock	....	supervising sound editor
Robin Atkin Downes	....	adr voices
David Farmer	....	sound designer
Richard Flynn	....	sound mixer
Tim Gedemer	....	sound designer
Lee Gilmore	....	sound effects editor
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer
Avram D. Gold	....	dialogue editor
Rick Gould	....	adr recordist
Tiffany S. Griffith	....	dialogue editor
Ian Herzon	....	sound effects editor
Jason W. Jennings	....	sound effects editor
Bryan Jerden	....	sound effects editor
Tim LeBlanc	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark L. Mangino	....	adr supervisor
Alyson Dee Moore	....	foley artist
John Roesch	....	foley artist
Joseph Tsai	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
David Beneke	....	dental technician
Dean Clarke	....	special effects workshop supervisor
Brinsley Compton	....	special effects assistant
Robert Kato DeStefan	....	seaming and patching department: Tatopoulos Studios
Jason Durey	....	special effects supervisor
Oliver Gee	....	special effects technician
Cleve Gunderman	....	special effects technician: Tatopoulos Studios
Sven Harens	....	second unit special effects supervisor
Ryan Hartnett	....	special effects technician
Guy Himber	....	special effects makeup: shop supervisor, Tatopoulos Studios, Inc.
Allison Klein	....	studio coordinator: Tatopoulos Studios
Robert McKinnon	....	concept artist
Hauk Olafsson	....	special effects technician
Dan Perry	....	prosthetic application
Richard Redlefsen	....	werewolf puppeteer
John Shea	....	creature suit fabricator
Jeff Small	....	moldmaker: Tatopoulos Studios
Jody Taylor	....	special effects senior technician

