Riddick (2013)

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nTitle: Riddick (2013)

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nDirector: David Twohy

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nCast: Vin Diesel, Jordi Molla, Katee Sackhoff, Matt Nable,nDave Bautista, Karl Urban

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nThe Riddick franchise has been a very strange franchise innthe sense that is goes up and down in tone, like the rising and falling of thentide. The first film, entitled Pitch Black (2000), was a simple monster flicknabout a group of people trying to get off a planet before these nastyncarnivorous critters eat their asses. In comparison the second film, Chroniclesnof Riddick (2004), is epic in scale, with Riddick defying a group of dictatorsnwho call themselves ‘Necromongers’;  anrace of beings that go around conquering planets and destroying those who don’tnwon’t join their crusade. I love both movies for different reasons; the firstnone successfully fuses the horror and sci-fi genres. It’s dark, it’s gotnawesome visuals and it’s entertaining; it kept things simple yet effective. Thensecond film I like because it’s a more lavish production that expands on thenuniverse that David Twohy created on the first film. Still, no matter how epicnin scale Chronicles of Riddick was, the problem with this second film was thatneven though it was a more ambitious production, it didn’t make its money backnat the box office and so, this is the reason why we had not seen a new Riddicknfilm in such a long time. Studios won’t give you millions if your previousnflick failed. But both Twohy and Vin Diesel don’t want to let Riddick die, andnso they’ve decided to give the character another spin. Vin Diesel even went as far as putting up his own money to make this one happen, so that turns this one into a passion project for both Twohy and Vin Diesel. So finally, we get anthird adventure in the Riddick franchise. Was it any good? Is it a worthynsequel?

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nThis time around, same as in the first film, Riddick isntrying to survive on a planet filled with deadly wildlife, a planet in which youncan’t walk five steps without some fanged creature trying to kill you. But ifnyou know Riddick, then you know that’s just the way he likes it. It seems thenguy was meant to thrive in adversity. Like Mad Max or Conan, Riddick works bestnalone and under strenuous circumstances.  So it isn’t long before he learns to survivenon this deadly planet just fine. But it seems this planet won’t leave Riddicknalone, soon the weather starts to change and Riddick decides that this planetnis no longer fit for him to survive in, so he does something unexpected, hencalls a bunch of Bounty Hunters to come and “get him”. In reality, Riddick’s justnluring them in so he can take their space ship and get off this dangerousnplanet he currently resides. But the bounty hunters seem to think they actuallyngot a chance of capturing the famous escaped convict. All they care about is capturingnRiddick, chopping off his head and getting double their pay. Question is: donthese guys have a chance in hell? Don’t they know their messing with one of thenbaddest mothers in the universe?

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nSo yeah, that synopsis you’ve just read is in a nutshellnwhat this movie is all about. It’s not a very complex film which is where it differentiatesnitself from the previous one; Chronicles of Riddick is Shakespearian by comparison,nwhile this third film is like going back to basics. Its closer in tone and feelnto Pitch Black (2000), the first film, which means that yeah, we’re back in monsternflick territory again. Not a bad thing if you ask me, the problem is thatnpeople are going to be expecting a film that would bring a conclusion to thensecond film and Riddick is the furthest thing from that. You know how thensecond film ends with Riddick sitting on a throne, essentially becoming somensort of King to the Necromongers? The film ends like Conan the Destroyer (1984)nsaying “but that’s another story” and so of course we’re all expecting a bignconclusion to that story line with this new film, we all want to see whatnRiddick would be like as a ruler, will he change things? Would greed devour hisnsoul? Would he be a good king? Riddick the Conqueror, that’s what I wanted tonsee! And well, this new movie kind of explains what happens when Riddicknbecomes king, but in a few seconds, which isn’t fair. It brushes through hisnwhole king phase in five seconds, as if it didn’t matter all that much, as ifnit was some footnote in Riddick’s history. I mean really, we only get a glimpsenof his days as a king; I wanted the full story! 

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nBut that’s not what you’ll get, so scratch that idea fromnyour noggin. What you will get is Riddick surviving on a bad ass planetnfighting off monsters and greedy bounty hunters. You’ll take that and you’llnlike it! I see what Twohy and Vin Diesel are doing. They’ve brought downnproduction costs so that this third film will turn in a profit; in this waynassuring that they can make a fourth film, basically, they are attempting tonsave the franchise, which in my opinion is a franchise ripe with stories tontell. So here’s how it went down: Chronicles of Riddick (2004) costs 105 millionndollars, unfortunately it was a box office bomb and didn’t make its money back.nThis of course spelled tragedy for both Vin Diesel and Twohy, their belovednfranchise was apparently dead on its tracks! But wait, suddenly Vin Diesel’snFast and the Furious franchise is making kajillions! The actor has reached annall time high; each of the Fast and the Furious films making more money thannthe last! So now the studio can risk making a third Riddick movie, consideringnhow popular Vin Diesel is these days. But of course, the studio will only makena calculated risk, so they make a smaller film, a more personal story on a muchnsmaller budget. This is the reason why Riddick cost “only” 38 million, becausenthey want to make their money back. A lot is riding on this film, they want it tonbe successful so they can make another, so the franchise can live on. So my friends, this is the reason why this story is smaller in scale;nstill, I have to admit I liked this more personal take on the character.

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nUnfortunately, the film will feel like filler to fans of thenRiddick films, like it’s not an important story in the life of Riddick, in allnhonesty, it feels like just another day in the life of this character; surviving andnwiping out his enemy from the shadows. What I did like about it though is thatnwe get to spend some time with Riddick; we get to know him a bit better, thenloner, the survivalist, the bad ass mother. Those scenes with Riddick survivingnin the alien planet reminded me a whole lot of those first scenes in Conan thenBarbarian (1982), in which Conan is out in the world for the first time,nfighting off wild dogs and scavenging the world for food and women. Othernscenes reminded me of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), especially thosenscenes in which Riddick gets himself a dog like companion, just like Max did innThe Road Warrior. So you’ll get a lot of scenes of Riddick against the planet,nall on his own. It’s the second half of the film that turns into a wild goosenchase, with the Bounty Hunters running after Riddick. And if that doesn’t keepnyour butt on the seat, then you’ll certainly have fun with the deadly creaturesnthat inhabit this dangerous planet, which were pretty cool creations. Monsternfans should be happy with this one. And if that isn’t enough, fan boys should love the fact that the beautiful Katee Sackhoff is on this one! There’s something about that lady! Wowzers! 

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nSo, taking in consideration that this is a smaller film, andnnot the one we were expecting, I still think this is a solid slice of sci-fi. Visually speaking,nthe film doesn’t look less expensive, which is an asset. I mean, usually ansmaller budget means cramped sets and a cheaper looking film, but this is notnthe case with Riddick, the film still looks majestic and awesome, so my hatsndown to David Twohy for achieving a good looking picture with considerably lessnamounts of money. As I type this, Riddick stands number one at the box office,nthis is its first week out in the world, let’s hope that like its mainncharacter, the film manages to survive in the big bad Box Office. If it makes it’s moolah back we can expect a bigger adventure come nextnfilm. So in many ways, it’s up to the fans of this franchise to save this one. You hear me fanboys of the world? The future of the Riddick franchise lies in your capable hands! So go see this one! Now!

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nRating: 4 out of 5   

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