Saturday, September 07, 2013
Michael Allen
Writers: David Twohy, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, Oliver Butcher, and Stephen Cornwell.
Cast: Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff and Dave Bautista.
It has been nine years since actor Vin Diesel has played the character Riddick. The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) was a bolder and bigger story compared to the first film, Pitch Black (2000). Here, in director David Twohy's second sequel, Riddick is a smaller story, in which Riddick returns to his sci-fi and semi-horror roots. The character of Riddick develops very little, but Riddick is still an entertaining sci-fi story, set in a hostile and alien environment.
As backstory, the first film, Pitch Black, did not perform spectacularly well in theatres. However, Pitch Black found a home entertainment market, which led to a larger sequel. The Chronicles of Riddick, despite what most critics tell you, was an exceptional film. The scope of story, settings and characters were much more complex than the first film. And, The Chronicles of Riddick is still one of this film critic's favourite films. The scope of this third film is much simpler, than the first sequel and the budget for this latest feature has been parsed back from a $100 million to $40 million. Thus, this trilogy has come full circle, in more ways than one.
In this third film, Riddick is again stranded on a desolate planet. Here, Riddick is no longer saving crash survivors as he did in Pitch Black and instead, he is trying to find a way off of his planetary prison. Betrayed by the necromongers and Vaako (Karl Urban), Riddick is tasked with surviving predatory creatures and two bands of mercenaries, each of whom want to capture him. Can Riddick outmaneuver his latest foes? Fans of the series will know this is a rhetorical question.
The action and sci-fi elements, from previous films, are here again. The unnamed planet on which Riddick is stranded hosts an assortment of oddities. A pack of hyena-like hounds pursue Riddick early in the film. Later, he is forced to fight a tentacled alien before finding greener pastures. Riddick even captures an animal to serve as a companion. All of these science fiction elements create for a unique visual experience. The action elements are still here, as well. Riddick is no stranger to violence. And, he makes quick work of several mercenaries, who are hell bent on securing a bounty. The tension between opposing bands of mercenaries is also well done and these scenes create a good deal of conflict. Though, horror fans might be disappointed by this outing. The darkness of the original has softened a little.
And, what of Riddick? Many consider this character an anti-hero. However, this is not so, in this film at least. Riddick is often bold and he chooses to help the mercenaries, despite their willingness to kill him. His moral code is a violent one, but only against those who oppose him. This film fan was hoping this character would develop more, like he did in the second film. Riddick's backstory is not developed in any considerable way, here. His motivations include returning home, to Furya and that is all. A love story is hinted at, but this characer rarely leaves his action hero shell and fans of the series might have been hoping for more depth from this character.
Riddick is still an entertaining film, despite the lightness of the material. There are few slow moments in the film, thanks to Twohy's ability to keep the story moving forward. The story here seems to be somewhat similar to the first film, Pitch Black, with Riddick saving several people from shadowy hordes. But, it is still interesting to watch this character stalk and kill his prey. Riddick is a satisfying entry in the franchise. It would just have been more appealing to see the mythos of Riddick develop a little more as it did in the 2004 film, The Chronicles of Riddick.
Overall: 6.5 out of 10 (a smaller film, some predictable spots, characters are partially developed, the backdrops in the scenery are well done, a little too much CGI).
The film's fan page is here:
Riddick on Facebook
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