THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
-------------------------
Last seen battling creatures which thrived in "Pitch Black," Vin Diesel
returns to go up against bigger stakes in "The Chronicles of Riddick."
Writer/director David Twohy ("Below," "Pitch Black") should have quit
while
he was ahead. "Pitch Black" was derivative, but at least offered
interesting visuals and a cast of characters defined by a "Twilight Zone"
episode. This utterly superfluous sequel is plotted with pretentious
pseudo-religious conflict that makes "The Matrix" sequels look profound
and
exists in artificial worlds that call attention to the spaces which exist
outside of their matte frames. The most interesting aspect of "The
Chronicles of Riddick" is how Twohy attracted such a fine sup****ting cast.
Riddick arrives on the Muslim-like planet of Helion in time to be made the
unwitting hero who must defeat the Necromons, an undead race who only fear
Furions and aspire to enter the 'Underverse.' After Helion is destroyed in
an air raid reminiscent of the bombing of Baghdad as seen on CNN, Riddick
makes his way to a prison planet 'so hot you can't set foot on it' in
order
to find Jack, "Pitch Black's" stowaway, before returning to duke it out
with the Necromons' head honcho, Lord Marshal (Colm Feore, "Paycheck").
The best things about "The Chronicles of Riddick" are Thandie Newton's
("The Truth About Charlie") campy costumes, one action scene where Riddick
saves Jack from a 700 degree sunrise, and the 'lensers,' creepy
dive-masked
bloodhounds that sniff out the warmth in Necromons's living enemies. Nick
Chinlund ("Tears of the Sun") is entertaining as Riddick's mercenary
nemesis Toombs and Linus Roache ("Beyond Borders") meets an interesting
demise as the Necromons' Purifier. All else is hogwash, from the
"Stargate"-like mechanics of the Necromons' trappings to howl-inducing
dialogue like 'My place is at your side, dear husband, from here to
Underverse come.' Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench ("Die Another Day") is
Aereon, an envoy from the elemental race, whose ability to become
transparent perhaps reflects the actress's wish to disappear from the
screen.
In Twohy's defense, his film improves from a spectacularly awful first
half
hour to the better-paced cheesy action that follows. His conclusion,
however, ripped off from "The Man Who Would Be King," promises another
installment, with Diesel's love interest rumored to be a character
established here as even years younger than Jack's in the first flick.
D+
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X-RAMR-ID: 38009
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1289236
X-RT-TitleID: 1130966
X-RT-SourceID: 386
X-RT-AuthorID: 1487
X-RT-RatingText: D+
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