I don't think I've ever seen Vin Diesel do "earnest." I don't think he can. No matter what the role, there's a sardonic, winking element to his performance. That's probably why I like him.
But he does the "sardonic, winking" thing earnestly. I really like Vin Diesel, even if I'm not always crazy about his movies (*cough*
Babylon A.D.*cough*). On screen, he comes across as more of a normal cool guy than like a douchebag celebrity trying to play everyman. He is very good at doing what good actors are supposed to do: Behave as a natural person in the scene rather than be obviously "acting." He brings a naturalism to his decidedly unnaturalistic genre that most action stars can't muster. (Much as I like the Rock, he seems to have to try harder at it, compared to Diesel's naturalism. But I think the Rock has a greater range, so there's a trade-off.)
The best part of Chronicle were the retreads of "Pitch Black" (Riddick must escape inescapable prison planet while fighting evil mercs). The whole underwearverse was pretty pointless and unnecessary.
See, I reacted the exact opposite way. I loved the Underverse/Necromonger mythology stuff but thought the Crematoria sequences were a pointless diversion that only existed to give Riddick someplace to go for the 2nd act of the film.
Granted,
The Chronicles of Riddick is a weird-ass film, all the more so because
Pitch Black never even hinted at these more fantastical elements. (Someone once suggested it's like doing a sequel to
The Maltese Falcon where you suddenly reveal that Sam Spade is a long-lost elf prince.) However, taken on its own terms, I really like the universe set up by
The Chronicles of Riddick, much more so than I like the movie itself. The ending with Riddick as the new king of the Necromongers opens up far more interesting possibilities than anything that actually happens in the movie.
So Vin now has another Riddick up and going. He said when FF4 came out he wanted to do another Riddick and another XXX film. He acknowledged that before that could happen he'd have to prove himself a draw all over again. So now with FF5 a hit it seems Hollywood is buying back in and thus Riddick 3. So will Riddick have to perform to get XXX3. Cause Vin and Samuel L Jackson back together again is something I'd like to see.
Amen to that! Anything to wash away the bad taste of
xXx: State of the Union (which was directed by Lee Tamahori, the same guy that fucked up James Bond in
Die Another Day).
The sequel title I saw on the script I read was called The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking. The opening sequence deals with Riddick's actions at the end of the previous film very nicely.
Do Vaako or Dame Vaako make appearances?
