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trinityvixenAnd one hell of a good time. The Chronicles of Riddick was sooooo much fun. I can't believe how much fun it was. I love that character. Pitch Black was fun because Riddick was just an asshole and made no apologies about it. He was an opportunist, too, killed the mercenary on his tail--yes, it allowed the others time to escape, and was a legit distraction, but he wasn't gonna kill the weak, he killed the strong because he could. Excellent precious. Also, Riddick was a genuine miracle, a throw-away baby who made himself into an even better survivor than monsters. He wasn't looking for redemption and wasn't a slobbering maniac. He rather enjoyed being sick, and I love bastard characters who stay bastards and don't apologize for it. That's what I told Prof. Pagano, and I stand by it.
Okay, so I wasn't expecting Shakespeare, but I would have been an idiot to have expected that, I mean, honestly. I had a hard time keeping a straight face whenever Eomer walked on in that terrible weave, and the line "It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful" is a contender for worst line of the year, but as a rule, Chronicles delivered. It was watchable, good lord, was it ever. A lot of it reminded me of Star Wars Ep 1 in the fact that nearly everything was CGI and you could tell in a lot of places where CGI ended and sets or prosthetics or animatronics or models began. HOWEVER, unlike Episode One, it never got to the point where I got really, really annoyed by it. I basically just gave in since so much would have to be CGI to work, BUT it very minimally impacted upon the live actors. Mostly, they stood and watched ships fly or gaped at stuff that was far away, it wasn't Jar-Jar personal interaction, so it wasn't horribly done.
Acting, well, what could I possibly expect? Vin is Riddick again, which, after seeing XXX recently, I can appreciate is a subtly different beastie from Vin Diesel's usual strong man bad-ass. Riddick, like I said, isn't a hero, he is an old-school anti-hero, the kind of thing that is now cliche, what with the good guys being 'baaaaad' because being cool sells (things like Matrix knockoffs--like the sequels--and the Punisher). The 'anti-hero' or the troubled hero, or the badass good guy is soooo over. Riddick, though, Riddick is a breath of fresh air, even if he's not quite as cool as he was in Pitch Black. Pitch Black allowed him more character depth because he was interacting rather than lone-wolfing, interacting with characters who were equally conflicted portrayals (remember Fry? She tried to dump all the passengers on board to save her own skin, but she struggled to keep them all alive once they were there; then there was Johns, who was alternately a force for law and order and a druggie survivalist who wasn't quite as good at it as Riddick was).
In Chronicles, Riddick is Riddick again, ghosting, what he does best, working in the dark, which he does equally well, ready to turn on the survivors from Pitch Black, even the holy man. Yet, when Imam dies, he avenges him--he might have wanted to kill Imam himself (and I believe he would have had Imam not explained himself), but he wouldn't allow anyone else to harm him. Plus, there's the trademark Riddick snarl in place of the goofier "aw shucks" sarcastic smile of Xander Cage aka XXX. It's subtle, and some might argue that there is no difference, but it's there. It's what makes Riddick, Richard B. Riddick. I was a tad miffed at the turning of Riddick into a prophesized hero, but not because it's cliche. Because it takes away the brutality of his background, it tries to buff the rough edges away from an anti-hero who was made cooler for being a jagged mess. Riddick, as he says with no attempt at gaining sympathy, was abandoned as a newborn in a dumpster, umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Chronicles says it was because the Lord Marshal, the supreme baddie, hated Riddick's kind, and tried to wipe them out. Somehow, Riddick is more admirable not for having an angsty my-parents-were-forced-to-throw-me-away-or-the-evil-guy-would-kill-me life. That's angst, something Riddick isn't about. Instead, I prefer the absolutely awful and brutal and, above all, simple and human fact that he, like so many unfortunate others, was a cast-off, was unwanted, even from birth. That is a more interesting character than the baby put in the reeds and sent on his way like Moses. Oldest story in the book versus unflinching admission without recrimination of human weakness. It explains Riddick, how he is the strongest, why he survives--he's done it whether anyone likes it or not all his life, and he owes no one for it. "I absolutely believe in God. And I absolutely hate the fucker." Riddick has had a shit life, but he knows it's why he's survived and doesn't see why he should apologize.
