The Chronicles of Riddick
A review by Matt Noller
Rating: ***1/2
Sometimes, when reading about the response a film is getting, I just have
to
shake my head and wonder what the hell the writer was thinking. Such was
the
case with the occasional exaltant review of The Matrix Reloaded (deep and
visionary my ass), or the critical drumming recieved by its sequel,
Revolutions (entertaining, and smarter than Reloaded, too, no matter what
everyone else says). Now, witnessing the hugely negative response that The
Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel to 2000's Pitch Black, is receiving, I
realize that sometimes the critical community just plain gets it wrong.
Well, no, that's not true - it's their job to state opinions, and accusing
anyone of failing to "get" a movie because they didn't like it is the
height
of arrogance (Reloaded fanboys, I'm looking your way) - but I seriously
don't understand the criticism being leveled at The Chronicles of Riddick.
This is an epic science fiction film, an ambitious piece of universe
building. Writer and director David Twohy has not made a self-contained
work; The Chronicles of Riddick is the beginning of a saga, and he has
created a world that deserves to be explored. Like Star Wars, Riddick has
a
mythology that should flourish outside of the films. At a time when
mindless
action and high concepts are what is accepted as science fiction, this is
a
breath of fresh air.
One popular criticism - that the film is rife with holes - comes from this
ambition. But what separates the "holes" in Riddick and the holes in, say,
Signs, is that here they don't feel like mistakes or oversights, but
rather
conscious omissions, shreds of the big picture that will be revealed in
later installments. In Riddick's defense, I find myself drawing another
comparison with Star Wars (and don't get the idea that the two films are
equals in quality - Star Wars is quite superior); when the first
installment
of George Lucas's saga was released, no one complained that the various
alien races and worlds were undeveloped, that the real purpose of the
Empire
was unclear, and that there were threads of the story that were left
unexplored - now that film is a bona fide classic. The Chronicles of
Riddick
tries the same thing, and the critics pounce.
Another claim being leveled at the film is that of incoherence. Frankly,
that's not even close to accurate. Either those critics are mistaking the
aforementioned "holes" for incoherence or they just weren't paying
attention, but The Chronicles of Riddick's plot isn't at all hard to
follow.
It picks up five years after the end of Pitch Black, with Riddick (Vin
Diesel, proving how effective he can be in the right role) once again on
the
run from bounty hunters. He ends up meeting with his old friend, Inam
(Keith
David), who, along with Air Elemental Aereon (Judy Dench), warns Riddick
of
the incoming Necromonger invasion. Led by the half-dead Lord Marshall
(Colm
Freore), the Necromongers are on a crusade to convert or kill everyone in
the universe. Riddick is sent to a penal colony on the planet Crematoria,
where he meets up with Jack, the girl he saved in Pitch Black, only now
she
calls herself Kyra, and is played by Alexa Davalos. The two must escape
from
prison and fight back against the Necromongers.
The action sequences of The Chronicles of Riddick are a testament to
Twohy's
attempt to stray away from the ordinary. Adeptly directed, the fight
scenes
and chases never feel superfluous or out-of-place, and visual effects are
used to enhance the action, rather than the other way around. Consider the
centerpiece action sequence, a fight between Riddick and a group of
Necromonger guards; Twohy, instead of going for flat-out excitement,
creates
real art by shooting mainly from above and cutting the music. It's
ingenious
and beautiful.
Surprisingly, the one place that The Chronicles of Riddick falls short in
is
the special effects. They are somewhat unpolished, and some of the most
elaborate shots look artificial. Still, the look of the film is
spectacular.
Using a number of different filters, cinematographer Hugh Johnson creates
distinct moods for the different planets and settings of the film. The art
direction is equally impressive, except for Colm Freore's helmet, which is
ridiculously stupid looking.
If you're a fan of science fiction, you owe it to yourself to check out
The
Chronicles of Riddick. It is a wildly ambitious piece of work, one that I
hope will gain appreciation as time goes on. If allowed to continue, the
Riddick saga could grow into one of the great science fiction series. If
the
critics' unbelievable negative reviews stop any further sequels, then
shame
on them. We'd be missing out.
==========
X-RAMR-ID: 38079
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1291205
X-RT-TitleID: 1130966
X-RT-AuthorID: 9896
X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4
|
