In the prologue of "The Chronicles of Riddick", Dame Judi Dench as Aereon, leader of the Elemental race, declares that to battle great evil sometimes requires "another kind of evil". That "evil" she speaks of would be Riddick, played by Vin Diesel. Perhaps Riddick (Diesel) is another kind of evil. Although he seems more the classic rogue warrior, beholding to none, who eventually transcends to an avatar. He becomes the chosen one in a battle between good and evil-- a battle that initially was never his nor did have any stake in it. David Towhy's "Chronicles of Riddick", which follows the main character of his "Pitch Black", is very unwieldy, needlessly convoluted, and ambitious in scale and scope. That being said, I enjoyed the movie largely because of Vin Diesel, and the appeal of the character Riddick. Here is the deal. The Elementals are some kind of ethereal guardian race, who follow some sort of doctrine of non-intervention. Ultimately, they are part of the storyline. The great evil are the Necromongers, a ruthless fascist military race, bent on the genocide of all humans throughout the galaxy. Their leader is the omnipotent, Lord Marshall (Colm Feore). The dark Lord is hinted to be "half living and..." Aereon (Dench) prophesies that the powerful Lord will die by the hand of a Furion, member of the extinct elite warrior race. In the prophesy, Riddick is that Furion. Hence, the mythology is in place. Unlike the very poorly done messiah tale of "The Matrix Revolutions", Twohy's "Riddick" does not really take itself so seriously. This is a good thing.
"Chronicles" is set five years after the prisoner, Riddick, and survivors escaped the deadly planet in "Pitch Black". Bounty hunters tracking Riddick, bring him out of seclusion and back to civilization on Helion II. There he seeks out his old friend, Iman (Keith David). Riddick thinks that Iman had betrayed him to bounty hunters. He does so, but discovers that the young boy, Jack, with whom they escaped was really a girl, Kyra. Kyra (Alexa Davalos) has the story that Riddick abandoned her, when he had intended to protect her from harm by leaving her and Iman. Kyra in turn has become like Riddick, now a murderous inmate on a planetary penitentiary. This is a rather forced plot twist which works in this story. Having Jack be Kyra lends compassion to Riddick which is a cool character paradox. One of the endearing aspects of Diesel as Riddick is that he does not care about anyone, including himself. Kyra gives him something worth fighting for.
While on Helion Riddick, witnesses the sheer brutality and ruthlessness of the Necromongers. He also demonstrates his fearlessness and awesome warrior prowess. The battle lines are drawn, and Riddick must surrender to his destiny... or not.
Twohy's story is very kluged, though his direction has effective pace and energy. Some of the action is sharply edited in a quick cut style which makes details difficult to discern. "The Chronicles of Riddick" really relies on the powerful presence and intensity of Vin Diesel. Diesel is at his best playing bad boy, loner heroes, and muting the hero's compassion. Really, he is great at underplaying this. John Riddick is just more of an updated gangsta version of John Rambo. Diesel has a great voice, and is in awesome shape to perform the fighting sequences. Colm Feore is a formidable adversary as Lord Marshall. Judi Dench, who is great in whatever role she plays, must have been well compensated for Aereon, because she does not have much to do in this movie. The only other standout is Alexa Davalos as Kyra. She is beautiful, strong, athletic, and full of rage. Her Kyra is a great foil to Riddick; thus, serving to humanize his character.
I enjoyed "The Chronicles of Riddick" and admire the star power of Vin Diesel. "Riddick" looks to be a movie franchise. It would be great if Twohy in the sequel expands and deepens the character, instead of just amping up the action. Vin Diesel is suited for these kinds of movies (I really would not like see him in a romantic comedy); however, he might select more challenging roles and movies that capitalize on his charisma, and develop his range and power. He is already a movie star. I also think he can be a powerful actor.
"Chronicles" is set five years after the prisoner, Riddick, and survivors escaped the deadly planet in "Pitch Black". Bounty hunters tracking Riddick, bring him out of seclusion and back to civilization on Helion II. There he seeks out his old friend, Iman (Keith David). Riddick thinks that Iman had betrayed him to bounty hunters. He does so, but discovers that the young boy, Jack, with whom they escaped was really a girl, Kyra. Kyra (Alexa Davalos) has the story that Riddick abandoned her, when he had intended to protect her from harm by leaving her and Iman. Kyra in turn has become like Riddick, now a murderous inmate on a planetary penitentiary. This is a rather forced plot twist which works in this story. Having Jack be Kyra lends compassion to Riddick which is a cool character paradox. One of the endearing aspects of Diesel as Riddick is that he does not care about anyone, including himself. Kyra gives him something worth fighting for.
While on Helion Riddick, witnesses the sheer brutality and ruthlessness of the Necromongers. He also demonstrates his fearlessness and awesome warrior prowess. The battle lines are drawn, and Riddick must surrender to his destiny... or not.
Twohy's story is very kluged, though his direction has effective pace and energy. Some of the action is sharply edited in a quick cut style which makes details difficult to discern. "The Chronicles of Riddick" really relies on the powerful presence and intensity of Vin Diesel. Diesel is at his best playing bad boy, loner heroes, and muting the hero's compassion. Really, he is great at underplaying this. John Riddick is just more of an updated gangsta version of John Rambo. Diesel has a great voice, and is in awesome shape to perform the fighting sequences. Colm Feore is a formidable adversary as Lord Marshall. Judi Dench, who is great in whatever role she plays, must have been well compensated for Aereon, because she does not have much to do in this movie. The only other standout is Alexa Davalos as Kyra. She is beautiful, strong, athletic, and full of rage. Her Kyra is a great foil to Riddick; thus, serving to humanize his character.
I enjoyed "The Chronicles of Riddick" and admire the star power of Vin Diesel. "Riddick" looks to be a movie franchise. It would be great if Twohy in the sequel expands and deepens the character, instead of just amping up the action. Vin Diesel is suited for these kinds of movies (I really would not like see him in a romantic comedy); however, he might select more challenging roles and movies that capitalize on his charisma, and develop his range and power. He is already a movie star. I also think he can be a powerful actor.