UNDERWORLD : RISE OF THE LYCANS (2009) **1/2 Michael Sheen, Rhona Mitra, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh, David Grevious, David Ashton. Fair to middling prequel to the vastly popular monster-mash franchise with Sheen as a lycan Spartacus if you will, whose people are enslaved by Nighy's vampire empire is further complicated when he falls in love with the king's princess daughter (sultry Mitra who makes a formidable presence in her feistiness), causing a war between creatures of the night. Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos who worked as the previous film's special effects chief - does yeoman work with some decent visuals and transformation sequences with the furry beasties yet ultimately it wears out its grisly welcome by the climactic battle royale.
Review of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
