tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post893462065821355451..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Film Friday: Riddick (2013)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-55364129145888691042014-10-18T16:03:56.044-04:002014-10-18T16:03:56.044-04:00Oh my gosh, I totally forgot I watched this movie....Oh my gosh, I totally forgot I watched this movie. It was so forgettable. That's saying something as I'm a huge SF fan. <br /><br />I think the second installment in 2004 had so much potential. Whilst the author of this blog is interested in the Riddick character, I felt the man was the least interesting of all because he simply didn't represent his Furyan background convincingly. However, it wasn't Vin Diesel's fault at all! I don't like his characters, but I do not blame him.<br /><br />His Furyan character was carried by (1) Shirah, the girl in his dream, (2) Aereon (Judy Dench) and (3) the revelation by the Quasi-Dead. Riddick's role was to be defiant of everything, like a petulant child. I suppose Vin Diesel is to remain the shallow tough guy who thrives on the goodwill of everybody else who are willing to apologize for his character.John Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15040106071973128389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-5164776510696147752014-10-07T14:00:35.043-04:002014-10-07T14:00:35.043-04:00I thought Riddick was crap. Totally devoid of sus...I thought Riddick was crap. Totally devoid of suspense and just filled with weird behavior on Riddick's part. <br /><br />The fact that alien army left him on the planet like one leaves a puppy by the side of the road was pretty damn funny (more entertaining that the rest of the movie) even if it probably just means that they didn't have the budget to make Riddick the commander of a galactic army.<br /><br />I can't figure out why Riddick didn't just take a ship and escape at the movie's halfway point instead of mess around with a bunch of hideously stupid mercenaries and CGtastic monsters.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-25667780697655447332014-10-04T13:08:33.440-04:002014-10-04T13:08:33.440-04:00Thanks Ben. I don't think the movie is horrib...Thanks Ben. I don't think the movie is horrible by any stretch, I just found it far inferior to the first two.<br /><br />There is still some humor, but to me, the character has lost the sense of humor he had in the prior films. That was something I really liked about those films. His one-liners in particular was often hilarious. This time, they're just tough guy stuff.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-74696962343236037872014-10-03T21:53:35.219-04:002014-10-03T21:53:35.219-04:00Good review, Andrew!
And while I concur with every...Good review, Andrew!<br />And while I concur with everyone commenting irt Riddick's arrogance, I think he went a bit overboard.<br /><br />I prefer the darkly funny Riddick to the overly arrogant one, although there was some flashes of dark humor I did like in this film.<br /><br />Not sure if this is a direct quote and too lazy to look it up, but I particularly liked when Riddick said: "There are bad days then there are legendary bad days."<br />Plus I can relate to that line, having had quite a few legendary bad days recently. :^)<br /><br />But yeah, Riddick could've been a lot better, although it wasn't horrible.<br />USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-18685327241216696772014-10-03T14:52:44.694-04:002014-10-03T14:52:44.694-04:00tryanmax, I too felt the storm/monster idea was a ...tryanmax, I too felt the storm/monster idea was a bust. It came on so suddenly, without any real warning, and it was over before you knew it. If you're going to do something like that, the best part of it is watching it build and watching the characters trying to prepare for it. This film kind of short-circuited all of that.<br /><br />I think the idea of the two teams competing would have been better. Ultimately though, I would have preferred something entirely different like Riddick discovering some alien world beneath the surface.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-26637085357936566352014-10-03T14:47:27.362-04:002014-10-03T14:47:27.362-04:00Scott, I think your explanation is correct, and I ...Scott, I think your explanation is correct, and I don't disagree that those are easily seen as the reasons for the way he behaves. That said, I found it made the character hard to like or care about. It lost the thing that made him so special during the other films -- his sense of calm humor as the rest of the world burns out of control around him.<br /><br />In terms of separating it from the prior films, I think I would have liked this better if I didn't have the first two films to compare it to. That said, however, I know I would not have liked this nearly as much as I liked <i>Pitch Black</i> when I first saw it. I suspect I would have seen this as a decent, but not ultimately fulfilling science-fiction-action film, whereas <i>Pitch Black</i> really blew me away as something special.