Visual Effects by
Erika Abrams	....	visual effects coordinator: Furious FX
Tim Alexander	....	digital effects artist
Mathieu Arce	....	digital compositor
Oliver Arnold	....	CG supervisor
Greg Astles	....	2d supervisor: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Jerome Auliac	....	digital compositor
Kenneth Bailey	....	visual effects artist
Erwann Baudet	....	visual effects
David Nathanael Beck	....	matchmove artist: elementFX
Darren A. Bell	....	visual effects executive producer: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Amy Benham	....	visual effects coordinator: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Amy Benham	....	visual effects production manager: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Saïdou Bernabé	....	lighter
Alain Bignet	....	digital compositor
Cyrille Bonjean	....	compositing supervisor for DUBOI
Nicolas Bonnell	....	visual effects
Lucie Bories	....	digital compositor
Jean-Christophe Boue	....	digital compositor: Intelligent Creatures
Kyle Boylen	....	digital compositor
Benjamin Bratt	....	digital artist
Jeff Bruneel	....	lead compositor
Andy Burmeister	....	matchmover: Luma Pictures
Grady Campbell	....	compositor
Eric Carme	....	visual effects artist
Michael Cashore	....	digital compositor
John Cassella	....	senior fx animator: Luma Pictures
Dominic Cheung	....	lighting technical director: Intelligent Creatures
Vincent Cirelli	....	visual effects supervisor: Luma Pictures
Joshua J. Clark	....	digital effects supervisor: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Lee Ann Cotton	....	visual effects coordinator: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Jaime Burés Cuco	....	digital compositor
Justin Daneman	....	compositing supervisor: Celluloid VFX
Nicolas Daniel	....	data management
Clement Darbois	....	digital compositor
Christophe Dehaene	....	digital compositor
Shiv Dholakia	....	visual effects generalist: elementFX
Katie Dillman	....	visual effects production supervisor: Fantasy II FIlm Effects
Chad Dombrova	....	lead technical director: Luma Pictures
Jason Donnelly	....	animator
Scott Dougherty	....	visual effects executive producer: Furious FX
Thomas Duval	....	visual effects supervisor
Eric Ehemann	....	digital effects artist
Breuillier Emilien	....	visual effects
Alexandre Ethier	....	visual effects supervisor: elementFX
Henning Falk	....	compositing artist: Celluloid VFX
Siggy Ferstl	....	digital intermediate colorist
Monteil Fredrik	....	digital compositor
Rasshi Ganeriwal	....	visual effects production assistant: Intelligent Creatures, Inc
Arnaud Ganzerli	....	technical director
Daniel Gaudreau	....	digital compositor
Brad Gayo	....	lead compositor
Andrei Gheorghiu	....	digital compositor
Greg Gibbons	....	matte painting supervisor: Intelligent Creatures
Greg Gibbons	....	matte painting supervisor: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Jan Goldfuss	....	texture artist: Celluloid VFX
David Gourmaud	....	visual effects editor
Thibaut Granier	....	visual effects
Monty Granito	....	previs animator
Anthony Grant	....	model/texture artist
Steve Griffith	....	visual effects producer: Luma Pictures
Omar Gudjonsson	....	compositor
Jennifer Gutierrez	....	compositor
Martin Hall	....	compositor: FuriousFX
Éric Hamel	....	matte painter
H Haden Hammond	....	sequence supervisor: Luma Pictures
Satoshi Harada	....	lighter: Luma Pictures
Jacob Harris	....	roto artist: Luma Pictures
Michael Hatton	....	visual effects supervisor: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Va Ha	....	visual effects artist
John R. Hazzard	....	pipeline technical director: Luma Pictures
Noel Hooper	....	digital compositor
Holly Gregory Horter	....	senior digital artist
Brian Howald	....	digital effects artist
Pearl Hsu	....	3D artist: Intelligent Creatures
Holger Hummel	....	visual effects editor: Celluloid VFX
Andreas Jablonka	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Justin Johnson	....	digital effects supervisor
Marc Joubert-Nederveen	....	digital effects artist
Nicolas Kermel	....	digital artist
Raymond C. King	....	digital effects artist
Sven Klimm	....	modeller: Celluloid VFX
Jeffrey Klug	....	senior systems engineer: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Patrick Kreuser	....	compositing artist: Celluloid VFX
Martin Krol	....	modeller
Aurelie Lajoux	....	digital effects artist
Julien Lambert	....	3D supervisor
Michael Landgrebe	....	visual effects supervisor: Celluloid VFX
Nicolas Leblanc	....	character modeler
Michelle Ledesma	....	visual effects coordinator: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Vincent Lemaire	....	animator
Javier León	....	digital compositor: ElementFX
Yann Leroux	....	digital compositor
David Lingenfelser	....	executive visual effects supervisor: Furious Fx
Jason Locke	....	lead matchmover
François Lorain	....	digital artist
Sergeï Lourié	....	senior digital compositor
Jessica Madsen	....	digital artist
Tony Magaletta	....	first assistant cameraman: blue screen, Fantasy II Film Effects, LA
Kevin Mah	....	lighting technical director: Intelligent Creatures Inc.
Haydn Masuda	....	digital artist
Molina Matthieu	....	visual effects
Charlie McClellan	....	visual effects supervisor: on-set
James McQuaide	....	visual effects supervisor
Frederic Medioni	....	layout & tracking artist
Lon Molnar	....	visual effects production executive: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Jean-Francois Morissette	....	senior matchmover
Melissa D. Moss	....	digital compositor
Mike Murphy	....	post-viz designer
Jessica Nagy	....	visual effects assistant: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Jeff Newton	....	3d supervisor: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Jordan Nieuwland	....	digital matte painter: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Chris Nokes	....	visual effects line producer: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
James Notari	....	digital artist
James Notari	....	visual effects coordinator
Gary Oldroyd	....	visual effects producer
Scott Parker	....	senior systems engineer: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Thomas Pastor	....	lighting technical director
Michael Pecchia	....	compositor: FuriousFX
Benjamin Pelletreau	....	digital compositor
Cecile Peltier	....	digital compositor
Marco Pelzel	....	lead compositing artist: Celluloid VFX
Carlos Perona	....	modeler
Dawrath Phoue	....	rotoscope artist
Pavel Pranevsky	....	CG supervisor: Luma Pictures
Christopher Puchta	....	lead fx artist: Celluloid VFX
Sebastien Rame	....	digital compositor
Karthic Ramesh	....	digital effects artist
Nicolas Rigaud	....	digital compositor
Scott Riopelle	....	senior digital compositor: Intelligent Creatures
Pau Rocher	....	digital compositor
Marcos Romero	....	animator: Luma Pictures
David Rousseau	....	digital effects artist
Aurore Rousset	....	animation supervisor
Olov Samuelsson	....	compositor: elementFX
Christian Sawade-Meyer	....	fx artist: Celluloid VFX
Georgia Scheele	....	visual effects producer: proof, inc.
Rossi Sébastien	....	special effects supervisor
Florian Senand	....	digital compositor
Fabrice Senia	....	animator
Chris Serenil	....	computer services manager
Mark Shoaf	....	cg supervisor: Furious FX
Payam Shohadai	....	executive visual effects supervisor: Luma Pictures
Joey Sila	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Jared Simeth	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Thanapoom Siripopungul	....	character technical director: Luma Pictures
Niranjan Siva	....	digital compositor
Ryan Sivley	....	animator: Luma Pictures
Tiffany Smith	....	visual effects producer: Furious FX
Safari Sosebee	....	digital artist
Michael Stewart	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Mitchell Stuart	....	digital matte painter: Invisible Pictures
Richard Sutherland	....	lighting td: Luma Pictures
Steven Swanson	....	visual effects supervising producer: Luma Pictures
Ranko Tadic	....	previsualization animator: Proof
Tracy Takahashi	....	visual effects producer
Christa Tazzeo	....	visual effects producer: Invisible Pictures
David Thompson	....	digital compositor
Annabelle Troukens	....	visual effects producer
Alexander Vegh	....	visual effects supervisor for proof and also the previsualization supervisor
Rickey Verma	....	digital compositor
Tom Voll	....	CG artist
Paul Vorsman	....	compositor
Kyle Ware	....	visual effects coordinator: Luma Pictures
Nathan Warner	....	previsualization artist
James Waterson	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Diana Marie Wells	....	digital compositor
Kim Wiseman	....	compositor: Intelligent Creatures
Sarah Wormsbecher	....	visual effects associate producer: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Elaine Wu	....	animator: Luma Pictures
Heather A. Yarbrough	....	visual effects coordinator: elementFX
Sonia Yu	....	lighter: Luma Pictures
Chris Zammit	....	lead model/texture artist: Intelligent Creatures, Inc.
Loic Zimmermann	....	character lead: Luma Pictures
Bojan Zoric	....	digital matte painting supervisor

