Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

What it's about:

The Lycans, a race of werewolves, revolt against their vampire masters after their leader, Lucian (Michael Sheen), is sentenced to die by the vampire king Viktor (Bill Nighy). But Lucian has left something behind: his lover, the vampire princess Sonja (Rhona Mitra). He attempts a daunting rescue that will ultimately pitch the Lycans and the vampires into eternal war.

What we thought of it:

Rise of the Lycans, a prequel to the original Underworld and its sequel, is meant to enrich the history of everyone’s second favourite modern vampire saga (after Blade). There is an evident wealth of fan service in Lycans, but where it struggles is as a stand-alone film.

While attempting a massive spectacle of fantasy, Lycans just doesn’t seem to have the budget or know-how to follow through on its promise. The many fights and battles for instance, are a showcase of incredibly frenetic editing. Seventy inter-linked flashes of fur and steel is not what I call an action movie. The results are less than entertaining, and, who knows, perhaps epileptic fit-inducing.

But Lycans doesn’t only aim for action lovers. No, Twilight has proven the public’s appetite for supernatural romance and no doubt that’s why the stunning Rhona Mitra has been cast as Sonja. One slight problem: the sultry Mitra’s bee-stung lips don’t lend themselves to faux fangs, which make her look as if she's making a silly face. If she could cross her eyes just a bit, she’d have the Face Pulling World Cup in the bag.

Seriously, fantasy has perhaps suffered, rather than gained from the popularity of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now every Tom, Dick and Harry in Hollywood is trying to make money by appealing to the adventure-loving public’s worst kinks. Lasting Tinseltown legacy this ain’t. It’s just another Eragon.