New Riddick thread

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Deckerd, May 22, 2012.

  1. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    "Riddick" was a very well made movie and entertaining, but I consider it the weakest of the three films because it was basically a remake of Pitch Black. Only the monsters were substantially lamer this time around. I really enjoy the Riddick character, definitely Vin Diesel's most entertaining character.

    I guess I'm one of the few who really liked "Chronicles of Riddick" and was looking forward to a proper sequel dealing with the Underverse.

    I also found the structure of the film to be quite bizarre. Act One is almost a silent movie with Riddick playing castaway with a demon dog instead of a volleyball. Act Two doesn't really show Riddick just the mercs' reactions to him. Then Act Three is Pitch Black Redux.

    And what was up with seeing Starbuck's boobs for two seconds? I can't believe she agreed to that. :eek:
     
  2. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  3. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Wow. If that's true, I can't believe Twohy would be adamant about that. It wasn't like you got a full on topless shot, it was mostly a side shot of one breast. And that was unnecessary to include. Don't get me wrong, it was a welcome shot, but still, it wasn't needed at all.

    And if Twohy was so insistent, they could've used a body double. And they already had shown some topless female Necromongers, so he had the boob shots he maybe felt he needed to be edgy and/or get the R-rating.

    When I think back about it, while Katee did a good job and on one level was tough and competent, she was highly more sexualized than Radha Mitchell in Pitch Black and Thandie Newton in Chronicles. It was like a step back, maybe an attempt to appeal to the proposed juvenile (in thinking if not necessary in age) male audience or fanboys. I also think that there was a regression in how women were treated and depicted in Riddick compared to the other films. Even Katee's name, Dahl (pronounced doll) stuck out to me. I don't know what they were trying to suggest by naming her that.

    Keri Hilson's brief cameo, where it was suggested she had been raped by Santana's crew and then her character was offed without even given a name. In comparison, the female characters in the other films were written and depicted much better than what we got in Riddick.
     
  4. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    I liked Chronicles of Riddick as well, but the flashback we got of Riddick's departure from that life was more than enough for me. Karl Urban got the throne, Riddick got shafted, then, yes, the first act was a silent film, but it was a silent film about Riddick getting back to the Riddick made awesome by Pitch Black. The rest of the film was great as far as I'm concerned. He even got a dog. (Yes, a stone killer with night-vision eyes and his evil carnivorous jackal-dog! It's a family film! :D)

    If there's anything I have a problem with, it's the lack of a jaw-dropping single visual. In Pitch Black it was the ringed gas giant coming over the horizon and eclipsing the sun. In Chronicles it was the big ass invasion buildings falling out of space and impaling themselves in the ground. Nothing like that here...

    But a couple of seconds of Starbuck-boob is adequate compensation...
     
  5. Sto-Vo-Kory

    Sto-Vo-Kory Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Riddick is Conan in space. I'll have to re-watch the first two films to see if this analogy holds up, but after arriving at this conclusion, it seems strikingly obvious.

    A barbarian that becomes king.

    Furya is Cimmeria.

    Riddick even questions civilization in his first act narration -- shades of Robert E. Howard.

    Analogy aside: that bit of business with catching the blade on his boot and what he did with it, too cool. I loved the first act of this movie, visual storytelling with sparse dialogue. The tail creature and his problem-solving in this act were both fascinating. I wish the rest of the movie would have continued in this vein, but...it sadly didn't. Oh, well.
     
  6. Base_Delta_Zero

    Base_Delta_Zero Commodore Commodore

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    As with all of the Riddick outings, both movies, anime and games, I loved this. Riddick is definitely inspired by Conan and there are corollaries between each iteration of Riddick we've seen and periods/specific adventures in Conan's literary timeline. And since I can't seem to get a really good Conan movie since the first one, I'll take Riddick.

    Act 1 was very well done, establishing Riddick as the uber badass human predator unfettered by the trappings of civilization. His observations of and interactions with the environment of this new planet were quite well done and thoroughly interesting.

    I loved the SpaceJackal, a fully realized CGI character with more realism and personality than, really any other that comes to mind. I'm looking at you Jar Jar: you never suck so hard that something new can't come along to make you suck even more.

    The other alien creatures, including the walking serpents, were all fun and felt like they fit in with the aesthetics of the fauna from the previous films. They weren't quite the same threat because the people facing them were very heavily armed and they weren't a planetary extinction level threat like the bioraptors from Pitch Black. They fit into a cyclic ecosystem. If they were as dangerous as the bioraptors, there'd be no other life on this new world.

    Also liked how the ruins hinted at possible sentient alien life and fallen civilizations having existed at some point in the Riddickverse (outside whatever the hell the Elementals from Chronicles were really supposed to be).

    I was hoping for a bit more Vaako, but what we got of the Necromonger wrap up certainly left hooks for followup there.

    Act 2 Merc Time was cool seeing a couple different groups of characters interacting with each other and trying to deal with rounding up Riddick. The bounty being changed to double if dead was amusing. After the second triple max slam got wiped out by Riddick, I'd imagine the private prison bottom line would be better served with Riddick mounted on the wall.

