"Riddick" – Better Left Alone
by Homer Yen
(c) 2004
On the bright side, this is the kind of role that
Vin Diesel was born to play. In "The Chronicles
of Riddick," he's a rugged, menacing,
survivalist. Put this guy on Celebrity Survivor
or Celebrity Fear Factor, and he's sure to win
top prize. His attitude, which could be
described as a
don't-mess-with-me-or-you'll-feel-pain combined
with I'd-rather-be-left-alone, provides the kind
of anti-hero that epic adventures need to liven
things up. It's like the Achilles in "Troy" or
the Captain Jack Black in "Pirates of the
Caribbean." Vin Diesel's Riddick is an enigmatic
wild card.
Apparently, as the narrator explains, Riddick is
one of the last members of his race. They are
known to possess incredible resolve, fortitude,
and strength. In the opening sequence, four
bounty hunters are sent to collect him. He
smugly says in disbelief that sending only four
is an insult. And then he quickly dispatches
each of them.
Riddick works best in small areas and against a
small handful of foes. Because of this fact,
2000's "Pitch Black," the film that introduced
Riddick, was a more taut film. In fact, the best
part of "Chronicles" happens outside the
framework of the central plot. In this section,
Riddick becomes a prisoner within the jail
facilities of planet Crematoria. It is an
inescapable Hell where demon-like hounds are set
upon prisoners. Meanwhile, the outside
temperatures can warm to a comfortable 700
degrees F whenever the sun races across the
barren landscape. So, it's quite a suspenseful
segment when Riddick decides to make a brazen
jail break and must outrun the oncoming sunlight
and its infernal consequences. This fine
sequence is what helps this film to a marginal
recommendation.
When he's thrust into a war, however, between the
denizens of planet Helion Prime and a warring,
fascist race known as Necromongers, led my Lord
Marshal (Colm Feore), he is thrown out of his
element. As a loner, we find it terribly
improbable that Riddick can single-handedly turn
away the entire Necromonger armies.
The story introduces several elements as possibly
good setups, but nothing ever truly materializes.
There is a young daughter who seems destined to
be involved in the climax. But she kind of
disappears. Another oddity is Aereon (Judi
Dench), a being of the elemental plane, who is
introduced with the kind of detailed special
effects that suggest that she will do something
great to aid the cause. But, her purpose is
never explored and she winds up being nothing
more than an interesting special effect. There
is also a conspiracy brewing within the high
command. Yet, this added plot twist doesn't make
this film anything more than it already is.
"The Chronicles of Riddick," while somewhat fun
to watch, seems to lose its direction the further
it goes along. Even the filmmakers seem to
tinker with the essence of Riddick. He is meant
to be an outcast. He is not supposed to be
admirable although his fearlessness is
impressive; he is not supposed to be a leader,
although people will follow his commands; and he
is not supposed to be noble as his actions are
dictated by his selfish needs. Thus, the end
clearly goes against the Riddick dogma, and you
feel that he has been converted in a way that he
so struggled to avoid throughout the film. The
film has its good moments, but ultimately feels
a bit blurred as much of the potential is never
quite realized.
Grade: B-
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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X-RAMR-ID: 38044
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1290050
X-RT-TitleID: 1130966
X-RT-AuthorID: 1370
X-RT-RatingText: B-
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