2.0 out of 5 stars
Keep what you kill, May 27, 2009
"Pitch Black" was a brilliant piece of sci-fi -- dark, brutal, eerie, bloody and full of moral quandaries.
But even when you don't compare "The Chronicles of Riddick" to "Pitch Black," the former comes out lacking. It's a ponderous, bloated expanse of special effects, with a plot that is stretched to the breaking limit. They're just hoping audiences don't notice.
After killing off some pursuing mercenaries, Riddick finds that someone has put a bounty on finding him -- it's Imam, the man he saved in "Pitch Black." When Riddick arrives on Helion Prime, Imam and the Elemental Aereon (Judi Dench) explain why: the death-worshiping Necromongers are sweeping through the galaxy, destroying whomever they don't convert.
And when the Necromongers invade Helion Prime, Riddick learns that he is a Furian -- and that it was prophesied that a Furian would kill the Necromonger Marshal (Colm Feore), the "Holy Half-Dead." He escapes the Necromongers, and has himself shipped to a brutal prison world where Jack/Kyra (Alexa Davalos) is being held captive. But even with her help, he may not be able to defeat an army of death-worshiping warriors.
Basically, "The Chronicles of Riddick" is an extension of the story in "Pitch Black," but grown much more bloated and self-important. In fact, there's a very basic, simplistic plot once you strip away the creepy visuals and CGI -- and an end that just feels like "To Be Continued."
It has to be admitted, there are some truly great creepy moments -- panoramic views of burning planets, high-octane chases, and the eerie use of half-dead corpses as communicators (although it gets silly when they start screeching "KILL THE RIDDICK!") and even kissing through them. Weird, freaky stuff.
Unfortunately, overdone CGI is spread as thickly as peanut butter on this movie, and much of it is less than convincing. The scriptwriters also got lazy in places, loading down the dialogue with excruciatingly lame dialogue ("I'll kill you with my teacup") and a distinct lack of plot for long stretches.
As usual, Vin Diesel can't act -- he basically smirks and growls his way through, just as he did in "Pitch Black." But he can't, can't, can't pull off some of those cheesy one-liners ("It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful").
The Necromongers aren't much better, although the idea of a death-worship religion is intriguingly original, but Feore is just a basic baddie, Thandie Newton is a 2-D vamp, and Karl Urban just seems totally confused by what's going on. At least there's Judi Dench, even if she seems as confused as Urban.
"Chronicles of Riddick" is both too much and too little -- too much action and CGI, too little plot and dialogue. Sister, they didn't know what to do with just one Riddick movie.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Keep what you kill, January 30, 2009
This review is from: Fast & Furious Movie Cash: The Chronicles of Riddick (DVD)
"Pitch Black" was a brilliant piece of sci-fi -- dark, brutal, eerie, bloody and full of moral quandaries.
But even when you don't compare "The Chronicles of Riddick" to "Pitch Black," the former comes out lacking. It's a ponderous, bloated expanse of special effects, with a plot that is stretched to the breaking limit. They're just hoping audiences don't notice.
After killing off some pursuing mercenaries, Riddick finds that someone has put a bounty on finding him -- it's Imam, the man he saved in "Pitch Black." When Riddick arrives on Helion Prime, Imam and the Elemental Aereon (Judi Dench) explain why: the death-worshiping Necromongers are sweeping through the galaxy, destroying whomever they don't convert.
And when the Necromongers invade Helion Prime, Riddick learns that he is a Furian -- and that it was prophesied that a Furian would kill the Necromonger Marshal (Colm Feore), the "Holy Half-Dead." He escapes the Necromongers, and has himself shipped to a brutal prison world where Jack/Kyra (Alexa Davalos) is being held captive. But even with her help, he may not be able to defeat an army of death-worshiping warriors.
Basically, "The Chronicles of Riddick" is an extension of the story in "Pitch Black," but grown much more bloated and self-important. In fact, there's a very basic, simplistic plot once you strip away the creepy visuals and CGI -- and an end that just feels like "To Be Continued."
It has to be admitted, there are some truly great creepy moments -- panoramic views of burning planets, high-octane chases, and the eerie use of half-dead corpses as communicators (although it gets silly when they start screeching "KILL THE RIDDICK!") and even kissing through them. Weird, freaky stuff.
Unfortunately, overdone CGI is spread as thickly as peanut butter on this movie, and much of it is less than convincing. The scriptwriters also got lazy in places, loading down the dialogue with excruciatingly lame dialogue ("I'll kill you with my teacup") and a distinct lack of plot for long stretches.
As usual, Vin Diesel can't act -- he basically smirks and growls his way through, just as he did in "Pitch Black." But he can't, can't, can't pull off some of those cheesy one-liners ("It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful").
The Necromongers aren't much better, although the idea of a death-worship religion is intriguingly original, but Feore is just a basic baddie, Thandie Newton is a 2-D vamp, and Karl Urban just seems totally confused by what's going on. At least there's Judi Dench, even if she seems as confused as Urban.
"Chronicles of Riddick" is both too much and too little -- too much action and CGI, too little plot and dialogue. Sister, they didn't know what to do with just one Riddick movie.
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