Riddick

                                                           

          The science fiction genre is unique in the world of movies. The reason why this is so is because no other genre has fans that are so passionate about certain characters and their respective franchises. Think of the biggest followings out there for movies, with the exception of the comic book movies, are mostly science fiction. Love runs deep with these franchises, and there is little room for error when comes to the fan base. In 2000 “Pitch Black” was released and introduced us to Riddick and a new Sci-fi franchise, and I kind of have mixed feelings about that.

           While “Pitch Black” was new and fresh, with that hint of that old school sci-fi, it was everything that after that where the problem lies. “The Chronicles of Riddick” was more on the forgettable side and now we have “Riddick”, shorter title, but still the same results. Riddick (Vin Diesel) is in his own words “having one of those legendary bad days”. Still trying to get home, Riddick is left for dead on a planet that is unknown. Luckily for Riddick he is a survivor, or was a great Boy Scout at some point in his life, because he figures out how to live off the planet he is on. He does everything from fixing his broken leg, to taming the planets wildlife. For most of the first part of the movie, I thought I was watching a story about a boy and his dog. Riddick takes his new pet and finds a sort of “time share” place for bounty hunters when they are on the planet. He uses an emergency beacon to lure someone there, so that he can hitch a ride. Two different parties show up, and while they don’t get along at first, they realize if they want to live, they will need to team up to get Riddick. The problem is that there lies a bigger problem than Riddick, and everyone must work together if they are all going to get off this planet alive.

            Now I always like to root for the hero, but I don’t know if Riddick is the hero or the villain. Maybe anti-hero since he is an escape prisoner, so that should be a hint. Either way, I was not really rooting for Riddick to survive, because that could mean another sequel. Vin Diesel has a very limited range, he is a great voice actor (Iron Giant), and he can do the tough guy who is too cool (Fast & Furious), but that is about it. You will never have to worry about seeing Diesel in a David Mamet film, because he is a man of very little words. “Riddick” was written and directed by David Twohy who wrote and directed the previous two films. While surviving is pretty much the theme of the movie, you may wonder how you survived having to watch two hours of something that should have ended after ninety minutes, of the first film. Although Diesel has hit franchise gold with “Fast & Furious “, lighting in most cases does not strike twice. To me it is easy, this is one franchise everyone involved should let fade to pitch black.

Brian Taylor