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.
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