Stunts
Robert Alonzo	....	stunt performer
Matt Bennett	....	stunt performer
Shane Blakey	....	additional stunts
Sean Button	....	stunts
Ryan Carey	....	additional stunts
Brett Chan	....	additional stunt coordinator
Brett Chan	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Andrew Cottle	....	stunts
Mana Hira Davis	....	stunts
Shane Dawson	....	stunt rigger
Jacob Dewitt	....	stunts
Peter Dillon	....	stunts
Clinton Elvey	....	additional stunts (as Clint Elvy)
Justin Rodgers Hall	....	stunts
Winham Hammond	....	stunts
Isaac Hamon	....	stunts
Albert Heimuli	....	additional stunts
Daniel Hernandez	....	stunts
Brian Ho	....	stunts
Allen Jo	....	stunt performer
Thomas Kiwi	....	stunts
Glen Levy	....	stunt double
David J. Muzzerall	....	stunt performer
Giedrius Nagys	....	stunts
Chris O'Hara	....	stunt coordinator: reshoots
Jeffery Ong	....	stunt performer
Jeffery Ong	....	stunts
Nooroa Poa	....	stunts
Allan Poppleton	....	fight coordinator
Allan Poppleton	....	stunt coordinator
Allan Poppleton	....	stunts
Dayna Porter	....	lead stunt double
Dayna Porter	....	stunts (as Dayna Chiplin)
Dayna Porter	....	stunts
Kyle Pryor	....	additional stunts
Shane Rangi	....	stunts
Tim Rigby	....	stunts
Paul Shapcott	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Paul Shapcott	....	stunt double
Allan Smith	....	stunts
Bronson Steel	....	utility stunts
Andrew B. Stehlin	....	stunt performer
Johnny Sullivan	....	stunts
Erika Takacs	....	stunt coordinator assistant
Stuart Thorp	....	stunt rigger
Dwayne Wiley	....	stunts
Tim Wong	....	stunt performer
Aron Eastwood	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeremy Hollis	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kane Asher	....	dolly grip
Todd Bilton	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, second unit
Jamie Couper	....	lighting technician
John Enright	....	best boy
Michael Frediani	....	camera operator
Greg Gilbert	....	additional camera operator: "a" camera
Scott Harman	....	lighting technician
Chris Lewis	....	best boy electric: special effect pickups
Mike Lougheed	....	best boy: on set
Nigel MacLaurin	....	generator operator
Luke Macready	....	lighting technician
Tony Magaletta	....	first assistant camera: "A" camera, insert and underwater unit, LA
Henare Mato	....	rigging gaffer
Peter McCaffrey	....	camera operator
Sean O'Neill	....	gaffer
Ulric Raymond	....	key first assistant camera
Ben Rowsell	....	second assistant camera
Christopher Rudkin	....	video assist: second unit
Paul Samuels	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Dean Thomas	....	key video assist
Christopher Warren	....	additional photographer
Ryan Kunkleman	....	camera technician: "red" camera (re-shoots) (uncredited)

