‘Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans’

Rating: 2/10

Beware before you sink your teeth into “Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans,” a prequel to the popular vampire series.

Centuries ago, vampires freely enslaved a new breed of werewolves, Lycans, which are able to freely transform. Lucian (Michael Sheen) was the first of this new breed and was a pet to the king of the vampires, Viktor (Bill Nighy).

Lucian and Sonja (Rhona Mitra), a vampire and daughter of Viktor, inexplicably fall in love and soon, Viktor finds out about their Romeo and Juliet-like love and vows to kill them. Lucian escapes and gathers an army of slaves to fight the vampires and battles ensue.

The biggest problem with “Underworld’s” third installment is the story has already been told in the previous two movies, making the latest chapter boring and unnecessary. Prequels are great devices for when the audience doesn’t know much about the beginning, hence the reason why the upcoming “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is a highly anticipated film.

Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos, who is usually in the credits for special effects, “Rise Of The Lycans” was a good movie to get his directorial feet wet. For the rest of us, however, it was boring and unexciting.

There was a total lack of action throughout this “action” movie. When the action sequences did occur, it was hard to follow, especially because of the rapid close-ups. Some of the sequences were good, but for the most part, they failed.

Being a 90-minute movie, “Rise Of The Lycans” seemed to drag on and on. The story had too many plot holes and a vastly undeveloped love story. It was never made clear why or how Sonja and Lucian fell in love.

As for the acting, the only two stars worth mentioning is Nighy and Sheen. Nighy is a great fit as the pasty white, ruthless vampire. He was able to capture the deep scowl and relentless persona needed.

The idea of a prequel to “Underworld” should have been left in the dark and underground.