Riddick

Dustin: 3.5 of 5 stars Nick: 3 of 5 stars Average: 3.25 of 5 stars (Woozy canary)

Dustin: Riddick is the fourth movie in the Pitch Black trilogy, and stars Mark Vincent (aka, Vin Diesel) as Riddick, a future space mercenary of some type who wears glow-in-the-dark contact lenses. The third installment finds Riddick stranded on a deserted planet inhabited by dingo-like CGI canines and giant scorpion alien creatures. He sends a distress signal and shenanigans ensue. What did you think of Riddick, Nick?

Nick: Let me start off by rating each of the three acts. All being rated out of 5; Act I is a 4, Act II is a 3 and Act III is a 1. What occurs at the end makes everything that happened previously unrealistic in the world that was set up in the quite brilliant first act.

Dustin: I admit I was drawn in during the first act, even though I thought it looked a little cheesy at times. Sometimes it was clear you were looking at a Hollywood soundstage, and having the opening credits roll during the opening sequence reminded me of a TV miniseries. But the world looked unique, and having Riddick brave the elements alone was exciting. Do you want to break this review into acts?

Nick: Sounds like an interesting proposition. Lets do it!

In Act I Riddick is left on a desolate world by the the leader from Chronicles of Riddick. On his lonesome he braves the threats that stand in his way. When Riddick trains and trains in order to defeat just one of these scorpion-like beasts is what put me off so much about the ending when even lesser opposition are able to defeat dozens at a time. Like you said the CGI is pretty silly at times especially when talking about the water that the scorpion lives in. Though this doesn’t bother me as much since the filmmakers were trying to leave the big budget of the second installment behind and create a world much like Pitch Black.

Dustin: I haven’t seen the first two movies. I felt a little out of the loop at times, especially during an early flashback, and later when the antagonist introduces himself and by the way he says his name, it is clearly significant, but I had no context. Otherwise, I was able to understand the movie as a standalone film. I’d say Act II begins when the bounty hunters arrive. Here, again I felt like I missed something, because Riddick is suddenly even more badass and is able to pick them off one by one. I wasn’t sure if this was something that had already been established about his character.

Nick: In the previous installments he is certainly a type of superhuman and his eyes have been “polished” in order to see at night (which goes along way in Pitch Black). At the beginning of the film Riddick’s narration begins with explaining how soft he’s become to what he had been. Only other-worldly beings have ever been a match for Riddick while humans never stood a chance.

Dustin: I guess this is where “showing and not telling” is more effective. I thought Act II eventually found its tone, and this is where I became engaged in the movie again, what with the bounty hunters wanting to capture Riddick, and finally succeeding. But there’s irony when Riddick and the audience knows something they don’t, which is when the rain comes, so will the giant scorpion things, and their bounty hunter mission will need to take the backburner if they are to survive.

Nick: While the second act was still exciting its intelligence started to falter. Why did Riddick constantly tell them that they need to leave the planet now instead of telling them there are giant ass creatures by the thousands that are coming, which is why we needed to get going? It reminds me of the Piranha remake where the sheriff knows all these piranhas are coming in to the waters where the college kids are having a spring break and all she does is yell get out of the water, so nobody listens to her because she didn’t yell, “There’s a bunch of mother fucking piranhas coming in this mother fucking water” is how I’d imagine Samuel Jackson screaming the line. There are many instances of this lack of intelligence the grows as the movie pushes forward.

Dustin: If he tells them why, then they might actually listen, then he’ll never have the “I told you so” moment.

Nick: Very good point.

THE FOLLOWING SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS

Dustin: Why did it fall apart for you in the final act? (Let’s say Act III starts when the inclement weather and the accompanying scorpion aliens arrive.)

