Underworld 3- The official Thread!

[Figs]

The Underworld movies so far is like the Metal Gear Solid series for me. Underworld is to MGS (the start of the series, you knew there had to be another) as U2 is to MGS2 (The sequel with the weakest story) as U3 is to MGS3 (a prequel interrupting the flow, but its story must be told). There has to be a fourth.

Underworld 3 is definitely my favorite of the series so far. Unlike the second, this one had the perfect balance of lycans and vampires, and unlike the 1st one, you actually got to see those lycans in heavy action. Unlike the 2nd, the story was good (albeit simple) and this movie has so much to parallel the 1st film. Also, unlike both the 1st and the 2nd ones, no mini-Hulk Hybrid (the whole Lycan-dominant Hybrid should have looked so much cooler).

That's a great analogy with MGS. Never even thought of that. t:

 

[lespaul59]

Wasn't there at least one female werewolf in UWROTL? I mean Lucian had to come from a female.

 

[BloodyWolverine]

I was thinking for a 4th villain why not have the child of Lucian and Sonja be the villain. I do realize its mother was burnded to a crispy friter but wouldn't the lycan blood saved him from UV damage. I am saying maybe Corvinus comes along and saves the child but he grew hateful and was locked away so man kind would not suffer. I guess could be him or her really the child. Rhona Mitra vs Selene be a wicked cat fight.

 

[CrypticOne]

Seen this last night. Awesome movie. Lucian is the *****! I hope they make a sequel to this one. I'd like to see that big battle between Kraven and Lucian and they fake his death. We could also see Selene and her whole story (training, first kills, the birth of her as a vampire.)

 

[Darth Elektra]

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Monday: $1,382,106.
Tuesday: $1,229,263

 

[WolfCypher]

Are these good numbers? What was the budget compared to the profit? (or loss?)

 

[BloodyWolverine]

Actually the numbers are running about teh same as first 2 films.

 

[Episode29]

Just got back from seeing this and liked it alot.

I have to say with recent disappointments with trilogys this definitely delivered and I put it up there with other trilogys like LotR, original SW, IJ and BttF.

This post is a powerful argument against freedom of speech.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Definitely better than the first film and probably better than the second. I cared more about the Lucian/Sonya love story than I did about Selena and Michael, mainly because of the lack of Speedman and his wooden acting, Mitra was better than I expected, leaps and bounds ahead of her drone-like performance in Doomsday, and I liked the slavery storyline quite a bit more than the plots of the first two.
With all the scourgings and freedom speeches it sort of felt like Braveheart with werewolves...with a touch of The Passion of the Christ thrown in.
Great performances by Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen.

 

[BloodyWolverine]

Yes Lucian was whipped pretty badly like in POC. I think Nighy and Sheen made these films. If more you know there has too be a Bill Nighy cameo.

 

[Darth Elektra]

20 Autographed ‘Underworld: Rise of the Lycans’ Posters From Kevin Grevioux!
http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/new...ise-of-the-lycans-posters-from-kevin-grevioux

 

[nocomics]

Definitely better than the first film and probably better than the second. I cared more about the Lucian/Sonya love story than I did about Selena and Michael, mainly because of the lack of Speedman and his wooden acting, Mitra was better than I expected, leaps and bounds ahead of her drone-like performance in Doomsday, and I liked the slavery storyline quite a bit more than the plots of the first two.
With all the scourgings and freedom speeches it sort of felt like Braveheart with werewolves...with a touch of The Passion of the Christ thrown in.
Great performances by Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen.

Agreed. Though I thought it was just as good as first maybe a tad better,but definately better than second. The love story between Lucian/Sonja was decent maybe a tad more backround on it.
I don't think they focused awhole lot on Celene/Micheals story at least imo so thats why there wasn't alot of caring for their relationship..
I do hope they make at least one or two more of these movies but don't drag it out too much..so maybe a sequel to the prequel and a sequel to UW2 to finish it off. I don't want these to become another SAW franchise(though I do love the SAW franchise)...

 

[Episode29]

My review (Totally against popular opinion I recognize):

Out of all the cash-earning franchises available for prequel treatment, it’s difficult to think of one more undeserving and unnecessary than the Underworld series. Filled with warring factions of gun-wielding vampires and werewolves (dubbed Lycans) and digitally enhanced gore, 2003’s Underworld and 2006’s Underworld: Evolution were lazy, CG-stuffed supernatural riffs on The Matrix, whose only memorable feature was star Kate Beckinsale’s tight black latex bodysuit. At least in my lowly opinion...

Sadly, Beckinsale is largely absent from the series’ latest turgid entry, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which instead shifts its focus towards the Lycan’s tormented leader, Lucian, played by Frost/Nixon and The Queen star Michael Sheen. Set in the Dark Ages, during a tumultuous time where vampires and Lycans battled for ruler-ship of the free-land, Rise of the Lycans begins in flashback, describing the miraculous birth of Lucian, a Lycan of unique attributes. Bearing a human appearance and rational mind, with little of his brethren’s uncontrollable bloodlust, he was adopted by the vampire lord Viktor (Bill Nighy), and used to breed a new race of subservient Lycan slaves.

Nevertheless, after defying orders and rushing to the aid of his secret lover Sonja (Rhona Mitra), who happens to be Viktor’s warrior daughter, Lucian is relentlessly whipped and imprisoned, thus losing what little freedom he once possessed. Under the threat of having his illicit love affair with Sonja revealed, and spurned by the suffering of his fellow werewolves, the reluctant leader doggedly plots to unite his Lycan people and lead a brutal rebellion against Viktor’s malicious forces in a last-ditch quest for freedom.