    Santana was good as the sweaty asshole. Batista (Diaz) was very funny and good as the heavy muscle. Big Daddy Johns played the conflicted, driven bounty hunter well. I don't think I've ever seen the actor in anything before. Katee Sackoff (Dahl) was kickass, as usual. Side boobage was much appreciated. I didn't read the article about the nudity as her being bothered by it so much, just not wanting to come off as the new girl to film showing skin to get noticed, which she didn't. It was brief, made sense in-context and lasted all of 3 seconds. If I was David Twohy and had Katee Sackoff in my film, I'd probably go for mandatory nudity, too. And hey, the ladies get a silhouetted Vin Diesel ass shot. It's all good. That the Act 2 climax was upsetting also says something about the movie getting me invested in certain characters, which is always a good thing.

    With Act 3 I was worried briefly about it becoming Pitch Black version 2.0, but it really didn't. Yes it's dark, yes it's raining at certain points, yes there are monsters, but the context of what is happening, how and to whom it is happening, along with their reactions and character motivations are different enough to make it its own thing. As for a standout visual, I'd say there were several Frank Frazetta-inspired shots put forward throughout the film focused on character (Riddick as Lord Marshal, Riddick surveying new world after being left for dead, Riddick on hilltop with SpaceJackal) rather than awesome backdrops (though the scenery was pretty great and very imaginative) culminating with the climax confrontation atop the jagged clifftop lit by lightning flashes. Reminded me of a metal band album cover.

    If I had to complain about something, it would be David Twohy's insistence on fucking up his movie titles.

    The Chronicles of Riddick:
    -Escape From Butcher Bay (VG)
    -Assault on Dark Athena (VG)
    -Pitch Black (Movie 1)
    -Dark Fury (Anime)
    -Necromonger (Movie 2)
    -Rule the Dark (Movie 3)
    -Untitled Project Involving a General Lack of Light, Heavy Emotion, and Escaping (VG)

    How hard is that? Come on, man! You need to call the series The Chronicles of Riddick and give the second movie an actual name. Then you give the third movie the subtitle you already came up with, instead of the completely uninteresting Riddick. I like my DVDs to look nice next to one-another. There's no Conan story title "Conan", bro.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2013
  7. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    It's the new trend of dumbing down titles to usually just the character's name so the general populace understands what the movie is about, like "Rocky Balboba" and "John Rambo" and "The Final Destination" and "Fast & Furious" and "John Carter"...
     
  8. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    But if there is another movie what will it be called? Riddick Chronicles? :lol:
     
  9. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    And the new Jack Ryan movie is supposed to be called Jack Ryan. :rolleyes:
     
  10. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    Riddick Chronicles 2: Mercenary Drift :angel:

    Speaking of metal, the hovercycle sequences looked like they were pulled from an issue of Heavy Metal, one of the Simon Bisley specials.
     
  11. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    You aren't alone. I loved the Conan is Space routine. It is more of what HPL/Howard concepts of spaceflight would be.

    C.S Lewis thought space was heaven, and today we think of it rather like the sea, a place for ships to travel. Cthulhu fell from the stars, and plunged from world to world.
     
  12. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

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    I loved the world-building we got with Chronicles.
     
  13. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I really enjoyed this film and based on it's budget and $19m domestic OW, $26m WW on a $38m budget I'm sure we'll get one more.

    Vin once said he'd be open to doing another XXX back a few years ago in an interview when he was agreeing to get back to Fast and Furious. My rough recall was he said: If things work out he'd like another crack at Riddick and maybe Xander. I'm open to that.
     
  14. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    There was a character called The Final Destination?
     
  15. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Vin has talked about possible plots for a sequel, should one happen...and he thinks it is natural that we explore the UnderVerse. I believe Twohy wrote two sequels when he wrote "Dead Man Stalking" (what is now called "Riddick"). He's extremely busy right now obviously but is extremely passionate about the character so if the box office continues on the pace it is right now...perhaps we will see a sequel.

    http://screenrant.com/vin-diesel-riddick-sequels-plot/
     
  16. Pingfah

    Pingfah Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I saw this on Saturday, I enjoyed it a lot.

    I thought the low budget really showed in the CGI, the planet was beautifully conceived, but unconvincingly rendered, and the green screening effects really sucked. I also thought the script was clunky and the acting mostly poor.

    However, Vin really shines in this and makes it a lot of fun to watch, the parts where only he is in the movie are the best bits. The action was non stop, quite entertaining, and there a few effective moments of tension. Good to see Katee Sackhoff up on the big screen, and the prosthetic effects were fantastic.

    I give it a B+ for an A-Movie, or an A+ for a B-Movie.
     
  17. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    Saw this last night with the wife. We both enjoyed it and are hoping that we can get another one out of this series. This one really brought in the flavour of "Pitch Black". Maybe the next one can bring back the feeling of 'The Chronicles'. It certainly is the place to go back to for story progression. He has a few scores to settle. Who knows, Boss Johns and Dahl can reappear for a bit as well.
     
  18. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm fine with going back to a PG-13 rating if necessary, as the article on the prior page alluded. That films rating shows plenty of gore. True it trims out the primo curse words and nudity but honestly those elements didn't enhance this film(most) in any way. Some of the best parts in the movie are with Riddick being a survivor on his own.
     
  19. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    I really, really want them to deal with the Underverse.
     
  20. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    Agreed. There is so much they could do with this.