I am very disappointed.

Rating: 3/10 (5 February 2012)

There was a time when I like the Underworld series. The first one had a good plot, solid acting, and added something to the mythos, even as it borrowed from the White Wolf universe. The second one was... tolerable at best. It was worth watching, at least, which is more than I can say for Rise of the Lycans. That was a total waste of time.
Despite the general downhill trend, I decided to check this one out in the theater. Boy, was that a waste! If the writers couldn't come up with a better villain than a steroid abusing werewolf, they need to go back to the drawing board. There are so many things they could have done with this scenario. We could have seen the Abominations come to the forefront, for one, as their strengths would have made them very difficult for the humans to kill.
Instead we see the Lycans taking the place of the Vampires (which I thought was alright, except for the whole Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Werewolf bit), the Vampires have all turned into a bunch of little sniveling wimps, and we are once AGAIN left wondering just what the hell is the Abomination even doing in the movie!! Yeah, I said it! The Hybrid is supposed to be some kind of immensely powerful beast capable of taking down even an elder vampire. This is something referenced multiple times throughout the series, and yet every time a hybrid gets into a fight, they get their head stomped in! In the first movie, Michael got smacked down by the elder, who is later killed by (da da DAH!) Selene. In the second movie, Michael once again gets punked, but at least he made one kill before the day is once again saved by (dah dah DAH!) Selene! Now in this, the fourth in the series, presumably focused on the hybrids, Michael gets punked even worse right at the start! They could have had him at least take out a few of the guys coming after him before he got knocked on his backside and put on ice! Sure, the little girl does alright. No better than Michael ever did, but at least she got a kill in her first screen outing. It seems to me that the only tough characters in these films are the females.
My point is this: if the hybrids are supposed to be the "future," and the Lycans and Vampires are both scared to death of them, WHY don't we see more of their abilities?! Why are we left disappointed time and time again? Why do the writers insist on making the hybrids do little more than turn blue and roar a few times before getting the crap beat out of them? If you writers have nothing better to do with the hybrids, TAKE THEM OUT OF THE SERIES. They are, to this point, little more than a near worthless sidekick, and they add almost nothing to the story outside of being the target for aggression from both sides.
I gave the film 3 starts because it at least had good special effects. Beyond that, it's a flop. Predictable plot, mediocre fight scenes, and a villain that made me think Bruce Banner had been bitten by a werewolf. If this is the direction the series is headed, I am done with it.