Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

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STOP! If you have NOT watched the film, stop reading NOW. This post contains SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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I went to see this movie armed with only my affection for the first two installments and the hope that despite the seemingly absent promotion or buzz, it would live up to the glory of its predecessors.

Normally, I would have known much about a movie before I finally watch it but this one seemed off the news radar and mine as well. It's bizarre because the second film had the media noise of a highly-anticipated film. This one is a prequel and yet, I did not even know that it's playing in theaters already! I wondered whether this was because it wasn't as good as the first two, and even its makers knew it, thus, they no longer bothered to promote. Hmmm.

But I was over-thinking things. Whatever the reason for its low-key existence, Rise of the Lycans was a good film. It told the struggles of Lucian and Sonja, the love story that basically brought the rise of the Lycans...and Celine...and the entire Underworld franchise. Because it was set at a different time and intended to show how the war came about, it was filled with fighting much more than the first two. I thought it wouldn't be as good because Kate Beckinsale wouldn't be in it but Rhona Mitra, the actress playing Sonja and who bears an easily noticeable resemblance with Kate, did well. The resemblance and the stubbornness of both women's characters supported the claim in the first film that Viktor converted Celine because she reminded him of his daughter. Michael Sheen was the critically-acclaimed actor that he was, as always.

Perhaps, it could also be that I (and Popo and Val, my two movie-mates) liked the film much because we really did not have that much expectations. One thing's sure though: after the watch, we were so excited for Underworld IV. We even had speculated about the story (we were kinda sure there would be a fourth). Mine is, the next one will center around the time Celine was made into a vamp and the supposed death of Lucian. The next title? Underworld: The Rise of Celine. =) Hehe. Corny. Regardless of the title though, I'd still be watching. ;)


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Photo credit: Yahoo!