There is the old Shakespeare quote, ‘what a piece of work is man’. Well, one can ask, what a piece of work is Vin Diesel (pardon the grammar)? He struts around all macho, typical action hero type, talks in a sinister tone, but has this look on his face—almost…goofy.
This aside, one of the few–well, only–times he has stood out is as Richard Riddick, the convicted serial killer who hides glow-in-the-dark eyes through his goggles. It was his performance that made the movie “”Pitch Black”” a notch above the average chased-by-monsters flick. Besides, how many of these films feature as sole survivors a con (Riddick), a gender-bending kid, and a Muslim Imam.Still, there was a not a need for a sequel, as there was no ‘universe’ established. In other words, “”Pitch Black”” was just a simple tale of space travelers who have escaped a crash only to face a scorching planet with 3 suns, noctural carniverous creatures that include humans on the menu, and Riddick. This story was fine by itself.As the industry dictates, never exclude the need for a follow up, and so now there is “”The Chronicles of Riddick””, which has the anti-hero now with a new bounty on his head, and a face-off against super-powerful Necromongers. These villains, headed by the Lord Marshal (Colm Meore), look to include–i.e. brainwash– various worlds into their metallic-clad ranks, and those that resist get destroyed (a mix of “”Star Trek””‘s Borg and any number of other hostile alien spieces that, well, destroy). Their goal is a to eventually reach a darker plane of existence called the underverse.Considering their success, as dictated during the opening narration by Aereon (Judi Dench), it seems very unlikely–in a major understatement–that one person can take them on. One must remember then the title of this movie, and so a search is conducted for the now Rastafarian-looking Riddick. The protagonist, after subduing and capturing a ship owned by Toombs (Nick Chinlund)–which was actually sent to capture the lead character–heads to a place called Helion Prime to learn who put out the bounty. The search brings Riddick to a reunion with the Imam (Keith David) from the previous movie, who is now married with a daughter. It isn’t long before the spiritual leader reveals the reason for seeking out his former cohort, and that is to face off against the Necromongers, who have now targeted this world for assimilation/destruction. Aereon also makes an appearance; she explains to Riddick that she is an elemental, and he is a Furian (!?) and thus capable of staving off this threat to all things good. [pagebreak]Initially, Riddick is reluctant to help, as can be understood based on the type of guy he is (answers to no one). This changes, however, when he spots the Imam being killed, and then faces off against the Lord Marshall and his forces, headed by Vaako (Karl Urban), and his wife (Thandie Newton). After being briefly captured by the Necromonger, the lead character breaks free only to be re-taken, this time by Toombs.This mercenary brings his quarry to a prison world, where the other survivor from the first film is re-introduced. This would be Jack/Jackie (a girl who was posing as a boy), only now she is grown up, goes by the name of Kyra (Alexa Davalos), and looks very feminine, sporting long, curly brown hair. After reuniting with her, Riddick tries to deal with Toombs, the prison managment–who throw some huge feline-esque creatures into the mix, and those Necromongers who are now also persuing Riddick.Once again going back to the first movie, the thing that worked was keeping it simple, and making Diesel’s on-screen counterpart someone complex: he kept up this tough exterior, and spouted cynical comments, all while everyone else turned on each other. At the end, he finally discovers his humanity. “”Chronicles””, on the other hand, is more special effects focus, and tries to create this world that didn’t seem to exist earlier—almost as if the filmmakers are trying to “”Star Wars”” the franchise, what with the dark ‘underverse’ and people being converted over to this villainous way of thinking.Diesel, as the title role, still spouts fun comments–such as Aereon explains various alien spieces and such, and Riddick tells her to pretend like she is speaking to someone who doesn’t understand a word of what she’s saying, then adds “”On second thought, don’t pretend”” (actually, Riddick is probably voicing the audience’s mindset at this point). In this movie, Riddick is made an action hero, which doesn’t make as interesting–fewer cool, and intriguing, lines, and more running and punching around.The villains, meanwhile, are set up as super powerful, what with their ships, their ability to assimilate–or destroy–humanity. In addition to their powerful ships, some of their forces have powerful lenses that utilize heat-seeking vision, and the troops can seem to multiply rapidly–almost a kind of regeneration (as seen in an early firefight with troops on Helion Prime). One is expected to believe that these groups can be defeated by the end of the movie, by a single individual no less, making the ending somewhat silly (and it is silly–actually, it seems cut short come to think of it).Other actors are, well, just there. Dench does well for her part, but despite what trailers may indicate, her role is fairly brief and so is seen little–literally actually, as her character can turn invisible. As for the special effects, they generally look decent, but at times they give the impression of too much going and can be dizzying (esp. hard on the eyes). Again, on the subject of those trailers, they are exciting, create a decent, menacing atomosphere, and feature lots of Dench—none of which seem to apply to the actual film. The inconsistency of the villains–who seem to have super powers in some scenes and not in others–and, dare it be said, the dumbing down of the protagonist to some kind of savior of the universe, make this tedious to watch in spite of all the flashy F/X. In addition, story lines that are introduced–such as an examination of Riddick’s background, and also Dame Vaako’s wish for her husband to have more power–are brought out but insufficiently explored.The best thing then, other than just watching the trailers, is to maybe rent “”Pitch Black””. It’s not the best film, but certainly provides a better look at Mr. Riddick/Mr. Diesel.Grade: C-EM Review by Andrew Haas6/11/04