Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans is a horror movie directed by Patrick Tatopoulos. It is the third (but chronologically first) instalment in the Underworld Franchise. This movie focuses on the origins of the characters and events that lead up to the Vampire-Lycan war. This 2009 movie was considered an unnecessary prequel and received mixed reviews.
The movie stars Kate Beckinsale as Selene, Michael Sheen as Lucian, Bill Nighy as Viktor. It also features Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh and Kevin Grevioux in lead roles. This prequel tells the story of Lucian. He is the first werewolf born capable of taking human form and also the first to be called a Lycan. Vampires treat the Lycans as slaves for years. As Lucian grows up, he falls in love with Sonja(Viktor’s daughter). Lucian goes to save Sonja but they are stopped by Viktor. Sonja reveals that she is pregnant with Lucian’s child to save his life. She is then sentenced to death.
The film’s post-credits scene reveals that Viktor has transformed Selene into a vampire and she is on his side now. In the 2003 Underworld movie, Lucian reveals all this to Selene before his death. She was already aware of this truth and this was the main reason why the movie was deemed unnecessary!
Why Was Underworld 3 A Bad Idea?
A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. But Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans did not show any backstory. It only displayed what we already knew, so it was a redundant addition to the Franchise. But, the film received positive reviews for the performance of the cast! Most of the critical acclaim was attributed to Michael Sheen’s performance.
Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter stated that film “rises to the occasion” and that it “finds more life left than would be expected in the darkly stylized if dramatically flawed vampires vs. werewolves saga.” He credited this to the “sturdy performances” of Sheen and Nighy and the “tidy, unfussy direction” by Tatopoulos.