"Riddick" - directed by David Twohy
For anyone wondering- the gap between the last instalment in this series and this latest one is nine years.
That is more than twice the divide between "Pitch Black" - the first movie and "The Chronicles of Riddick" - the second.
And here, I suspect is the reason why.
In 2000 "Pitch Black" cost $23,000,000 and returned $29,475,235 in worldwide box office receipts.
In 2004 "The Chronicles Of Riddick" cost $105,000,000 and made back $115,722,012.
Neither of these results are at all good.
They won't have lost money once dvd sales and other post release factors like pay per view, merchandising and tv rights are factored in but Vin Diesel's signature character has been far from earth shattering in terms of financial success.
Studios don't tend to fall all over themselves to throw money at a franchise that has not returned big dollars.
Perhaps Diesel was able to leverage some of the success of his Fast and Furious movies to get this one made.
If so- good for him.
He clearly loves the character and I imagine wants to give the fans more.
For my money the last two movies have been fun, perfectly good pieces of fantasy entertainment.
They've shown a skill for casting with not only at the time unknowns (Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Claudia Black), but with up and comers (Karl Urban, Thandie Newton) and seasoned pros (Judi Dench, Keith David, Colm Feore).
With "Riddick" the budget drops a smidge to $38,000,000 so this is a pretty safe bet one would think.
(It opened at a respectable $19,000,000 for the weekend in the US alone)
2004's "The Chronicle's Of Riddick" left the titular character in an interesting place.
Unintentionally he became the Lord Marshal - head of the destructive Necromongers.
The loner was now in charge of a vast army.
One gets the feeling that this was intended to be the start of an epic fantasy tale.
The poor box office performance put paid to any such thoughts.
It was an interesting film filled with fascinating ideas, excellent production design and some very effective action sequences but it tended to drag in places and lacked a killer climax.
It also backed the series into a corner that a reduced budget follow up film like "Riddick" struggles to work itself out of.
In this third film after a brief flashback showing Riddick as leader of the Necromongers finding himself decidedly dissatisfied with the role he is quickly betrayed and left for dead.
Sitting on a throne looking sullen as a bed full of naked women beckon him he looks like he is auditioning for the "God Of War" video game adaptation.
(in fact genre homage is rife here with nods to "Apocalypse Now", "Aliens" and "A Boy And His Dog")
But he is duped and left bloodied and badly wounded on a planet unknown to him.
It is the clumsiest transition between films that I have seen since parts two and three of "The Pirates of the Caribbean" films.
At least it affords Karl Urban the chance to cameo as Vaako.
I am geographically biased here but the local boy is great in the brief time that we see him.
It is testament to how far he has come in the nine years between films.
Casting otherwise is far less interesting than the preceding films with only a very appealing Katee Sackhoff standing out.
I have never paid too much notice of her prior to this but she is pretty damned good here.
She has a very brief topless scene that seems to serve only as the setup for a mildly amusing Riddick line later but generally I have never seen her looking so lovely.
Performances otherwise range from solid (Matt Nable) to almost unintelligible (Jordi Molla) and there are few that really shine.
Uninspired dialogue and an embarrassing number of attempted zinger lines that fail don't help.
What "Riddick" does do well is utilise a modest budget to maximum effect.
This film looks a lot more expensive than $38,000,000.
There are a couple of ropey CGI effect scenes (the first hover-cycle sequence looks out and out terrible) but on the whole the movie looks damned amazing with some nice creature work and effective alien landscapes.
The decision to go R rated is also a welcome one that returns some grit and intensity after the watered down second film.
There has been much talk of a nude scene and there is indeed a moment where three or four fully nude woman are seen for several seconds.
It is baffling that this is even remotely controversial in a film featuring some pretty gruesome gore and a sizable profanity count.
Apparently gun violence, profanity and gore are less offensive than breasts in some regions.
Wherever these places are I am just thankful that I don't live there (yet).
Of course violence is part and parcel of the world of Riddick but it is so comic-booky that even those normally offended by such things in movies couldn't possibly be too upset.
The action quota is about right with decent helpings of shootouts, fist fights, knifings and other brutal delights scattered about nicely.
Diesel knows what the fans want and delivers well here.
I like that he has stuck with series creator David Twohy right the way through.
Presumably he could have gone with a bigger name director but it feels right that the man who largely invented the character and the universe be left in charge of its fate.
Twohy is a decent writer and a solid director and I rate his performance here as the strongest yet.
I would argue that the main problem with this series is the main character himself.
Riddick's face should be pictured in the dictionary next to the term 'One Dimensional'.
He just doesn't have anything going on apart from brute strength.
"The Dark Knight Rises" villain Bane was intimidating because his physical strength was matched with a formidable intellect.