Curiously, despite a 35 million dollar budget, and an occasionally ambitious story featuring epic confrontations and dramatic revelations, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans comes across as a disastrously small-scale bore, seemingly lifted from a Direct-to-DVD pile. With shoddy production values, which apparently required that the film be staged almost entirely on a single location, or frequently jerky creature effects work, Rise of the Lycans seems less inspired by its forebears than by an obvious determination to become a bargain-basement supernatural rip-off of Spartacus.

Undoubtedly aware of his film’s shortcomings, Patrick Tatopoulos, a novice director taking over for the series’ founder Len Wiseman, attempts to mask the limited resources available to him by shooting the entire movie through an annoying foggy blue lens filter, and editing his action scenes into mish-mashy collages of Lycan fur, shining steel blades and more blood-splashed stone walls than you can shake a broadsword at. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with attempting to over-come budget constraints, Tatapoulos, in the process, has forfeited any sense of visual coherency or flow, making the film’s numerous climactic clashes about as exciting as staring a flickering screen-saver.

To make matters all the worse, Rise of the Lycans is a dour affair, taking its ham-fisted story and limited character development deadly serious at all times. While Bill Nighy manages, perhaps as a private joke, to camp up his later dramatic scenes in a last-ditch attempt to entertain, poor Michael Sheen - a dead-ringer, with his flowing locks and bugged-out eyes, for System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian - is straight-jacketed by his goofy role as a lycanthropic Jesus figure (Passion of the Lycan would have been a more suitable title). When not being scourged to a pulp, the actor is forced to endlessly holler unspeakably awful lines such as “We are not animals!” and “We can be slaves... or we can be LYCANS!” Sheen does what he can with this flat material, but is eventually buried by the suffocating absurdity of the role.

The majority of the blame for why Rise of the Lycans falls apart so badly, and why it ends up being as terrible an experience as it is, lies mostly in the restrictions imposed by its framing device. As it is a prequel, there is an amazingly minute amount of story to tell, and we know exactly who will live or die. Hence, we find ourselves bored to tears by the film’s countless painful dialogue scenes, and waiting impatiently for the inevitable to occur. Excluding credits, the film runs roughly only 85 minutes, and even still feels padded for length, and the ending featuring stock footage intended to clumsily tie the three films together, is just plain embarrassing.

The most frustrating aspect of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, not to mention the entire Underworld series, is that it aims so painfully low. Content to pacify fans with tedious flashes of mindless blood and gore, and resemble little more than an extended PS3 pre-game cut-scene, the film fails to deliver on its kitchsy-cool premise. The filmmakers may have recognized the marketability in pitting vampires against werewolves, but movies as toothless as Rise of the Lycans sure don’t give movie-goers a whole lot to excitedly howl about.

1.5 out of 5

 

[Nivek]

Thanks for contributing...

 

[squeekness]

Bah! I thought it was great.

 

[Bastila]

Actually the numbers are running about teh same as first 2 films.

thats pretty good ifs it doing as well as the other two even though it hasn't got Kate in it.

Still hoping for a fourth, But Sheen and Nighly where great in this film, Viktor was just so cold in it.

 

[Nivek]

I really think that they need to do another film with Bill Nighey and Sheen. If anything this films box office shows that it's the story that draws the fans, not Speekman or Beckingsale.

 

[Darth Elektra]

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Monday: $1,382,106.
Tuesday: $1,229,263
Wednesday: $1,047,617

 

[Figs]

Undoubtedly aware of his film’s shortcomings, Patrick Tatopoulos, a novice director taking over for the series’ founder Len Wiseman, attempts to mask the limited resources available to him by shooting the entire movie through an annoying foggy blue lens filter, and editing his action scenes into mish-mashy collages of Lycan fur, shining steel blades and more blood-splashed stone walls than you can shake a broadsword at.

From what I remember both the first two Underworld films also had that blue filtered look to them.

Sheen does what he can with this flat material, but is eventually buried by the suffocating absurdity of the role.

He's playing a werewolf in a Vampire vs. Werewolf type of film, I don't know what you were expecting.

Excluding credits, the film runs roughly only 85 minutes, and even still feels padded for length, and the ending featuring stock footage intended to clumsily tie the three films together, is just plain embarrassing.

Personally, I thought it worked and don't see what was so clumsy about it. Especially if you've seen the first two already.

What were your ratings for the first two?

 

[kane9321]

Just got home from watching it......bada$$ movie...loved it

I wanted to see badass Amelia....She should have had a major role in this film

 

[Matt.S99]

What did you guys think of Rhona's perfromance?

 

[Eelectro 2]

i actually thought she was a lot better than i was expecting her to be. i would love to have seen more of her character

too bad the ending made it hard for me to totally like...they altered what part 1 made so clear (with the branded skin on lucian)

 

[TwoOfAKind]

Just got back from seeing this and I have to say I really enjoyed it, big fan of the series and would have to say it's better than Evolutions. The only problem I found with the movie were a couple of plot holes that didn't seem to be correct with the time line and also didn't like the flash of selene from the 1st movie at the end of the movie as it makes it feel like they won't do a sequel to Lycans even though there is a greater story between the 3-1 than there is for after Evolutions.

Spoiler

Does anyone reckon at the end of Lycans that Lucian thinks he killed Viktor?

 

[BloodyWolverine]

Um no considering the first movie its why Lucian tells Kraven is why he needs Michael. If Viktor was so easily dispatched you would have done it yourself long ago.

 

[TwoOfAKind]

Thats why I reckon they need a sequel to Lycans because I reckon Lucian beleives he killed Viktor at that point of time.