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-87958974634086131022014-10-03T14:35:13.740-04:002014-10-03T14:35:13.740-04:00Shawn, The setup was definitely Pitch Black with a...Shawn, The setup was definitely <i>Pitch Black</i> with a <i>Chronicles</i> budget, but the writing never quite approximated <i>Pitch Black</i> for me. I found the passengers totally fascinating all on their own and would have enjoyed <i>Pitch Black</i> even without Riddick. I would not have watched this film without Riddick because the bounty hunters were too generic and too similar to me.<br /><br />In terms of different tastes, that always holds true. :)AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-33901180029328876802014-10-03T14:32:43.573-04:002014-10-03T14:32:43.573-04:00Backthrow, I had the same thought. It started lik...Backthrow, I had the same thought. It started like a <i>Robinson Crusoe on Mars</i> and it seemed to be headed in an interesting direction. But once the bounty hunters arrived, it became rather generic.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-49125672786271290482014-10-03T11:42:42.179-04:002014-10-03T11:42:42.179-04:00Agree with Backthrow that it was good until the bo...Agree with Backthrow that it was good until the bounty hunters arrived. Luring them there to get off the planet was clever, and the story stayed interesting while Riddick was evading them. <br /><br />To a degree, I see Riddick's arrogance as playing off his reputation. With that in mind, a better film would've come of Riddick manipulating the two teams against one another until they had no choice but to give up a ship. <br /><br />The ticking-clock element was necessary, but the storm/monsters were a total bust. Why would there be a bounty hunter outpost on such a planet to begin with? A million other ideas could've been better. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-33801538960524011252014-10-03T05:44:42.175-04:002014-10-03T05:44:42.175-04:00I really enjoyed Riddick, whilst acknowledging tha...I really enjoyed Riddick, whilst acknowledging that it was a complete rehash of the original movie. <br /><br />As to the arrogance that is easily explained, as shawn says he was the leader of army where weakness would lead to death and he has proved time and time again to be an apex predator. <br /><br />He wasn't helpful as in the first movie as most of those characters were innocent, the characters in this movie were were all bounty hunters, basically scum along the lines of Johns. He knew he had to kill Johns in the first movie, but he was only helping the people in as much as it helped him escape, once he didn't need them he was happy to leave them to die. In fact <br />he only saved them in the end when he and Fry fight at the plane and she says she would die for them, which intrigues him. <br /><br />And I say the scenes of him messing with Johns father as a test. To see if he was like his son and to string him along so he doesn't try to kill him too soon. He was playing with all of their minds and as I said, as they were bounty hunters he didn't care about them, though he did learn to trust a few of them and them him.<br /><br />Watched on it's own it's great, it does lose something when you take into account that the plot is a rehash of the first movie. But it is done well and if you are going to do a good rehash of a movie, pick a great movie to rehash which they did. I loved Chronicles so much as it was completely different from Pitch Black (and a good movie on it's own) so Riddick does suffer in that sense and it will end up placing third favourite among the movies to me.<br /><br />But it is still a great movie which I will watch again, like I have for the first two movies. Saying all that, I can understand why people didn't like it.<br /><br />Scott.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-50967936629620729962014-10-03T04:20:55.014-04:002014-10-03T04:20:55.014-04:00Ooops, that should read arrogant, not arrogent.Ooops, that should read arrogant, not arrogent.shawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-11202981377739405202014-10-03T04:19:19.004-04:002014-10-03T04:19:19.004-04:00I liked it. To me it was Pitch Black with Chronic...I liked it. To me it was <i>Pitch Black</i> with <i>Chronicles</i> budget. But I can't argue that it offered anything new. And yeah, Riddick does come of more arrogent than in the first two movies, but he <b>was</b> the leader of a galaxy conquering swarm of warriors who viewed any sign of weakness as an invitation for death.<br /><br />Once again, to each his own.shawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-58192823022067355822014-10-03T04:10:43.077-04:002014-10-03T04:10:43.077-04:00I liked the first act, before the bounty hunters s...I liked the first act, before the bounty hunters show up, where Riddick has to survive alone on the hostile planet, adopting the alien dog-thing. It reminded me a bit of a modern, well-made version of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFGFI-Hayco" rel="nofollow">Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)</a>. The rest of the movie? Eh.Backthrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02289433396695381105noreply@blogger.com