Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Screen Gems | Release Date: January 23, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
7
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
First-time helmer Patrick Tatopoulos (who designed creatures for all three pics) offers a satisfyingly exciting monster rally that often plays like a period swashbuckler. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Thanks to sturdy performances by holdovers Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy as well as tidy, unfussy direction by first-timer Patrick Tatopoulos, the creature designer who is taking the reins from originator Len Wiseman, the third installment in the successful franchise should be to the fan base's lycan. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The highlight of this fantasy/horror hybrid is watching a pair of the best British character actors --- Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen -- shed their thespian respectability and unleash their inner beasts. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Although the presence of Mr. Sheen is initially distracting, it soon becomes the movie's greatest asset. There is, as it turns out, some benefit to having a real performance even in a formulaic entertainment like this. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyClark Collis
Sheen and Nighy do their best with the material, but this is easily the worst Underworld so far. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
The enterprise is sluggish when it's not grinding toward the preposterous. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The first film was significantly better and, therefore, is the place to start for anyone with a modicum of interest. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is an also-ran that is likely to be appreciated only by completists. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGlenn Whipp
Grimly competent. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineJeremy Wheeler
While it may not be "Citizen Canine," Rise of the Lycans tells its tale competently and without the derivative nature of its predecessors. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyJim Ridley
Mincing around like a bored old glam rocker and hissing threats from behind electric neon eyes, Nighy seems to be the only person on set who found a glint of amusement in his part. He fares better than poor Sheen, a scraggly Wolverine who made a more credible vampire-slayer opposite Frank Langella’s Nixon. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Clumsy, ephemeral, and wholly unnecessary. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's a testament to Bill Nighy's cadaverous panache that this third entry in the ongoing exsanguinators vs. lycanthropes franchise (that's vampires and werewolves to anyone not weaned on Famous Monsters) is as tolerable as it is. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderCliff Doerksen
The movie is humorless and monotonous, but watching the talented Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) give his all to such throwaway material is weirdly diverting. Read full review
20
EmpireKim Newman
A needless threequel. Note to director: avoid 'rise of the' titles. Read full review
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