At the Movies with Fatwayne

This prequel is the third offering in the popular Underworld series. In this tale we see what caused the war between the races of Vampire and Werewolf (Lycan).

The story takes place in the Dark Ages where we find that the Vampires are well established with their leader, Viktor (Bill Nighy), who is already over 1,000 years old, in charge of his coven of aristocratic blood suckers. In order to protect his clan during daylight when they are vulnerable, Viktor has established an army of Lycans as protectors. There is no love lost between the Lycans who are little more than ill treated slaves and their cold-hearted masters.

Somehow a “humanesque” Lycan offspring is born and Viktor decides to let this freak of nature live despite his hatred for Lycans. This child is named Lucian (Michael Sheen) who thrives while growing up in slavery and working as his master’s blacksmith. As Lucian matures he starts to feel the weight of his race’s survival bearing down on his conscience.

Alright, so far, so good. Now you know that there has to be a woman involved in our story sooner or later. The lass in question is Viktor’s daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra).  Sonja is smart, beautiful and brave and develops a romantic interest in Lucien. This is, of course, forbidden fruit because of her father’s hatred of all things Lycan.

As the movie progresses, Lucien decides to effect his freedom. This puts his relationship with Sonja at risk. Sonja helps Lucien to make good his escape but remains behind and is soon discovered to be duplicitous in this little caper.

Meanwhile, Lucien is in the process of raising an army of werewolves. The trouble is he just can’t get Sonja and the peril she is in out of his mind.  So, off he goes to rescue her only to be captured by the sly Viktor.

In my usual effort not to be a spoiler, we will leave the plot at this point. You know that a big finale is on the horizon with the Vamps and Lycans doing battle for their survival. And, if you saw the other two movies in this trilogy, you probably know what comes of our lovebird’s relationship.

This is a film with a well told story.  Almost all of the scenes are shot in the dark of night because the Vampires can not survive in sunlight. That was a little unnerving but the shots of the castle with all of the torches ablaze lent a period effect to the movie. I would like to also mention the effects which were, in some scenes, obviously computer animations. This is especially true when we witness hundreds of Lycans running through the forest or attacking the castle. Despite this, the transformation scenes from man to werewolf were convincing and realistic.

Lastly, this time out, the story is told with a slant toward the Lycan’s point of view. So here we attempt of balance things as set up in the previous two movies. I am sure that there will be more to come in the future considering that our adversaries are, after all, immortal (that is unless you sever their heads from their bodies)! This dark and brooding movie delivers on the action front and should not dissapoint you.  Enjoy!

Rated  – R  -

Fatwayne’s rating  –  -