posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
revdorothyl at 11:02pm on 12/06/2004 under movie reviews
revdorothyl at 11:02pm on 12/06/2004 under movie reviewsI have a very enthusiastic review of my own for "The Chronicles of Riddick" (which I ran out to see right after lunch yesterday, because having finally seen "Pitch Black" on cable last year, I just couldn't wait to see the continuation of Riddick's character development), but before I had a chance to organize my thoughts beyond the brief "thumbs-up" response in my earlier journal entry, I received this much more detailed and thoughtful review from my sister. So, rather than reinvent the wheel, I forward her thoughts on "Riddick" and the state of sci-fi action/adventure films in general. I hope you enjoy her essay as much as I did!
----------------
GO TO SEE "THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK" [cut for length; no spoilers at all that I could find]
I've been looking forward to the "Chronicles of Riddick" for several years, ever since I read that David Twohy and Vin Diesel were planning a follow-up trilogy to "Pitch Black" that would be like a dark 'Star Wars.' After all, I can't get my fill of cinematic sci-fi.
However with the unfairly ho-hum reviews for "Riddick" and the sci-fi/fantasy competition of "Harry Potter" and "Day After Tomorrow", I'm worried Diesel and Twohy won't get the financial go-ahead to make the rest of trilogy, and they should. The end of this movie is an obvious beginning for something that promises to be full of exciting ideas and character development. Of the three sci-fi/fantasy films released in the past two weeks, "Riddick" is the one I know I'm going to see again.
So what can I say about this movie to convince you that it's good? It's fast-paced. When I realized that the scene I was watching must be the end, I thought it came too soon. And it's the right kind of fast-paced.
Ever since "Raiders of the Lost Ark" came out, moviemakers have tried to copy its suspenseful action sequences, often with the undesired effect of making movies that were more like overactive, soulless video games. One thing that "Raiders" had that not every filmmaker takes into account was an immortal character in Indiana Jones. It wasn't just that Indiana Jones was a well-thought-out, three-dimensional creation -- in the first movie his background was pretty sketchy. It was really the sense of intimacy with that character that Spielberg created on film. You had a genuine sense of going through everything with him. That sense of intimacy is something "Riddick" has. If you can't feel along with the main character, then would-be Indiana Joneses become merely the teflon-coated, smirking Lara Crofts.
Riddick is exactly the kind of role that Harrison Ford would've chosen to play twenty years ago. He's the Indiana Jones who leaves Marion tied up so he can finish his mission. He's the weary Deckard keeping his head low, who doesn't want to give a damn about anyone. He's Han Solo, out for number one, but drawn into the right fight through friendship. He's the original Han Solo who shoots an unarmed goon in the cantina, not the new and improved one facing down a guy with a CGI gun.
Some of the reviews complain that "Riddick" isn't like its precursor, "Pitch Black" -- a complaint that seems singularly weird, given how tiresome it is to see sequels that just rehash an earlier movie. "Riddick" is more original that that. The reviews which make that complaint are also just WRONG. Twohy again creates some singular landscapes, like the planet Crematoria, and the sequence there shares many of the same dynamics as "Pitch Black." If they were doing the usual sequel thing, they would have just stretched that Crematoria sequence out to be the whole movie.
I'm happy with the way "Riddick" follows up on the characters of the first movie. And it doesn't sacrifice suspense in the pursuit of action: "Riddick" revisits "Pitch Black"'s moments of bated breath, the fear of being seen, of being caught; Riddick's gravelly voice-overs echo from the first movie. Unlike Deckard's forced exposition, they are a glimpse into the character's inner dialogue, his assessments, plans, and calculations.
Most importantly, "Riddick" expounds on the themes of "Pitch Black": sacrifice and redemption, individuals struggling to find the motivation to be good or pro-social. Misfits like Riddick -- outside of society, alone, and beaten down -- finding something other than self-service to believe in, one tenuous relationship at a time. Riddick has the religious belief of the Imam to contrast with again, and now also the political-religious-fascism of the Necromongers.
I think Vin Diesel takes a lot of shit from the press, but as a sci-fi fan who's sat through Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Total Recall" and Jean-Claude Van Damme in "TimeCop", I'm pretty damn impressed. I may be a bit dazzled by his glistening deltoids, but he sure seems a lot closer to Harrison than Arnold to me. Along with the Rock, Vin Diesel proves this decade's class of musclemen are better just by being so darn good at the English language. However, Rutger Hauer learned to speak English well enough so I've an idea that Arnold's acting wouldn't improve in his native tongue and Jean-Claude would still suck like a Hoover in French.
Also: don't forget that Diesel is proud to be a D&D player! That alone should earn him fandom support. Finally, some cool cachet for role-playing geeks.
