[podcast]http://www.chaoticradiolive.com/podcasts/underworldriseofthelycans.mp3[/podcast]

Underworld: Rise of The Lycans Review:
Prequel. It’s always a gamble to go back and tell what happened before. Star Wars is a perfect example. It pissed off and alienated a lot of it’s fans. With the originals versus the prequels. So the question becomes can a prequel be done right?

In the movies Underworld and Underworld – Evolution we were shown a dark world where Vampires and Werewolves wage centuries old war for dominance. We’re introduced to Viktor the leader of the Vampire Coven played by Bill Nighy and Lucian the more rag tage leader of the Lycans played by Michael Sheen. Though in both of these movies we get bits and pieces of a story of where this all took place long ago.

Now comes Underworld, Rise of The Lycans. We’re taken back to a time when Lucian serves as a loyal slave to Viktor – and carries on a secret romance with Viktor’s daughter Sonja. Lucian we find out is the first Werewolf to able to actually turn back into a human form as the result of some screwed up experiment – it’s not covered too deeply in this film, but you get a lot of detail in the original two. Again pieces of the stories are laid out here and there. Now we see that Lucian actually helps defend the Vampire Coven every night from an army of savage, mindless Werewolves that attack from the forest. The story comes to a head when Lucian rushes out into the night to defend Sonja from an attacking group of Werewolves. We also know that Lucian is also not allowed to change into a Werewolf himself in fact, Viktor makes him wear a collar with spikes, if he changes, it cuts his head off. Good move. But in a desperate moment, seconds away from losing the love of his life, Sonja, he rips the collar off, becomes a Werewolf and saves her thus exposing his secret to Viktor. As the illicit love afair between Vampire and Lycan is discovered Lucian battles for freedom and takes all of the Coven’s slaves with him to build a Lycan army and strike back.

Again, when you remember that much of this story was told in bits and chunks during Underworld and Underworld Evolution, you wonder if this film even has a reason to exist. But I’m here to tell you that this film is a pleasent surprise. The characters are well developed, the story is surprisingly rich with dialogue and in an amazing about face, the original “villain” of the first two films, Lucian the Werewolf, is transformed not into a Lycan, but into a hero. The love story between Sonja and Lucian doesn’t necessarily rock the screen, one little love scene and a bunch of stolen kisses, but the complexity of the characters does make for a truly compelling and watchable story. You end up rooting for the Werewolves. Even the massive brute “Raze” played by the very large Kenvin Greviousx. Who is one of the slaves in the movie. You may remember him as the very large black man from the first Underworld Movies. He’s a great character, he’s likable, he’s interesting. Everyone in this film has a place, everyone plays a part that ties together very well.

Overall this film exceeded my expectations. Proof that when a little bit of thought goes into a script, a little bit of attention paid to character development, a prequal can stand up to the originals. Our rating – Chaotic. Go see the film.

~Kaeos Jones