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In what could
be considered a very short career by some,
writer/director David Twohy has made quite
a mark on the science fiction film landscape.
We can forgive his earlier efforts as the
writer of “Critters 2: The Main Course”
and “Warlock” because he bounced
back with the underappreciated “The
Arrival”, “Pitch Black”,
and “Below.” It is the second
of those films, though that eventually put
Twohy’s name on the map. When “Pitch
Black” first came out, it initially
did little at the box office, but it had
staying power and in the end turned out
to be quite the sleeper hit. Video and DVD
only helped to enhance the cult status of
the film.
Besides having a better than average storyline,
“Pitch Black” also served as
a stepping stone that lifted actor Vin Diesel
into stratospheric superstardom. Though
it was a short-lived ride littered with
more than a misstep or two, his career was
far from over. He and Twohy decided to cash
in on the popularity of the character he
played in “Pitch Black.”
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His name was Riddick, and all we ever learned
about him was that he was a criminal, on the run,
and one mean mother.
Twohy’s plan was to make two more films
about Riddick, turning the characters motion picture
history into a trilogy. The first, “The
Chronicles of Riddick”, hit theatres earlier
this year, and took his story back up about 5
years after the events of “Pitch Black.”
Riddick is still a wanted man, and after escaping
some bounty hunters, he finds himself smack dab
in the middle of a war. On one side, we have the
Necromongers, headed up a by the evidently quite
insane Lord Marshall (Colm Feore). It is their
goal to bring down the Elementals, whose leader
Aereon (Judi Dench) convinces Riddick to join
her side. As you might guess, the fate of the
planet rests solely in the hands of Riddick.
Where Twohy was able to make “Pitch Black”
look far more expensive that its rather modest
budget, “The Chronicles of Riddick”
actually had a huge budget. And from the looks
of it, Twohy knew just where to direct most of
it. The special effects in this movie are mind-blowing,
as is the overall production design. Everything
about the film is huge. The sets… the action…
everything. It is a completely different movie
that the first, which I think was a good choice.
No one wants to see a re-hash of the same movie
over and over again.
Now that “The Chronicles of Riddick”
has run its course in theatres, Universal is releasing
a couple of different versions out on DVD this
week. You have your choice of the theatrical cut
or an Unrated Director’s Cut. For my money,
I say go for the Unrated version. It runs about
15 minutes longer, and I have to admit the scenes
that were put back in make it a better movie.
There are some previously unanswered questions
that now make sense, and some of the fight sequences
are just that much more intense.
Of course, what’s a DVD release of any film
if it doesn’t have extra features? Well,
“The Chronicles of Riddick” has them
in spades. There is a better than average commentary
by Twohy, who is joined by actors Alexa Davalos
and Karl Urban. The latter two are not actually
in the studio with Twohy, but rather they literally
phone in their comments. Oddly enough, it works
out rather well, and the commentary rarely suffers
from extended periods of silence.
The Unrated version also includes three deleted
scenes, none of which are especially interesting,
though I still suggest checking them out. A lot
of the rest of the features are rather unusual,
such as Riddick’s World, which allows you
to take a 360 degree tour of some of the sets
used in the movie. There is also a Virtual Guide
to Riddick’s World that gives the viewer
more details about the film’s planet, inhabitants
and the like. You’ll also find a rather
short featurette on some of the digital effects
used in the movie.
There is also a Chase Log by the Bounty Hunter
Toombs, which gives a lot of detail about the
time he spent hunting Riddick, as well as a Text
Commentary feature that shows the viewer information
about the movie ‘pop-up’ video style.
I’ve been seeing this feature on more and
more DVDs and I usually find it to be quite enjoyable.
Finally, game fanatics can play the first level
of “The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from
Butcher Bay” by putting he disc into their
Xbox.
While I didn’t get into “The Chronicles
of Riddick”, as much as I did “Pitch
Black”, I was still blown away by the scope
of the film. Twohy is an incredible underrated
writer and director and I’m looking forward
to any and all of his future projects.
Directed by: David Twohy
Starring: Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Judi Dench,
Extras: Audio Commentary by Director David Twohy,
and actors Alexa Davalos and Karl Urban, Deleted
Scenes, Riddick’s World, Virtual Guide to
The Chronicles of Riddick, Toom’s Chase
Log, Riddick Insider Facts on Demand, Demo for
the Xbox Game - The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape
from Butcher Bay.
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 11/16/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website
We'll give The Chronicles of Riddick a B-.
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