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 Art tips and techniques, reviews and interviews from my studio. Archived here and at World Famous Comics. Comics 101 for 06/17/2004 Movie Review - The Chronicles of Riddick It's summer time and no time is better for big budget, special effects-laden superstar driven blockbusters where you can cool off in doors for a few hours while you kill a few brain cells. Well this movie is no exception, save for the killing a few brain cells part. Granted, The Chronicles of Riddick won't force your brain to work too hard (for those of you who found the Matrix sequels just too much to handle - I know, an action movie with plot and meaning, how absurd) but it does give you enough of it's own mythology, philosophy and Shakespearian inspired drama mixed in with incredible action and set pieces to hold your attention for a solid two hours.  Vin Diesel is back as Richard B. Riddick, the anti-hero from the cult favorite film, Pitch Black. With that film as well as this sequel, Vin does become this generation's Snake Plissken or Mad Max but takes on the mantle of the typical anti-hero role with a bit of his own personal depth and charm. My only complaint about TCoR is that by movie's end his character arc ends closely in the ballpark to where it did in the first film. I suppose it would have been enjoyable to see Riddick's darkness explored even further in this film since it was the edge he had as a potential villian in Pitch Black that made his character so compelling. By the end of Pitch Black, when Riddick finds a reason to care through the sacrifices of other characters, it makes his character really resonate with the audience. The journey of his character in the new film may be vaugely similar, but this time around the stakes are definitely much higher. When TCoR begins, Riddick is back to where he started in the first film, it's five years later and he's still a convicted killer on the run from 'mercs'. Uneasy about the bounty on his head and the secrecy of his prolonged isolation revealed, he journeys to another planet where he confronts the one man he entrusted with his whereabouts, a survivor he rescued from the previous film, the always reliable Keith David. It's here where we first learn of Riddick's potential as the savior of the universe when he confronts the vicious planet killers, the Necromongers. It's not long before Riddick comes face to face with the Lord Marshall who leads the army of half dead along with Lord Vaako, a simmering, understated performance by Karl Urban. Colm Feore as the Lord Marshall exudes with a certain unique fiendish discipline perfect for a bold, tactical militaristic villian. Even Thandie Newton as Dame Vaako acceptably handles her character of the scheming temptress with enough chemistry and other wordly presence that she plays surprisingly well off of Karl Urban whom she shares most of her scenes with. With so many peripheral characters, especially when it comes to villians in an action movie, they can usually be lost or delegated to the background as the story focuses on the big name marquee actor or actress. But not in TCoR, where even the slimy merc Toombs, played brilliantly by Nick Chinlund, or the guards from the prison planet, Crematoria, are allowed to shine and given plenty of action and scenes to chew on. And as they chew on the scenes, it's Vin's Riddick who more than capably keeps the pace lively and the plot rolling as we explore this new universe through his goggles and silver glare. Another reason I found this movie so fresh and entertaining is not so much in it's originality but for the fact that it mines rich inspiration from many of the old sci-fi films, novels and comics of days gone by as opposed to the same retread fodder that Hollywood sci-fi films are know for recycling. In it's successful effort to create a new mythology it draws upon a variety of classic sources both prose, like Dune or Edgar Rice Burroughs, and illustrative, like Frank Frazetta's paintings or the classic sci-fi pulp novel covers from a long time ago. It's as much as it is fantasy in spirit as it is science fiction, from the incredibly ornate architecture of the set designs to the costumes of the armored Necromonger hordes along with the ethereal Elemental character, Judi Dench's Aereon, a wise seer who focuses more on the odds of chance rather than predicting the future. Perhaps some of the film's best moments come in the second act when Riddick allows himself to be captured just so he can be reunited in prison with the other person he rescued from the nasty aliens in Pitch Black, the now grown up 'Jack' - or Kyra as she prefers to be called this time, played with a steely resolve by newcomer Alexa Davalos. As the movie cuts from the Machivellian scheming of the Necromonger warriors to the downright vile and dangerous prison planet, the Riddick we remember from the first film really reemerges here as he deals with all of the dangers, human, animal and environmental, that the planet has to offer. There are some great concepts in this second act, amazing action sequences, fun characters and incredible sets and effects to seek your teeth into. It all leads up to a superbly paced and edited non-stop action sequence where mercs, prison guards and Necromongers all clash with Riddick and the other escaped convicts high atop a mountain peak where the the seven hundred degree sunrise threatens to burn everyone to a cinder. Though the character arc felt similar to what we had experienced with Riddick before by the film's end, it was his journey, the different paths of the story, that kept the experience unique and interesting this time around. Since the stakes are much higher for the characters and the motives more personal, especially for Riddick, we're given a finale that pays off in dividends between our anti-hero and the even more evil Lord Marshall. I won't spoil anything about the ending except that it brilliantly balances irony in it's closure but still leaves the door wide open for a sequel. The last thirty seconds of the film definitely left me wanting more without feeling cheated at all. If you like pulpy sci-fi, over the top comic book adventure, larger than life villians and your good guys not so obviously clean cut like I do, then go check out The Chronicles of Riddick this weekend. Even if you do prefer your heroes true blue with an obvious set of moral standards, go see this movie anyway so they'll make the other two chapters of the Chronicles trilogy that director David Twohy has planned. I'm not even the biggest Vin Diesel fan (though he was excellent as the voice of The Iron Giant) but he's perfect as this character and I would love to see him do another Riddick movie. Have fun at the movies this summer and see you next week for a new Comics 101 feature! -Joe Recent Columns:
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