4/5 Russ' Lycan Review
  by Russell M. Sloan (Columbus, OH)
A good buy, not a great buy. Good story, but you really miss Seline (Kate Beckinsale):( Kate is why most of us started watching the Underworld series, but she leaves us for this one so we can get some history. BOOOOHHHH! A descent movie, will give a B+. Comparible to the 1st, not quite as good, definitely not as good as 2nd (Evolution).

5/5 Watch this one first, then watch the other Underworld movies
  by Amber K (Seattle, WA)
If you've already watched the other Underworld movies, watching this one will make you want to go back and rewatch the other two. This is a touching history that brings heart into the others. Having the back story really helps tie everything together, and creates a fullness to the entire storyline. I felt like Rise of the Lycans is the one file that created my current enthusiams for the complete series.

4/5 great dvd
  by Jimmie L. Lazenby
the movie came within the time i was expecting it and it was in great shape and it played great thank you

4/5 A SOLID ACTION EPIC 8.25 OUT OF 10
  by ACEMAN1 (Ripon, California)
This was my least favorite of the Underworld trilogy, but I still really enjoyed this prequel. When I first saw previews of this film, the only thought that came into my head was "Oh God..." I was dreading it, even though I loved the other two films. To my pleasant surprise, it was actually pretty good. Though this is the least of the trilogy, it's still infinitely superior to the God-awful Twilight film in every way, and is a vampire film you should be seeing instead of the insult to all vampire films like Twilight.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: The story takes place in the Dark Ages, when the conflict between aristocratic vampires and the Lycans (werewolves) began. When the baby of a werewolf named Lucian (The Lycan villain of the first film) is born, he is taken as Viktor's (The leader of the vampires) slave and is almost raised like his son. He is the only person who can be both human and Lycan, but when he falls in love with Viktor's daughter; Sonja, their forbidden love tears their lives apart, and the conflict between the Lycans and the vampires begins to arise. This film has the least interesting plot, because it's so loose.
MUSIC: Once again, this film, like its predecessors has great music. The music always sets the mood and moves along with the pace of this film.
ACTION: What this film lacks in plot, it makes up for in action scenes. This film is a bloody action epic with sword-fighting aplenty in here. This does not disappoint in terms of action and remains exciting throughout like the previous films.
ACTING: These actors are good, but unfortunately there are some moments of bad dialogue and acting. I couldn't really immerse myself in Lucian and Sonja's relationship because it didn't really seem fully developed. Then there are characters who just seem out of place in this film. For the most part, the main actors are good, but there are other actors who drag this area down.
OVERALL: While it lacks in plot and there are some moments of bad acting, this is a solid and thoroughly entertaining action film that still outclasses Twilight in every way. This film serves as perfect popcorn entertainment for any action fan and should have no problem in keeping the viewer entertained. This was, for the most part, a solid way to end this trilogy.
THE GOOD: Bloody action mayhem, most of the actors are good, and good music.
THE BAD: Loose plot and moments of bad acting and dialogue.

3/5 Another example of the questionable value of blu ray
  by sebastian crane
Ok, the movie is fine. Is it a good movie? No, but it's a guilty pleasure, like the first two (although the first ones were more pleasurable). The thing that really bothers me is way the film grain defeats the purpose of having the blu ray copy. I understand film grain is used as a technique often, but on this transfer, it looks at times as if I'm watching a movie from an analog signal and getting bad reception. The regular dvd would be better to have in this case because the severe contrast between the gritty/grainy shots and the clear shots wouldn't be so jarring. It's really quite distracting. The same thing goes for other blu rays I've bought, especially Taken and season 7 of 24. With regular dvd's the use of grainy shots (for artistic purposes) and their alternation with clear shots seems much more natural and does not disrupt the viewing experience as much.