Riddick is merely a mass of muscle and survival instinct and as a character doesn't have enough depth to sustain a trilogy.
He is smart in his own way and Diesel plays him very well but there really isn't much to the character.
Over three movies he has not grown one iota.
Nothing that happens to him changes Riddick even slightly.
His motivations are never clear above wanting to get back to his home planet and his loyalties tend to shift only when there is an attractive woman or small child around.
As with the two films before it "Riddick" is full of imagination, terrific production design and some really effective sequences.
It just lacks that little bit of extra spark that makes a fun movie a great movie.
Chief culprit is a noticeable lack of plot which is fine if there are interesting characters in compelling predicaments but those too are largely missing.
Still, the opening half hour that finds Riddick badly wounded and fighting all that an entire planet can throw at him is extremely well done.
Sadly it also throws the balance of the plot out and upsets the pacing but it is undeniably great fun.
There are some jumps in time that provoke some head scratching such as the suddenly much larger 'dog' companion that Riddick obtains.
Some of the plot doesn't make much sense either.
Riddick's plan with the mercenaries that he summons in order to obtain a ship seems designed to lengthen the running time and does so at the expense of logic.
The way that he is able to infiltrate their ranks and pick off their numbers would lead one to imagine that he could have done what was needed to get a ship far more easily than he does.
The manner in which he is captured is also out and out stupid and don't even get me started on the early obstacle that requires him to develop an immunity to venom so that he can defeat a creature that seems to be no match at all for him anyway.
This like several other moments seems to exist more because it is a cool idea than because it is believable for the character.
This must all sound like I didn't enjoy "Riddick" at all but in fact I did.
It is fun and never boring and might be my favourite of the three so far.
I just wish it hadn't been burdened with the predicament laid on it by its predecessor.
Had this been a prequel these constraints could have been avoided.
In returning the series to its roots the film is tighter and 'feels' like a Riddick film but you can't help but sense failure in its diminished scope.
Whatever was being set up for the character in the second movie is not on screen here.
Not to worry- "Riddick" is still one for the fans and if you count yourself one to any degree of course you should see it.
That is more than twice the divide between "Pitch Black" - the first movie and "The Chronicles of Riddick" - the second.
And here, I suspect is the reason why.
In 2000 "Pitch Black" cost $23,000,000 and returned $29,475,235 in worldwide box office receipts.
In 2004 "The Chronicles Of Riddick" cost $105,000,000 and made back $115,722,012.
Neither of these results are at all good.
They won't have lost money once dvd sales and other post release factors like pay per view, merchandising and tv rights are factored in but Vin Diesel's signature character has been far from earth shattering in terms of financial success.
Studios don't tend to fall all over themselves to throw money at a franchise that has not returned big dollars.
Perhaps Diesel was able to leverage some of the success of his Fast and Furious movies to get this one made.
If so- good for him.
He clearly loves the character and I imagine wants to give the fans more.
For my money the last two movies have been fun, perfectly good pieces of fantasy entertainment.
They've shown a skill for casting with not only at the time unknowns (Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Claudia Black), but with up and comers (Karl Urban, Thandie Newton) and seasoned pros (Judi Dench, Keith David, Colm Feore).
With "Riddick" the budget drops a smidge to $38,000,000 so this is a pretty safe bet one would think.
(It opened at a respectable $19,000,000 for the weekend in the US alone)
 |
| Riddick versus a planet of threats- "Apocalypse Now" and "Aliens" homage? |
Unintentionally he became the Lord Marshal - head of the destructive Necromongers.
The loner was now in charge of a vast army.
One gets the feeling that this was intended to be the start of an epic fantasy tale.
The poor box office performance put paid to any such thoughts.
It was an interesting film filled with fascinating ideas, excellent production design and some very effective action sequences but it tended to drag in places and lacked a killer climax.
It also backed the series into a corner that a reduced budget follow up film like "Riddick" struggles to work itself out of.
In this third film after a brief flashback showing Riddick as leader of the Necromongers finding himself decidedly dissatisfied with the role he is quickly betrayed and left for dead.
Sitting on a throne looking sullen as a bed full of naked women beckon him he looks like he is auditioning for the "God Of War" video game adaptation.
(in fact genre homage is rife here with nods to "Apocalypse Now", "Aliens" and "A Boy And His Dog")
But he is duped and left bloodied and badly wounded on a planet unknown to him.
It is the clumsiest transition between films that I have seen since parts two and three of "The Pirates of the Caribbean" films.
At least it affords Karl Urban the chance to cameo as Vaako.
I am geographically biased here but the local boy is great in the brief time that we see him.
It is testament to how far he has come in the nine years between films.
Casting otherwise is far less interesting than the preceding films with only a very appealing Katee Sackhoff standing out.
