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Movie Review - The Chronicles of Riddick
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
David Twohy |
| Starring: |
Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Alexa Davalos, and Nick Chinlund
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| Rated: |
PG-13 (for intense sequences of violent action and some language) |
| Length: |
115 minutes |
| Genre: |
Sci-Fi/Action |
| Website: |
The Chronicles of Riddick |
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PLOT
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Riddick (Diesel) has been in hiding for the past five years until a bounty hunter by the name of Toombs (Chinlund)
tracks him down. It turns out that the bounty was placed on his head by someone from his past in order to recruit
him in a war against the Necromongers. Will Riddick make this his fight, or will he remain defiant to the end?
Vin Diesel's foot connecting will several buttocks ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Welp, I'm happy to report that "The Chronicles of Riddick" is *sigh of relief* very good! Just to let you know
how much the movie grabbed me - I always take my small pocket memo to screenings to write notes about whatever
movie I'm seeing, but about 5 minutes into TCOR I put the memo aside and said, "Forget it, I'm just gonna enjoy
the experience without any distractions." Unfortunately, I didn't realize that I had said it out loud and
somebody yelled, "That's nice, moron, now shut up." Quite embarrassing. Anyway, back to the movie...
Some people may presume that this is just another brain-dead action flick, but that's not the case. Don't worry,
there's plenty of action, special effects, and Vin Diesel havoc to keep your inner teenager happy, but the story
is also pretty good. Lord Marshal is the leader of a sect called the Necromongers. Their credo is "convert or
be killed." They want to take over the entire universe, ya see, and if you refuse to go along with their plans
then Lord Marshal will take your soul. But an old prophecy states that a member of the Furion race will be the
one to stop the Necromongers for good. Fearing this prophecy, Lord Marshal tried to wipe out the entire race, but
one man - Riddick - escaped, and now it's up to him to put an end to the Necromongers' wave of terror. Now if
we can just somehow recruit the guy to take care of our Justin Timberlake problem before he makes his final
transition to the big screen ("Edison") then all
will be well.
What proceeds is one smooth visual treat. For me, a good sci-fi movie is one that can show you a new world, a
new race, and make you feel it's all real, and that's what TCOR does. Some of the best moments in the film come
when Riddick is taken to Crematoria, a planet that is supposedly worse than Hell. Since I've never been to Hell
(although sitting through "The Stepford Wives" was close) I can neither confirm
nor deny the legitimacy of the statement. But it definitely is a place you don't want to be, unless you like
planets that rain ashes and reach temperatures of up to 700 degrees.
Crematoria is also where Kyra (Jack in "Pitch Black") is imprisoned. She had been looking for Riddick ever
since he went into hiding, and she became quite the effective killer whose luck ran out on Crematoria. It takes
a while before she and Riddick team up, but it's worth the wait, especially when they play the game she likes
the most - who's the better killer. I'll never forget the time we tried to play that game during recess in 6th
grade. Can you say "suspensions all around"? Anyway, my main complaint about the movie is that we didn't get to
see enough of Kyra. Not only is she pretty hot, but the gal knows how to take care of herself. She gets in on
some pretty cool brain-punching action, and I would've loved to have seen more of her.
Now you're probably wondering how cool the fighting is. Well, if you find my right butt cheek could you please
return it to me, because the fight scenes in this movie knocked it clean off. Sure, David Twohy has created a
much bigger and more involved universe than we saw in "Pitch Black," but Vin Diesel is still the driving force.
Diesel *is* Riddick, and I don't care if he's a hero, an anti-hero, a reluctant hero, whatever, most importantly
he's a man who knows how to take care of business, and he knows how to do it with charm. Come on, how many of
us never dreamt about being like Riddick and taking out one foe after another while dropping gravelly-voiced one
liners? You know you did, guys. Don't deny it.
I won't spoil anything for you, but anybody that doesn't enjoy the scene with a teacup just needs to go ahead
and remove the corn cob.
I don't know about everybody else, but after seeing "Pitch Black," I knew that I wanted to see more of Riddick,
and I liked the progression of his character in TCOR. There still is a lot to find out about the guy, and that's
what makes the ending so effective. The movie stands on it's own, but the ending does just enough to leave true
fans waiting to see what direction the story will take next.
Of course the movie's not perfect, so if you're expecting this to trump the original Star Wars then you might
be disappointed. Some of the acting by the bad guys is a little over-the-top, and there are a couple of
cheesy one-liners, but that's to be expected and is easily forgiven.
Don't expect a clone of "Pitch Black" either. I like the references (and the flashbacks) to PB, but they're two
different movies. TCOR is bigger, louder, and more ambitious than its predecessor. That's not to say it's
better. Both movies do a good job of standing apart but also serve as a great complement to each other. Enjoy
each for what it is.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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There is some profanity (including one "f" word), but it's not overloaded. This isn't exactly a family
movie though. There is tons of fighting and knifing, so it's probably best to leave the children at
home.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I had been excited about this movie ever since seeing the trailer, and I was not disappointed. If you absolutely
hate the trailer, then you should probably save your money.
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THE GIST
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"The Chronicles of Riddick" delivers the goods. Fast-paced action? Check. Cool special effects? Check.
Vin Diesel wreaking havoc? Check. A hot chick kicking some butt? Check. Vin Diesel in a sleeveless shirt
for the ladies? Check. Oh, and there's actually a little story added for good measure! Of course, if you're
the type of person who wants to nitpick about every plot point in a science fiction movie, then you'll find
something to complain about. So how about you just stay away and let the rest of us sit back and be
entertained by the experience, thanks.
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