Chronicles of Riddick
A film review by Joel B. Kirk
SUMMARY:
Riddick is enlisted to save the universe from evil Necromongers, who
destroy planets if the inhabitants do not convert to their way of
thinking.
MY TAKE:
This is a sequel to the cult film 'Pitch Black,' a film which somewhat
propelled Vin Diesel(BOILER ROOM, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) into
stardom.
With the deep baritone, and cool exterior, Diesel's Richard B. Riddick
is always one step ahead of those who don't think twice with who they
are dealing with.
Riddick would remind one of Snake Plissken from the films of John
Carpenter: 'Escape from New York' and 'Escape from L.A.' The anti-hero
who doesn't take B.S., and won't admit a soft-side for those in need.
Not too mention, like the Plissken character, Riddick seems to always
have unwanted attention from renegades out to get him. In Riddick's
case, its bounty hunters looking to collect pay for his deliverance to
the nearest penal colony.
Karl Urban (LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE
RETURN OF THE KING) is Vaako, a puppet by his wife Dame Vaako
portrayed by Thandie Newton, dressed in tight, form-fitting gowns.
Judi Dench ('M' of the Pierce Brosnan James Bond films, MRS. BROWN,
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, IRIS) is Aereon, the 'Elemental' who believes
Riddick is the chosen one to stop the evil Necromongers from
converting innocents.
Colm Feore is Lord Marshal, an imposing man, leader of the
Necromongers, able to steal souls from victims.
Keith David returns as Imam, the Muslim gentleman, who was the 'voice
of reason,' from the first film.
David Twohy (THE ARRIVAL, PITCH BLACK) seems to take B-movie ideas,
and make them an 'A' look. This film knows what it is: an action
sci-fi flick. It doesn't insult the audience, nor does it give the
audience too much cerebral material. It's a film that gives us a
believable, fun story, with an imposing character—Riddick—to root for.
POSTIVE/NEGATIVE NITPICKS:
Graeme Revell's Riddick theme, carried over from 'Pitch Black' makes
an appearance.
Also, Vin Diesel shares producer credit, partly responsible for
getting Judi Dench on the cast roster, and a good move it was.
In the film, the Necromongers use eerie humanoid trackers (possibly
genetically engineered), adding a certain alien menace to the
villains. No name is given to them, but it seems when the Necromongers
rapage a world, these 'trackers' are used to snuff out those who may
be in hiding. They do this by noticing the heat body temperatures.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Bring on the Riddick sequel. An anime (following the Wachowski
brothers and their 'Matrix' anime spinoff: 'AniMatrix') has been
produced called CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK FURY, showing what
happened in between PITCH BLACK and CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK.
MY RATING:
***1/2 out of *****
DIRECTOR:
David Twohy
WRITER(S):
David Twohy (writer)
Jim Wheat (characters)
Ken Wheat (characters)
CAST:
Vin Diesel-Riddick
Colm Feore-Lord Marshal
Judi Dench-Aereon
Karl Urban-Vaako
Alexa Davalos-Kyra
Linus Roache-Purifier
Keith David-Imam
Nick Chinlund-Toombs
GENRE:
Sci-fi/Action
RUNNING TIME:
119 minutes
YEAR OF RELEASE:
2004 by Universal Pictures
EMAIL:
joelkirk@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
38080
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1291206
X-RT-TitleID: 1130966
X-RT-AuthorID: 9404
X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/5
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