**This post contains MINOR spoilers**
The Story- Lucian (Michael Sheen), the first-ever Lycan, and the first werewolf born in human form, plans to lead a rebellion against the vampires and Viktor’s (Bill Nighy) coven. Lucian fiercely fights to free his fellow enslaved Lycans from Viktor’s clutches, and Viktor runs into an unexpected problem, when his daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra) gets involved.
Sonja and Lucian’s secret and strictly forbidden relationship unravels, when a suspicious Viktor questions Sonja’s loyalty. Viktor sets a trap, but a resilient Lucian refuses to quit. Supported by Raze (Kevin Grevioux), the Lycan slaves, and other werewolves carrying William’s strain of the infection, Lucian eventually joins the all-out assault on Viktor’s coven.
My Thoughts- Rise Of The Lycans is cleverly constructed for first-timers, and fans of the Underworld series. If you’re new to Underworld, you can still get into it, without knowing everything about the original Underworld or Evolution, because it’s vampires vs werewolves! The Lycan slaves, rising up to fight back against their vampire overlords and oppressors, and Viktor, the mad tyrant, is a story that writes itself.
For fans of the Underworld films? You’ll get to see more fleshed-out versions of Lucian and Viktor’s characters, how the bond between Lucian and Raze started, and you’ll also know Viktor was never misunderstood, because Viktor, the vampire ruler, was always a maniacal asshole and a devious manipulator. Andreas Tanis (Steven Mackintosh)? I guess you could say you’ll see a more dignified and noble version of him, before he was exiled by Selene under Viktor’s orders. But a lot of the familiar character traits for Tanis are still there. You’ll see how the seeds were planted for Tanis’ partnership with Lucian, why Tanis prioritizes “survival,” and Tanis’ is serious about protecting his “precious scrolls.”
They touched on the dangers of William’s infectious strain of werewolves, and his rampages. Werewolves with William’s strain of the infection are “mindless beasts,” who can’t revert back to their human forms, but it’s just enough to the point, where you know what’s going on, without feeling lost, or having the need to go back and watch Evolution. You can say the same thing about Lucian’s backstory and the explanation for being the first Lycan. It’s all here. Simple, informative, and just enough bits and pieces of information, easily tying everything together.
Sonja? She’s fierce, rebellious, and Sonja will defy Viktor, if her moral compass points her in that direction. Sonja clearly has no interest in Viktor’s vision for her future, because Sonja, in a variety of ways, constantly rejects the path Viktor puts in front of her. And Sonja falls in love with a Lycan! Sound familiar? It’s easy to see and pick up on the parallels between Selene and Sonja. You can also see why Selene reminded Viktor of Sonja, and why Viktor possibly believed he had a second chance at a good father/daughter relationship, because Selene and Sonja are basically carbon copies of each other.
A lot of mixed feelings for the love story between Sonja and Lucian. The forbidden love storyline is packed with cliches. Sonja is vampire royalty, and the daughter of a powerful and overbearing father. She falls for Lucian, the lowly blacksmith, and of course, Viktor vehemently rejects their relationship. He’s disgusted at the thought of his precious daughter poisoning the bloodline with a filthy Lycan slave. Oh, and of course, Sonja wants to run away from the coven, abandoning a life of royalty, because she’s chasing the happily ever after ending with Lucian.
But I’ll say this, Michael Sheen and Rhona Mitra share believable and good chemistry together. Sonja and Lucian are genuinely willing to take big risks to protect each other. Hell, they’re willing to die, if it comes to that. Lucian doesn’t have to be tough and scrappy around Sonja, he can be vulnerable. Sonja can just be her normal self, when she’s with Lucian, taking a break from being a hardened warrior, or living up to her father’s high standards, and the pressures that comes with the lifestyle of a future vampire elder.
Rise Of The Lycans works as a solid and entertaining prequel. The movie still looks and feels like an Underworld movie, and they did a really good job of capturing the medieval era, with the set pieces, the dialogue, the wardrobes for the vampires, the Lycans, and the humans.
As far as the acting goes, Michael Sheen’s fiery (“ARE YOU WITH ME!”) and emotional performance as Lucian is superb, and Sheen puts a lot of passion into Lucian’s rah-rah speeches. Bill Nighy doesn’t hold back as Viktor, a strong and dedicated performance, as the powerful vampire ruler. The scene, where the council votes on Sonja’s fate is a good one. Viktor has this conflicted wide-eyed expression on his face before he makes his decision. On one hand, you can sense a loving father, who still cares about his daughter, but Viktor’s ego and his pride wouldn’t allow him to do the right thing. Good scene.
Rhona Mitra holds her own well as Sonja, playing the privileged daughter, who’s torn between being loyal to her father and not wanting to abandon the love of her life. And hats off to Larry Rew for his performance. Kosta (Rew) is a sadistic bully, but Lucian makes sure he gets his comeuppance for the brutal and bloody whipping scene.
Rise Of The Lycans features some solid action sequences and one on one sword fights, including Sonja facing off against Viktor. Father vs daughter, in the rain, at night, AND Sonja reveals a big secret? Oh, the drama!
The home stretch delivers on all fronts. I absolutely loved the breakneck speed approach to the big final battle between the werewolves and vampires, because it’s supposed to be a chaotic and bloody mess. Also, Lucian chasing after Viktor for a final showdown delivers some nice thrills, complete with a brutal and gory final blow.
Rise Of The Lycans succeeds as an Underworld film, that shows the early stages of the war between the vampires and the Lycans. The feud between Viktor and Lucian really works as one of the pillars for the story, and you get a better understanding for why Lucian and Viktor hated each other so much.
Lots of nuggets for Underworld and Evolution throughout the movie, including different characters, the dialogue, visuals, and certain items (e.g. Sonja’s necklace). You can see why Lucian valued Sonja’s necklace, why it means so much to him, and why it’s not just a necklace, that simultaneously works as half of the key to William’s prison.
Also, there’s something that’s almost impossible to ignore about Viktor, and his relationships with Sonja, Selene, and Lucian. The lies, the manipulation tactics, using his own daughter as bait for a trap, and knowing how his relationship with Sonja ended? There’s a pattern for all of it, that leads to two conclusions: Viktor was a shitty father, and a terrible father figure for Selene and Lucian.
Rating-7/10
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