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Rating:  - Riddick Part Three
Got the three Riddick movies as a gift and watched all three over the weekend. I can't believe I liked them so well. I enjoyed this third Riddick storyline best of the three. It is very different than the first movie and the cartoon middle tale. The scenery on each planet visited is beautiful but very different than the other settings. Riddick's character has grown. So has Jack's. (I wish they could have used the same actress as the first movie.) This movie is less the immediate danger of fighting monsters and more about religion and old-style conquering. Riddick prevails in the end, and I think we are set up for more sequels. Yay! I am looking forward to them.
Rating: - ACQUIRED TASTE
I must admit at first I didn't like CHRONICLES. But little by little the movie grew on me. I kept coming back and re-watching the DVD many times a year. Honestly, I didn't realize I was even doing it.
Every time I re-watch CHRONICLES, I pick up something I missed the previous 30-40 times I watched it. The movie is different and now I've come to see the genius of the writer who made this film. CHRONICLES was ahead of its time. It's a thinking film with a big budget. It is definitely darker with no moral goals like Star Trek. It's like Mad Max in outer space.
I can see why this movie did better on video. It is a movie you have to buy because you'll need to rewatch it a few dozen times to get the whole picture. It is too overwhelming and thought provoking to get in just one sitting. At first, you won't like it because you won't understand most it the first time. You need to watch it again and again.
This is just my opinion. I can't wait till it comes out on Blu-Ray for a great price.
Rating:  - It's not interesting in my opinion.
It's not interesting in my opinion. The action and acting are over the top. The plot is like that of a bad science fiction. Pitch Black is more entertaining.
Rating:  - My kind of science fiction.
Follow-up to sci-fi horror Pitch Black in which Vin Diesel once again plays anti-hero Riddick, this time called upon to save the universe of mankind from the seemingly invincible armies of the Necromongers, aliens who demand that all men convert and become as they are or die. This film is a very different beast to Pitch Black, as it is not set on a single planet but on various planetary locales, and the action is much more epic in scope. The special effects in this film are second to none, the Necromongers make for excellent villains, there are some great set pieces - watch for the sequence on the burning planet - and the final showdown between Riddick and the leader of the Necromongers, Lord Marshal (played by Colm Feore) is outstanding. We also get to hear more of Riddick's back story, origins that were merely alluded to in Pitch Black, and a touching relationship between Riddick and his protégé 17 year old Kyra (played by Alexa Davalos), one of the characters from the first film who here with Riddick makes a formidable fight partnership. All in all, my kind of science fiction film. My only complaint is that there was no explanation given of what the Necromongers were, and what being converted to one of them meant, which meant that an extra edge of horror that should have been in this film was lacking. As a result, I can unfortunately only give this film 4 stars out of 5 but still, a very, very good film.
Rating: - Fun, dumb movie
Chronicles of Riddick is a big budget upgrade from Pitch Black, with more money for lavish effects and sets. While Pitch Black was a much smarter movie, in my opinion, this film is still a lot of fun -- brainless action and visual effects eye candy.
Original sci-fi, this movie is not. Twohy seems to have spent most of his money on the SFX here and little of it on the writing. Watching this again on HD DVD the other day, I couldn't escape the feeling of deja vu at a number of points in the film. It takes quite a bit from other more successful films and just mushes them together. I spotted bits from Predator, Aliens, Star Trek's Borgs, the Matrix, and several other films... Maybe even a bit of Bladerunner. The machine w/ the comatose people lying down feels like a direct rip off of the clairvoyant triplets in Minority Report, for example. So do the sonic blasters.
Another big complaint is Karl Urban. He's pretty useless in this film. Lots of teeth gritting and speaking through his shut jaw. I suppose that's what he calls emoting anger. I could also live without the "Director's Cut", as the inserted 15 minutes of film actually take away from the story. The theatrical version of this film was much stronger. The tacked on footage feels out of place and really disrupt the flow of the story.
Dame Judi Dench is her usual commanding presence, even though it's a small part. Nick Chinlund is also good in this. As for picture quality, this HD DVD boasts a stunningly beautiful transfer. For $14, just pick this up. Sure, it's dumb, but it's also fun.
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