Nick: First off, the more astute and aware bounty hunters are the first to be picked off when the film made such a big deal about how they were easily the more capable ones. The first guy, especially, because he actually knew what the creatures were, yet he stands right next to the thin layer sheet metal wall and is the first to die. Then for some reason Johns (leader of the more adept crew) doesn’t ride behind the outlaw who rides up behind him and bumps him off his bike down into a valley of scorpion creatures. When Johns joins back up with Riddick and the outlaw nothing happens as if the incident never occurred. Then for the instance that aggrieved me so much that I would give the last act one star is where Riddick, who had to give it all in order to defeat one of these monsters while in peak physical condition, is able to thwart and escape hundreds of the creatures while injured in the final scene. But to note, so did the bounty hunters who Riddick was easily able to defeat yet they could escape several monsters as well.

Dustin: I thought the visuals in the third act were impressive, but the story could have unfolded better. Another reviewer thought it would have been better if Riddick died when he was cornered by the scorpion things on the precipice. I thought that would have been more satisfying too. I don’t imagine these movies are popular enough that there’s a compelling reason to have kept him alive at the end.

Nick: While some of the shots throughout the film are brilliant, the CGI never impressed, so when everything was CGI in the final few scenes nothing seemed to be able to entertain me. With the way the story was set up, Riddick probably should have died at the edge of the cliff and he would have, but then he would have died less heroically than if he would have saved the others and then died. If the hero has been alive for several movies then he would not be expected to die in an unheroic manner so the thought didn’t even cross my mind in that scene. Though I did think it was also weak the way he was saved in that moment.

END OF SPOILERS

Dustin: Any other points you want to make about this movie?

Nick: Pitch Black is a film that constantly entertained while never wearing out its welcome. It was a sci-fi film made on a shoe-string budget with no stars that had every genre included besides romance.

Also I loved the dog companion in Riddick! One of my favorite side characters in recent memory.

Dustin: I liked that it had a small scale for a sci-fi flick. Most sci-fi movies are epic, and sequels tend to be too big, typically employing an epic battle. Which is OK, as long as the battle is to wrap up several conflicts at once, rather than just impress the audience with a bunch of shit filling up the screen. I liked that Riddick was a simple story about a small group trying to get off a hostile planet before it was too late.

Would you recommend it?

Nick: If you like sci-fi/action/western films, then yes. But if you enjoy film with drama lasting beyond the first act then I wouldn’t.

I Declare War

Dustin: 3 of 5 stars Nick: 3.5 of 5 stars Average: 3.25 of 5 stars (Woozy canary)

Dustin: Sometimes adults need children to show them the absurdity of their behavior. I Declare War is about a group of kids who take capture the flag to an extreme, acting out their fantasies with realistic war strategies. What did you think of I Declare War, Nick?

Nick: What a fun and clever idea. A movie called Son of Rambow came out a few years ago that I was really excited for but ended up missing, but I Declare War is how I hope that film played out.

Dustin: I thought it was clever at times too. The relationships between the characters are complex and believable. The main character, PK (Gage Munroe), is a strategist who always finds a third option when only two are presented, and opposite him is Jess (Mackenzie Munro), who is an expert manipulator who turns friends against each other. PK’s other antagonist is Skinner (Michael Friend), who takes over the other army in a coup. While the kids are playing with make-believe guns and water-balloon grenades, he resorts to actual violence to win and doesn’t care about the rules. However, he and PK have a lot in common. PK refuses to break the rules (although there is a plot hole here I’ll get to later), but he does cross unwritten lines in interpersonal relationships to win. They both go to unacceptable extremes and only differ in their methods. And both commit violence on Kwon (Siam Yu) to achieve different ends.

Nick: The only poor characterization in this film is of Skinner. While every other character is basically a normal person throughout the film, Skinner acts like a psychopath, and why he was invited to play this game is beyond me as they play up how he used to be a friend of the game but nobody likes his company.

Dustin: I think he got into the game by joining the other team that didn’t know much about him. I thought Skinner was a believable character. I’ve known people who were insanely jealous when their friends began hanging out with other people, and were no fun to be around because they wouldn’t follow the rules that ensure a game is fair and fun, and then threw a tantrum when they lost.

Nick: OK, but that is exaggerated in this character multiplied by whatever ridiculous number will convince you it’s surely exaggerated. The character could’ve been toned down a little more and the ending would’ve been stronger because we were supposed to feel some empathy for Skinner, but because of his ruthlessness, it was hard for me to see his warped vision.

