Why I Watched It: Cause I'm a whore for vampire stories and it was Mako's last movie.What I Thought: Not great, but not bad. Definitely watchable.
Lucy Liu did a decent job playing a recently deceased reporter, Sadie Blake, who wakes up (un)dead in the morgue and swears vengeance against her killers. She continues to impress me in everything she does that isn't Charlie's Angels, but her role in Rise didn't come close to her performance in Kill Bill or Lucky Number Slevin.
The action wasn't particularly good, but I felt that the movie was more about Sadie's struggle with her own vampirism and quest for revenge then it was about ass-kicking action. I would argue that the Blade movies have it reversed.
I think the reason Rise was enjoyable is because it contained all the stuff I want in a vampire movie and very little of the stuff I don't. It had enough action, blood, and sex to satisfy my . . . cravings, but left out most of the cry baby (I'm undead, can never see the sun again, boo hoo...) and homoerotic themes common in many vampire stories. Sorry Ann Rice, I don't consider myself a homophobe, but I think Brad Pitt looks a lot better with Angelina Jolie than he does with Tom Cruise.
I think Rise's main fault was the fact that it did use so many of the common vampire themes. Pissed at the creatures that turned you and wish to hunt them down? Check. Struggling with your new cravings and desire for blood? Check. Taken in by a mentor that is teaching you how to use your new powers? Check. And the list goes on... Rise felt like so many other movies I had already seen that it made me wonder why they bothered to make it at all. Many people say that Hollywood has run out of original ideas, Rise definitely strengthens their argument.
Highlights: Opening scene with a hot Cameron Richardson, the always incredibly sexy Carla Gugino, unexpected appearance by Michael Chiklis, and Mako's last movie. :'(
Who Should See It: Vampire movie junkies.
How Soon: Wait for DVD. You probably wouldn't feel ripped off at the theater, but there's really no rush.
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