Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

I didn't have particularly high hopes going into the third film on the back of the spectacularly terrible second. Maybe that helped lower my expectations as I actually quite enjoyed this one!

The challenge with a film like Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans, where the audience already know how it will end (with Viktor killing Sonja, Lucian escaping from his grasp and the war between the vampires and the werewolves starting), is to ensure that it's still interesting enough. It helps that the credits start to roll in the eighty-third minute but that's not the only positive: the incomprehensible and convoluted plot of the second film has been ditched in favour of a much simpler narrative.

When Lucian (Michael Sheen), the first werewolf able to control his powers and re-assume human form at will, is born, vampire elder Viktor (Bill Nighy) ignores his instincts to kill the "abomination" and spares his life. Instead, Lucian is used as the template for a new breed of werewolves - lycans. No longer cursed to live as rabid beasts for all eternity, they are used as slaves by the vampires. Provided with a source of cheap labour during the night and watchdogs during the day, the vampires are able to concentrate on fighting the werewolves. Viktor's daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), is restless and unwilling to sit in court as her father urges. She prefers to spend her time hunting werewolves with the Death Dealers. When she falls in love with Lucian, it's only a matter of time before things unravel and a vengeful Viktor kills his daughter, starting the war that will rumble on for centuries to come.

With Kate Beckinsale's role reduced to that of narrator, the role of female lead falls on the shoulders of fellow British actress Rhona Mitra. A capable actress, she does a perfectly satisfactory job and she and Michael Sheen go together nicely. Speaking of Sheen, he does a very good job and his role as Lucian is probably the best and most memorable of the entire film. Now six years older than when he first played the role, he is much more convincing as the werewolf leader. Bill Nighy is slightly less hammy than he was in the previous films and Steven Mackintosh and Kevin Grevioux return as vampire historian Andreas Tanis and werewolf Raze, respectively. Also, look out for Spartacus and Lord of the Rings actor Craig Parker in a small role.

With the awful acting and silly plots of the preceding two films done away with, Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans is actually the best of the bunch. It's nothing exceptional but by god, at least it's competently made! Director Patrick Tatopoulos belies his history in special effects by not being overly reliant on them and instead delivering a solid piece of work. Another bonus is the removal of guns from the film. Crossbows replace them to a certain extent but most of the fighting is hand-to-hand combat and the film is much better for it.

It won't win any awards and it can't escape the feeling of familiarity that comes with expanding on an already well-defined story but the simplified plot, uniformly competent acting and bloody battle scenes combine to make the third film the pick of the bunch.

6 out of 10.