Dustin: The whole movie was exaggerated. Their make-believe guns become real, and seem to fire actual bullets, although there is no blood and no one actually dies. Also, I’ve never known kids who could build a sturdy tree house and formulate such intricate strategies.

Nick: Well PK is totally like Brad Pitt in World War Z: he is ultimately flawless. Everything that is exaggerated in the film I enjoyed when it was on the side of representing violence but no violence occurring. While in Skinner’s situation he was committing pretty extreme acts of violence in the theme of a movie that wasn’t as finely put together as say Lord of the Flies, where we see the kids grow into something that is quite scary.

Dustin: I thought PK was a flawed character. He didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his best friend to achieve his goal, and he never learned to put others’ needs before his own. He gets what’s coming to him, but he doesn’t seem to learn from it.

Nick: That’s not a flawed character, that is a static character. Kwon is supposedly the main character who goes through a change and he is ultimately the only one who didn’t take the game too far. Kwon realizes this at the end and instead of acting irrational, like the rest of the kids, walks away and says he’ll call PK later. (Which, shhhh, I don’t think he will.)

Dustin: Overall, I thought the characterizations were quite good in this movie. It was also good from an artistic standpoint. There were some flaws in the writing, which was lazy at times.

For example, in one scene, Kwon utilizes a lighter and some type of oil spray. There is a crummy CGI showing he has a lighter in his pocket right when he needs it, and the audience immediately understands how he will use it. The lighter should have been “planted” earlier so the scene would have been more satisfying rather than irritating. But that would have required writing a second draft.

There is an excellent plant and reveal in the movie Mud from earlier this year. Mud uses two boys to run errands for him, and he has them deliver a note to his girlfriend. We see the note is written in permanent marker, and we guess maybe that’s the only writing utensil he has since he’s in hiding, or maybe it’s just another of his many eccentricities. Later in the movie, there’s a dramatic scene where a permanent marker comes in handy, but the audience doesn’t question why Mud is carrying the marker since it was already subtly established this is what he writes with. That is an excellent example of the use of this technique that other movies could learn from, and was painfully missing here.

Nick: With the narrow focus, it’s hard for me to find too much fault in anything, but at the same time with such a narrow focus things like “plants” can be focused on more.

Dustin: There was also a plot hole involving the Asian kid who pretends to be Kwon’s brother. Early on, PK tells the Joker that using cell phones during the game is against the rules, but PK apparently called this other boy to come help rescue Kwon. And we already know PK wouldn’t break a rule, so how did he call the Asian boy?

Nick: I believe he was Kwon’s brother, but he was lying about their mother breaking her arm.  You’re right though! Maybe he made some smoke signals or maybe he has people waiting on the other end of a walkie talkie (off screen of course). I failed to notice this.

Dustin: He wasn’t Kwon’s brother. Kwon is clearly half-Asian, but this boy was full-blooded. Kwon looks just as confused as Skinner when this boy shows up. Also, when asked personal questions about Kwon to prove he’s his brother, like what’s Kwon’s birthday, he becomes evasive. I figured PK just called the only other Asian he knew and hoped Skinner would fall for it.

Nick: Since it is such a narrow focus, how do you know that it isn’t his step-brother or half-brother and maybe his older brother is an asshole who doesn’t feel like being questioned when his (maybe) brother is being tortured. I see your point though, and I saw the character’s evasiveness, but when Kwon breaks free and goes back to PK, he asks about the Asian character and seems generally concerned on how well he is after being pelted with large rocks.

From a technical film point, this film was solid and maybe was made to showcase their talents, which is why the script seemed a bit lazy. The film could have followed Jess more like when she leaves the game to go home and maybe she saw Quinn and they have another conversation because of how much time we are forced to watch her fixate about him.

Dustin: I would have liked a scene where the real world comes in to set these boys straight like Lord of the Flies. The comparison between the two is obvious, and most reviewers are mentioning it. I think an adult coming in at the end would have put things into perspective and provided an opportunity to drive home the point of this movie (if there was one).