I have never paid too much notice of her prior to this but she is pretty damned good here.
She has a very brief topless scene that seems to serve only as the setup for a mildly amusing Riddick line later but generally I have never seen her looking so lovely.
Performances otherwise range from solid (Matt Nable) to almost unintelligible (Jordi Molla) and there are few that really shine.
Uninspired dialogue and an embarrassing number of attempted zinger lines that fail don't help.
 |
| Katee Sackhoff as Dahl..... Okay, now I get the appeal |
This film looks a lot more expensive than $38,000,000.
There are a couple of ropey CGI effect scenes (the first hover-cycle sequence looks out and out terrible) but on the whole the movie looks damned amazing with some nice creature work and effective alien landscapes.
The decision to go R rated is also a welcome one that returns some grit and intensity after the watered down second film.
There has been much talk of a nude scene and there is indeed a moment where three or four fully nude woman are seen for several seconds.
It is baffling that this is even remotely controversial in a film featuring some pretty gruesome gore and a sizable profanity count.
Apparently gun violence, profanity and gore are less offensive than breasts in some regions.
Wherever these places are I am just thankful that I don't live there (yet).
Of course violence is part and parcel of the world of Riddick but it is so comic-booky that even those normally offended by such things in movies couldn't possibly be too upset.
The action quota is about right with decent helpings of shootouts, fist fights, knifings and other brutal delights scattered about nicely.
Diesel knows what the fans want and delivers well here.
I like that he has stuck with series creator David Twohy right the way through.
Presumably he could have gone with a bigger name director but it feels right that the man who largely invented the character and the universe be left in charge of its fate.
Twohy is a decent writer and a solid director and I rate his performance here as the strongest yet.
 |
| Jordi Molla as Santana |
Riddick's face should be pictured in the dictionary next to the term 'One Dimensional'.
He just doesn't have anything going on apart from brute strength.
"The Dark Knight Rises" villain Bane was intimidating because his physical strength was matched with a formidable intellect.
Riddick is merely a mass of muscle and survival instinct and as a character doesn't have enough depth to sustain a trilogy.
He is smart in his own way and Diesel plays him very well but there really isn't much to the character.
Over three movies he has not grown one iota.
Nothing that happens to him changes Riddick even slightly.
His motivations are never clear above wanting to get back to his home planet and his loyalties tend to shift only when there is an attractive woman or small child around.
As with the two films before it "Riddick" is full of imagination, terrific production design and some really effective sequences.
It just lacks that little bit of extra spark that makes a fun movie a great movie.
Chief culprit is a noticeable lack of plot which is fine if there are interesting characters in compelling predicaments but those too are largely missing.
Still, the opening half hour that finds Riddick badly wounded and fighting all that an entire planet can throw at him is extremely well done.
Sadly it also throws the balance of the plot out and upsets the pacing but it is undeniably great fun.
There are some jumps in time that provoke some head scratching such as the suddenly much larger 'dog' companion that Riddick obtains.
Some of the plot doesn't make much sense either.
Riddick's plan with the mercenaries that he summons in order to obtain a ship seems designed to lengthen the running time and does so at the expense of logic.
The way that he is able to infiltrate their ranks and pick off their numbers would lead one to imagine that he could have done what was needed to get a ship far more easily than he does.
The manner in which he is captured is also out and out stupid and don't even get me started on the early obstacle that requires him to develop an immunity to venom so that he can defeat a creature that seems to be no match at all for him anyway.
This like several other moments seems to exist more because it is a cool idea than because it is believable for the character.
 |
| Riddick - the simple tale of a Boy and His Dog |
It is fun and never boring and might be my favourite of the three so far.
I just wish it hadn't been burdened with the predicament laid on it by its predecessor.
Had this been a prequel these constraints could have been avoided.
In returning the series to its roots the film is tighter and 'feels' like a Riddick film but you can't help but sense failure in its diminished scope.
Whatever was being set up for the character in the second movie is not on screen here.
Not to worry- "Riddick" is still one for the fans and if you count yourself one to any degree of course you should see it.
| Rated | R16 for violence, profanity & 2 scenes of brief nudity- one full frontal. |
| Running Time: | 118 minutes (1hr, 55 mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Vin Diesel | --- Riddick |
| Katee Sackhoff | --- Dahl |
| Karl Urban | --- Vaako |
| Jordi Molla | --- Santana |
| Matt Nable | --- Boss Johns |
| Bokeem Woodbine | --- Moss |
| Dave Bautista | --- Diaz |
| Raoul Trujillo | --- Lockspur |
| Conrad Pla | --- Vargas |
| Danny Blanco Hall | --- Falco |
| Neil Napier | --- Rubio |
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