As for Jack...aka Kyra now...well, she's actually not annoying. She's not the Queen Amidala looking to prove she's got girl power, or the 'I'm the token bad-ass chick' character because they give her a reason, and they show that she doesn't secretly have insecurities or, and this is important, fear. There's a scene where some prison guards are going to try to rape her, she registers only disgust, not fear at what would make any woman nervous. I felt bad that she got snatched and brainwashed, even if she overcame it. She and the other dude who was like Vin Diesel (or his people or whatever) because they registered that they were brainwashed and still hated it. I liked them. It was a good counter-point of nobility and will in the rough to Riddick's ferocity and roughness that is out of place even in what was supposed to be the worst of the worst prisons in the universe.
Or underverse? And okay, I realize that "necromonger" didn't slow them down in conquering the universe, but shhheeeeeesh. It's like 'Death-eater" as we discussed--it's not like anyone was at all confused as to who the bad guys were. I did like that, despite not explaining much about them, their weirdo religion or their weirdo leader's powers, they did have noticeable characteristics of non-Borgian brainwashed/absorbed societies--like political intrigue, love, pride, and some individuality. They had a code, too, and despite Eomer of the bad weave and his wife scheming through the whole thing, they fell in line with the code at the end. "What you kill, you keep." Sounds like a code Riddick could live by. They could have saved themselves a headache by asking him to be their human liason and not bothered trying to convert him...or kill him. That just kinda pissed him off. Most things do.
All in all, this movie was extremely fun, awesome, even. I mean, I wasn't bored, I liked the subplots, and the running around and, of course, the subversion of the dark as the enemy to the light being the enemy (sun that raises the temp to 700 degrees...ouch). Mostly, it was what it promised to be, a Riddick fest without making it too cliche--no romantic interest, that was nice (Vin is many things, but romantic hero ain't one of them). Also, I wish to have a giant golden Vin Diesel of my own one day. Don't ask, just go to the movie and stay for the credits, trust me.
Ooh, I got pins from Liz's friend who works at the theater for Aliens vs Predator, aaaaaand we saw the trailer!!! I was SQQQUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEing a lot until Michelle told me to shut up a lot. SQUEE. I got an alien pin and a predator pin, and YAY! August 13th, bay-bee.
Okay, so I wasn't expecting Shakespeare, but I would have been an idiot to have expected that, I mean, honestly. I had a hard time keeping a straight face whenever Eomer walked on in that terrible weave, and the line "It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful" is a contender for worst line of the year, but as a rule, Chronicles delivered. It was watchable, good lord, was it ever. A lot of it reminded me of Star Wars Ep 1 in the fact that nearly everything was CGI and you could tell in a lot of places where CGI ended and sets or prosthetics or animatronics or models began. HOWEVER, unlike Episode One, it never got to the point where I got really, really annoyed by it. I basically just gave in since so much would have to be CGI to work, BUT it very minimally impacted upon the live actors. Mostly, they stood and watched ships fly or gaped at stuff that was far away, it wasn't Jar-Jar personal interaction, so it wasn't horribly done.
Acting, well, what could I possibly expect? Vin is Riddick again, which, after seeing XXX recently, I can appreciate is a subtly different beastie from Vin Diesel's usual strong man bad-ass. Riddick, like I said, isn't a hero, he is an old-school anti-hero, the kind of thing that is now cliche, what with the good guys being 'baaaaad' because being cool sells (things like Matrix knockoffs--like the sequels--and the Punisher). The 'anti-hero' or the troubled hero, or the badass good guy is soooo over. Riddick, though, Riddick is a breath of fresh air, even if he's not quite as cool as he was in Pitch Black. Pitch Black allowed him more character depth because he was interacting rather than lone-wolfing, interacting with characters who were equally conflicted portrayals (remember Fry? She tried to dump all the passengers on board to save her own skin, but she struggled to keep them all alive once they were there; then there was Johns, who was alternately a force for law and order and a druggie survivalist who wasn't quite as good at it as Riddick was).