Animation Department
Jean-Charles Laurent	....	animator
Pimentel A. Raphael	....	animation supervisor
Pavade Yoane	....	animator

Casting Department
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mairi Chisholm	....	costumer: Los Angeles
Tracey Collins	....	costume props supervisor
Caroline Delaney	....	chain mail artist
Sian Evans	....	costume supervisor
Adele Hing	....	costume assistant
Heather Moore	....	assistant costume designer
Kiri Rainey	....	extras costumer/coordinator
James Rogers	....	costume props
Ruth Wynne	....	costume buyer
Zoe Aimee Zaitzeff	....	costume production assistant

Editorial Department
Matt Besserman	....	post-production assistant
Craig Dewey	....	post-production coordinator
Scott Janush	....	first assistant editor
Andy Kaplan	....	digital intermediate producer
Eric O. Schusterman	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Eric Craig	....	music supervisor
Hugh Marsh	....	musician: electric violin
Brian McNelis	....	music supervisor
Jon Mooney	....	assistant music editor
Chris Newlin	....	music editor
Travis Smith	....	score mixing assistant
Court Stumpf	....	music score production assistant

Transportation Department
Mareena Facoory	....	driver: cast
Serena Higgins	....	driver: cast
Linda Musson	....	transportation coordinator
Anoushka Ruedi-Klaus	....	driver: cast (as Anoushka Klaus)
Paul Veart	....	driver: cast

Other crew
Joshua Aufrance	....	post-production accountant
Joshua Aufrance	....	second assistant accountant
Tim Basevi	....	payroll accountant
Jonathan Costelloe	....	assistant horse master
Gareth Daley	....	technical manager
D.R. Farquharson	....	project manager: Deluxe Digital Cinema
Ruben Ferguson	....	first assistant accountant
Mike Holloway	....	location manager
Moira Houlihan	....	publicist
Paula Kucharski	....	assistant: Mr. Wiseman
Fiona Landreth	....	production accountant
Wayne McCormack	....	horse master
Kristi McLaren	....	payroll accountant
Anna Randall	....	assistant production coordinator
Max Smerling	....	assistant: executive producer: Eric Reid
Warner Loughlin	....	acting coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Sketch Films (in association with)
• Intelligent Creatures
• Lakeshore Entertainment
• Screen Gems
• UW3 Film Productions

