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The Chronicles of Riddick [2004]


RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £1.18 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Bigger isn't always better, but for anyone who enjoyed Pitch Black, a nominal sequel like The Chronicles of Riddick should prove adequately entertaining. Writer-director David Twohy returns with expansive sets, detailed costumes, an army of CGI effects artists, and the star he helped launch--Vin Diesel--bearing his franchise burden quite nicely as he reprises his title role. The Furian renegade Riddick has another bounty on his head, but when he escapes from his mercenary captors, he's plunged into an epic-scale war waged by the Necromongers. A fascist master race led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), they're determined to conquer all enemies in their quest for the Underverse, the appeal of which is largely unexplained (since Twohy is presumably reserving details for subsequent "chronicles"). With tissue-thin plotting, scant character development, and skimpy roles that waste the talents of Thandie Newton (as a Necromonger conspirator) and Judi Dench (as a wispy "Elemental" priestess), Twohy's back in the B-movie territory he started in (with The Arrival), brought to vivid life on a vast digital landscape with the conceptual allure of a lavish graphic novel. But does Riddick have leadership skills on his resumé? To get an answer to that question, sci-fi fans will welcome another sequel. --Jeff Shannon


Probably the worst film I've ever seen.
Review date: 2008-09-07 Rating: 2 out of 10

Appalling acting - even by Judi Dench - how did she ever let herself be involved.
The is no real story - and what there is is inconsistent between beginning and the end.
Poor special effects.
Dire action sequences. The fights are laughable.
But worst of all the continuity is shot.

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Reviews


Excellent - now buying Director's Cut
Review date: 2008-08-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

I loved Pitch Black and snapped up Chronicles of Riddick when it came out. I must have seen it 50 times or more and am still not bored of it. The film was an underrated masterpiece. If you love sci-fi with a twist, you'll love this film. Having just read about the Director's Cut - I've ordered that now too and am looking forward to finding out just that little bit more about the characters. One not to miss even if it's 4 years old now.

My kind of science fiction.
Review date: 2008-06-08 Rating: 8 out of 10

Follow-up to sci-fi horror Pitch Black in which Vin Diesel once again plays anti-hero Riddick, this time called upon to save the universe of mankind from the seemingly invincible armies of the Necromongers, aliens who demand that all men convert and become as they are or die. This film is a very different beast to Pitch Black, as it is not set on a single planet but on various planetary locales, and the action is much more epic in scope. The special effects in this film are second to none, the Necromongers make for excellent villains, there are some great set pieces - watch for the sequence on the burning planet - and the final showdown between Riddick and the leader of the Necromongers, Lord Marshal (played by Colm Feore) is outstanding. We also get to hear more of Riddick's back story, origins that were merely alluded to in Pitch Black, and a touching relationship between Riddick and his protégé 17 year old Kyra (played by Alexa Davalos), one of the characters from the first film who here with Riddick makes a formidable fight partnership. All in all, my kind of science fiction film. My only complaint is that there was no explanation given of what the Necromongers were, and what being converted to one of them meant, which meant that an extra edge of horror that should have been in this film was lacking. As a result, I can unfortunately only give this film 4 stars out of 5 but still, a very, very good film.

and we're back
Review date: 2008-06-07 Rating: 2 out of 10

after actually making a decent action in man apart vin takes a big step back and stars in this overblown and laughable flick

You keep what you kill
Review date: 2008-06-07 Rating: 4 out of 10

"Pitch Black" was a brilliant piece of sci-fi -- dark, brutal, eerie, bloody and full of moral quandaries.

But even when you don't compare "The Chronicles of Riddick" to "Pitch Black," the vastly different sequel comes out srely lacking. Intent on being an epic blockbuster, this sci-fi epic ends up becoming a ponderous, bloated expanse of special effects and simplistic pseudo-philosophy, with a plot that is stretched to the breaking limit. They're just hoping audiences don't notice.

After killing off some pursuing mercenaries, Riddick (Vin Diesel) finds that someone has put a bounty on finding him -- it's Imam, the man he saved in "Pitch Black."

When Riddick arrives on Helion Prime, Imam and the Elemental Aereon (Judi Dench) explain why: the death-worshiping Necromongers are sweeping through the galaxy, destroying whomever they don't convert. And when the Necromongers invade Helion Prime, Riddick learns that he is a Furian -- and that it was prophesied that a Furian would kill the Necromonger Marshal (Colm Feore), the "Holy Half-Dead."

Captured by the Necromongers and sentenced by their bizarre dead oracles, Riddick manages to escape, and has himself shipped to a brutal prison world where Jack/Kyra (Alexa Davalos) is being held captive. But even with her help, he may not be able to defeat an army of death-worshiping warriors -- or oppose a ruthless pair of Necromonger nobles out to overcome the Marshal.

Basically, "The Chronicles of Riddick" is an extension of the lean, muscular sci-fi story in "Pitch Black," but grown much more bloated, self-important, and intent on turning the story into a space epic. Unfortunately, it has an extremely simplistic plot once you strip away the creepy visuals and CGI -- and an easily predictable end that just feels like "To Be Continued." Basically, you can expect another sequel to pop up eventually.

It has to be admitted, there are some truly great creepy moments -- panoramic views of burning planets, high-octane chases, and the eerie use of half-dead corpses as communicators and oracles (although it gets silly when they start screeching "KILL THE RIDDICK!") and even a couple of Necromongers "kissing" through them. It's weird, freaky stuff, and it's where "Chronicles of Riddick" works the best.

Unfortunately, the extremely overdone CGI is spread as thickly as peanut butter on this movie, and much of it is less than convincing -- at times it simply shores up the blank spots in the storyline. The scriptwriters also got lazy , loading down the dialogue with excruciatingly lame dialogue ("I'll kill you with my teacup") and a distinct lack of plot for long stretches. As for the whole prophecy-about-Riddick, it feels like a hack fantasy cliche was transported here to create a motive for Riddick to attack the Marshal.

And it doesn't help that as usual, Vin Diesel can't act -- he basically smirks and growls his way through, just as he did in "Pitch Black." But he can't, can't, can't pull off some of those cheesy one-liners ("It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful," he informs Thandie Newton), and moments that demand something other than growls, smirks and gunplay end up feeling horribly forced.

The Necromongers aren't much better, although the idea of a death-worship religion is intriguingly original, and would have been great if fleshed out. But Feore is just a basic baddie with a cliched weakness. Thandie Newton is a 2-D vamp who seems to flirt with everything in pants, and an attractively leather-clad Karl Urban just seems totally confused by what's going on. At least there's Judi Dench as an ethereal Elemental, even if she seems as confused as Urban.

"Chronicles of Riddick" is both too much and too little -- too much mindless action and CGI, too little plot and dialogue. Sister, they didn't know what to do with just one Riddick movie.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Karl Urban
Thandie Newton
Judi Dench
Vin Diesel
Colm Feore

Creators:
Vin Diesel (Primary Contributor)
Colm Feore (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures Video
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures Video
EAN: 5050582274639
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2005-01-03
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 114 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2004-06-11
Language: English (Original Language)

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