In Chronicles, Riddick is Riddick again, ghosting, what he does best, working in the dark, which he does equally well, ready to turn on the survivors from Pitch Black, even the holy man. Yet, when Imam dies, he avenges him--he might have wanted to kill Imam himself (and I believe he would have had Imam not explained himself), but he wouldn't allow anyone else to harm him. Plus, there's the trademark Riddick snarl in place of the goofier "aw shucks" sarcastic smile of Xander Cage aka XXX. It's subtle, and some might argue that there is no difference, but it's there. It's what makes Riddick, Richard B. Riddick. I was a tad miffed at the turning of Riddick into a prophesized hero, but not because it's cliche. Because it takes away the brutality of his background, it tries to buff the rough edges away from an anti-hero who was made cooler for being a jagged mess. Riddick, as he says with no attempt at gaining sympathy, was abandoned as a newborn in a dumpster, umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Chronicles says it was because the Lord Marshal, the supreme baddie, hated Riddick's kind, and tried to wipe them out. Somehow, Riddick is more admirable not for having an angsty my-parents-were-forced-to-throw-me-away-or-the-evil-guy-would-kill-me life. That's angst, something Riddick isn't about. Instead, I prefer the absolutely awful and brutal and, above all, simple and human fact that he, like so many unfortunate others, was a cast-off, was unwanted, even from birth. That is a more interesting character than the baby put in the reeds and sent on his way like Moses. Oldest story in the book versus unflinching admission without recrimination of human weakness. It explains Riddick, how he is the strongest, why he survives--he's done it whether anyone likes it or not all his life, and he owes no one for it. "I absolutely believe in God. And I absolutely hate the fucker." Riddick has had a shit life, but he knows it's why he's survived and doesn't see why he should apologize.
As for Jack...aka Kyra now...well, she's actually not annoying. She's not the Queen Amidala looking to prove she's got girl power, or the 'I'm the token bad-ass chick' character because they give her a reason, and they show that she doesn't secretly have insecurities or, and this is important, fear. There's a scene where some prison guards are going to try to rape her, she registers only disgust, not fear at what would make any woman nervous. I felt bad that she got snatched and brainwashed, even if she overcame it. She and the other dude who was like Vin Diesel (or his people or whatever) because they registered that they were brainwashed and still hated it. I liked them. It was a good counter-point of nobility and will in the rough to Riddick's ferocity and roughness that is out of place even in what was supposed to be the worst of the worst prisons in the universe.
Or underverse? And okay, I realize that "necromonger" didn't slow them down in conquering the universe, but shhheeeeeesh. It's like 'Death-eater" as we discussed--it's not like anyone was at all confused as to who the bad guys were. I did like that, despite not explaining much about them, their weirdo religion or their weirdo leader's powers, they did have noticeable characteristics of non-Borgian brainwashed/absorbed societies--like political intrigue, love, pride, and some individuality. They had a code, too, and despite Eomer of the bad weave and his wife scheming through the whole thing, they fell in line with the code at the end. "What you kill, you keep." Sounds like a code Riddick could live by. They could have saved themselves a headache by asking him to be their human liason and not bothered trying to convert him...or kill him. That just kinda pissed him off. Most things do.
All in all, this movie was extremely fun, awesome, even. I mean, I wasn't bored, I liked the subplots, and the running around and, of course, the subversion of the dark as the enemy to the light being the enemy (sun that raises the temp to 700 degrees...ouch). Mostly, it was what it promised to be, a Riddick fest without making it too cliche--no romantic interest, that was nice (Vin is many things, but romantic hero ain't one of them). Also, I wish to have a giant golden Vin Diesel of my own one day. Don't ask, just go to the movie and stay for the credits, trust me.
Ooh, I got pins from Liz's friend who works at the theater for Aliens vs Predator, aaaaaand we saw the trailer!!! I was SQQQUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEing a lot until Michelle told me to shut up a lot. SQUEE. I got an alien pin and a predator pin, and YAY! August 13th, bay-bee.
