Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Continuing my watch through the Underworld films, and coinciding with the seasonal time of year, the the third in the series Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was next on the list. High-art these certainly ain't, nor are they particularly scary in anyway but I had decided to put myself through another one of these films to see what entertainment they could provide. The first held-up pretty well but the sequel was a steep drop-off in quality yet that didn't deter the third film from releasing three years later in 2009. 

With the first two films having hinted and gradually expanded on the lore of this universe, the third film is a prequel that goes into the history of the Vampire–Lycan war. Lucian, played by Martin Sheen, is held in captivity to the ruling vampire class but he falls in love with the daughter of his vicious master, played by Rhona Mitra and Bill Nighy. Full marks if you can recall the first film as you will know where this is heading...

Despite the disappointing sequel, I quite liked the idea that this series was able to have a third film and delve deeper into its characters and backstory. If this were made today, it would be a straight-to-streaming piece of content but back in 2009, this went out to cinemas even if it wasn't the hit the filmmakers had hoped. Missing Kate Beckinsale and director Len Wiseman probably didn't help matters and sadly this just fails to deliver on the spectacle of the original. 

The action is passable in places and the use of practical effects with the werewolves is commendable but it fails to really generate any excitement. Sheen and Nighy still do their best with the script but it all falls flat and there is not much to recommend here unless you really enjoyed the previous films. From here the franchise would bring Beckinsale back for two more lacklustre films, and she has suggested that she would be open for doing more, but it seems this franchise has probably run its course.