I think it's good to see "Pitch Black" before seeing this movie, because it came first and because it adds a whole other texture, but I think it would also be fine to see "Riddick" without having seen the earlier movie. If you feel left out by not having seen the back-story that's referred to in this movie, you can always rent "Pitch Black" afterwards.
Support sci-fi: go see this movie early and often!
----------------
GO TO SEE "THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK" [cut for length; no spoilers at all that I could find]
I've been looking forward to the "Chronicles of Riddick" for several years, ever since I read that David Twohy and Vin Diesel were planning a follow-up trilogy to "Pitch Black" that would be like a dark 'Star Wars.' After all, I can't get my fill of cinematic sci-fi.
However with the unfairly ho-hum reviews for "Riddick" and the sci-fi/fantasy competition of "Harry Potter" and "Day After Tomorrow", I'm worried Diesel and Twohy won't get the financial go-ahead to make the rest of trilogy, and they should. The end of this movie is an obvious beginning for something that promises to be full of exciting ideas and character development. Of the three sci-fi/fantasy films released in the past two weeks, "Riddick" is the one I know I'm going to see again.
So what can I say about this movie to convince you that it's good? It's fast-paced. When I realized that the scene I was watching must be the end, I thought it came too soon. And it's the right kind of fast-paced.
Ever since "Raiders of the Lost Ark" came out, moviemakers have tried to copy its suspenseful action sequences, often with the undesired effect of making movies that were more like overactive, soulless video games. One thing that "Raiders" had that not every filmmaker takes into account was an immortal character in Indiana Jones. It wasn't just that Indiana Jones was a well-thought-out, three-dimensional creation -- in the first movie his background was pretty sketchy. It was really the sense of intimacy with that character that Spielberg created on film. You had a genuine sense of going through everything with him. That sense of intimacy is something "Riddick" has. If you can't feel along with the main character, then would-be Indiana Joneses become merely the teflon-coated, smirking Lara Crofts.
Riddick is exactly the kind of role that Harrison Ford would've chosen to play twenty years ago. He's the Indiana Jones who leaves Marion tied up so he can finish his mission. He's the weary Deckard keeping his head low, who doesn't want to give a damn about anyone. He's Han Solo, out for number one, but drawn into the right fight through friendship. He's the original Han Solo who shoots an unarmed goon in the cantina, not the new and improved one facing down a guy with a CGI gun.
Some of the reviews complain that "Riddick" isn't like its precursor, "Pitch Black" -- a complaint that seems singularly weird, given how tiresome it is to see sequels that just rehash an earlier movie. "Riddick" is more original that that. The reviews which make that complaint are also just WRONG. Twohy again creates some singular landscapes, like the planet Crematoria, and the sequence there shares many of the same dynamics as "Pitch Black." If they were doing the usual sequel thing, they would have just stretched that Crematoria sequence out to be the whole movie.
I'm happy with the way "Riddick" follows up on the characters of the first movie. And it doesn't sacrifice suspense in the pursuit of action: "Riddick" revisits "Pitch Black"'s moments of bated breath, the fear of being seen, of being caught; Riddick's gravelly voice-overs echo from the first movie. Unlike Deckard's forced exposition, they are a glimpse into the character's inner dialogue, his assessments, plans, and calculations.
Most importantly, "Riddick" expounds on the themes of "Pitch Black": sacrifice and redemption, individuals struggling to find the motivation to be good or pro-social. Misfits like Riddick -- outside of society, alone, and beaten down -- finding something other than self-service to believe in, one tenuous relationship at a time. Riddick has the religious belief of the Imam to contrast with again, and now also the political-religious-fascism of the Necromongers.
I think Vin Diesel takes a lot of shit from the press, but as a sci-fi fan who's sat through Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Total Recall" and Jean-Claude Van Damme in "TimeCop", I'm pretty damn impressed. I may be a bit dazzled by his glistening deltoids, but he sure seems a lot closer to Harrison than Arnold to me. Along with the Rock, Vin Diesel proves this decade's class of musclemen are better just by being so darn good at the English language. However, Rutger Hauer learned to speak English well enough so I've an idea that Arnold's acting wouldn't improve in his native tongue and Jean-Claude would still suck like a Hoover in French.
Also: don't forget that Diesel is proud to be a D&D player! That alone should earn him fandom support. Finally, some cool cachet for role-playing geeks.
I think it's good to see "Pitch Black" before seeing this movie, because it came first and because it adds a whole other texture, but I think it would also be fine to see "Riddick" without having seen the earlier movie. If you feel left out by not having seen the back-story that's referred to in this movie, you can always rent "Pitch Black" afterwards.
Support sci-fi: go see this movie early and often!