Distributors

• Audio Visual Enterprises (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Sony Pictures Releasing (BVSPR) (2009) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Falcon (2009) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• ITA Film (2009) (Slovakia) (theatrical)
• SND (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Screen Gems (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Duran Duboi
• Element FX
• Forêt Bleue
• Furious FX (visual effects)
• Gentle Giant Studios
• Intelligent Creatures (visual effects)
• Luma Pictures
• Patrick Tatopoulos Design
• Proof (previsualization)
• Sub/Par Pix
• Tatopoulos Studios

Other Companies

• Cunning Stunts Limited  stunt equipment
• HD Camera Rentals.com  camera equipment provided by
• Lakeshore Records  score album
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• PES Payroll  extras payroll
• Panavision New Zealand  camera equipment provided by
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Warner Brothers Post-Production Services  sound post-production
• X2 Technologies  IT support

Also Known As:

Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans (USA) (working title)
Untitled Underworld Prequel (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody violence and some sexuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44577) | Germany:16 | Australia:MA | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | Japan:R-15 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:16 | Mexico:B15 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Denmark:11 | Austria:14 | Netherlands:16 | France:U (with warning) | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Company:

Sketch Films

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: Heard when werewolves climb the wall and attack the vampire guards.

Goofs:

Continuity: After his group of slaves is sent to be bitten by the captive Lycans, Raze is the only one of his group back in his cage without a collar, but no point is made of this.

Quotes:

Coloman: The accused has committed high treason against the coven! She has consorted with animals, she has abetted in their escape...
Sonja: I have saved this coven many times over!
Coloman: You have killed your own kind! And you've commingled bloodlines, resulting in the thing germinating within you. Your past glory does not excuse your present guilt,neither does your station as a council member. The punishment for these crimes is death, how vote you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#8.19)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Board Up the House (Renholder Remix)

You know, I really enjoyed it. Michael Sheen is superb in a film where great performances normally don't happen.

Very rarely do prequels match up with their predecessors. As I'm not the biggest Underworld fan, I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting much. However, I should've expected more, as the latest, yet earliest installment is easily my favorite in the series. It ain't art, but it's the shining example of why we go to the movies: to escape into a world of mythology, fantasy, and crazy vampire/werewolf action.

For the first time in the series, the filmmakers have decided to leave out the rock that probably was the reason the films have been successful: Kate Beckinsale. I'm guessing this was a production risk/choice, but it seems to have paid off. Selene's absence from the story is necessary to tell the story of how the Lycans rose to power, how Viktor was driven insane (though we pretty much already know how), and, as off topic as it may be, how simply awesome Michael Sheen is.

Very rarely do the actors make an action movie good. Most action movies rely on explosions and (surprise!) action to enhance the quality and generally feature run of the mill copycat characters. Sheen's Lucian and Bill Nighy's Viktor will always stand out in the realm of action/fantasy characters to me, and it's easy to see why. Sheen's turn as Lucian is fierce, determined, and one of my favorite performances in an action movie I've seen in years. Despite playing a (mostly) villainous role in the first film, Lucian is the hero of this film, and it totally gives you a new spin on things. Sheen's brave and dedicated performance really makes the character work, while Bill Nighy is once again effectively creepy as Viktor. Rhona Mitra's presence as Sonja is welcome, though she doesn't carry the same charisma that Beckinsale does, making her an ill advised choice to be Selene's replacement (as she so obviously is).

The action in Underworld, though obviously restrained by a lower budget, is once again great. There's some nice dueling, the obvious gore and blood galore, and a nice Lord of the Rings style battle at the end. What it comes down to is that Underworld does nothing new, but does everything right in maintaining a steady river of entertainment. I was never bored, and I don't think you will be either.

The film does answer a lot of questions and provides some nice insight to the Lycans (which were my favorite parts about the first two films), though it suffers from the same fate as most prequels do...even a casual viewer of this series knows which characters will live, which will die, and how it will end. The film isn't really about the resolution, but rather the journey to the end. In fact, it's made in such a way that you can certainly watch the trilogy in chronological order.

When it comes down to it, I liked 'Lycans' a lot. It's a worthy installment in the series, and certainly not a disappointment to me. It's got good action, a wonderful lead performance from Michael Sheen, and should satisfy fans of the series and fans of mythological stories altogether.