Riddick sequels still coming?

[BlackFox]

Well I got what I expected from this film:

Bad acting
Bad storytelling
Bad scriptwriting
Bad CGI
Bad directing

So you could say I was satisfied, only I wasn't. Please no more sequals.

4.5/10

 

[Teelie]

How about, don't watch any sequels instead? Why people go and spend money on movies they expect to be bad is beyond me.

 

[BlackFox]

How about, don't watch any sequels instead? Why people go and spend money on movies they expect to be bad is beyond me.

I was hoping I would be wrong, I have been in the past, I wasnt this time.


And yeah I think I shall stay well away from any future installments, wanted to give it a chance, cant really judge something without watching it either though.

 

[Teelie]

If I'm unsure of a movie I wait for Netflix. Or in other cases, there's the alternative streaming services if you choose them.

 

[Teelie]

Though I do realize I'm coming off rather defensive/fan-boyish, I'm not intending to. Some of the more outrageous comments (Finke seems to have a hate-on for Vin Diesel/Riddick and sequels in general) are just asking for a snarky response however.

I can see why others would not like the movie though. It's far from a classic or original like say Pitch Black was "new" at the time in how it was filmed.

This movie has its faults and problems but I knew to expect a certain level of simplicity and lack of characterization. I went to see it mostly for the action and character, nothing else. Riddick is the epitome of the anti-hero and his story is almost always him trying to survive while at the same time killing people and monsters to escape.

There isn't much depth to man trapped on planet, kills to get off it. So when people are disappointed there isn't more to it, that's surprising and a bit ridiculous to expect anything else from it but I'm not blind to the lack of depth or development other people might want.

 

[jonathancrane]

Though I do realize I'm coming off rather defensive/fan-boyish, I'm not intending to. Some of the more outrageous comments (Finke seems to have a hate-on for Vin Diesel/Riddick and sequels in general) are just asking for a snarky response however.

I can see why others would not like the movie though. It's far from a classic or original like say Pitch Black was "new" at the time in how it was filmed.

This movie has its faults and problems but I knew to expect a certain level of simplicity and lack of characterization. I went to see it mostly for the action and character, nothing else. Riddick is the epitome of the anti-hero and his story is almost always him trying to survive while at the same time killing people and monsters to escape.

There isn't much depth to man trapped on planet, kills to get off it. So when people are disappointed there isn't more to it, that's surprising and a bit ridiculous to expect anything else from it but I'm not blind to the lack of depth or development other people might want.

Agreed.

 

[redhawk23]

I was honestly impressed with a lot of the CGI, it was the interior sets that came off as literally low rent.

 

[Teelie]

Given their $40ish~ million budget they did well with the CG but the interior did come off like a large shack in a desert somewhere. It used corrugated roofing of all things and the place did not give off much of a futuristic building/materials/structure either.

 

[TheVileOne]

I mean that's basically what it is, a large shack in a DESERT!

It seemed to be a rarely used merc outpost on a fairly desolate planet.

 

[def28]

I was honestly impressed with a lot of the CGI, it was the interior sets that came off as literally low rent.

I was really impressed by the creatures with that budget. Only thing that looked real bad imo was when they were riding on the hover bikes during the day. It looked pretty cheap compared to the rest of the film. But otherwise I was very impressed.

 

[TheVileOne]

I thought Riddick's earlier fight with one of the serpent creatures was pretty awesome.

 

[redhawk23]

I mean that's basically what it is, a large shack in a DESERT!

It seemed to be a rarely used merc outpost on a fairly desolate planet.

Yeah I guess it more of a matter of the fact that some of the scenes in that setting are shot with notably lower quality cameras.

 

[def28]

I thought Riddick's earlier fight with one of the serpent creatures was pretty awesome.

That was awesome, by biggest issue is that that whole survival part of the film was so good that it took down the rest of the flick. It was much more interesting watching learn how to take those creatures down then the bounty hunters.

 

[Heretic]

I haven't seen the movie...but frankly...I dont feel that I need to. From the trailers I see that Riddick has to survive, then is hunted by mercenaries, kills a few, but is eventually captured. Once captured, some alien monster type things show and Riddick is freed so he can help fight this new threat. I assume he lives in the end...and I am now ready for part 4.

That is more than I needed to know. I would have preferred the commercials show the film being about Riddick vs mercenaries, with the later threat being a secret.

Then again, I could level a similar complaint about a ton of other movies.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Just picked up the director's cut of Chronicles of well and I have a much better view of the film now. I still think it blew things up a little too much, but the Director's Cut everything makes a lot more sense now. It flows a lot better.

A lot of the CG doesn't hold up to today though. I get the sense from the commentary that a lot of visual FX shots weren't completely finished by the end.

The one thing I like better about the theatrical version is that it has a nice little epilogue that at least shows that New Mecca/Helion Prime wasn't destroyed. The director's cut ending is a little too abrupt.

I really liked the DC of COR, it was a much better movie than the TC and it seemed to fit more with PB. I just think the story has a much better flow in the DC and it helps some violence is put back in as well.

 

[Teelie]

I mean that's basically what it is, a large shack in a DESERT!

It seemed to be a rarely used merc outpost on a fairly desolate planet.

It was and the building looked flimsy even by modern standards at times. I wasn't expecting some kind of super advanced building or anything but I would've thought by that point tin roofing would have given away to something more solid or durable. And the creatures while admittedly powerful had no trouble getting through the wall either.

Those are minor thing but still things that make the shack feel so much cheaper than it should have. Inside wasn't much better. The cabinet that they secured the power nodes in? A simple, very flimsy aluminum storage shelf. Riddick could have taken the doors off the hinges or just cut a hole in the back of the thing it was so cheap.

But that's too easy to do so they had to pretend it was sterner stuff and make it appear harder to break into.

 

[TheVileOne]

I really liked the DC of COR, it was a much better movie than the TC and it seemed to fit more with PB. I just think the story has a much better flow in the DC and it helps some violence is put back in as well.

Yes I agree. I feel better about the Director's Cut being a sequel to Pitch Black now. And yes the fighting is a lot better and Riddick's better kills are now intact. The fight with the saber claws is my personal favorite.

But now we get a better sense of the machinations by Vaako and his wife, Riddick's Furyan heritage and also why Marshal is so scared of Riddick as well.

Also the stuff they put back with Christina Cox is really good. Like that scene where she almost rapes Riddick in his sleep and he grabs her legs with his thighs and is just like, "hey if you want to do it, no problem." I mean it's an odd scene but it feels more like a "Riddick" scene in that instance.

 

[Warhammer]

The Director's Cut definitely makes for a better film. It makes the ambitiousness of the film easier on the viewers and fleshes out the film. To be honest, I don't know why all of that wasn't in the original cut.

 

[TheVileOne]

Well the violent stuff I get because they needed a PG-13 and there a couple borderline R-rated kills between the decapitation and a guy getting stabbed in eye in full view.

Now the attempted rape scene is WEIRD. I mean I get it and like it, but I think audiences would just get confused and be all like WTF for that scene. So that I can also understand getting dropped. But it's actually similar to when he's chained up in Riddick. It shows that even when he's chained up Riddick isn't really helpless and he's only really there because he wants to be. Also he won't just sit there while you try and get yourself off on him .

But all the plot stuff makes the movie make way more sense. Sometimes I think in cutting stuff for pacing or length stuff gets cut out that is really important and suddenly you understand major ideas in the movie.

Just one example, in Dead Man's Chest, while already a long movie there was a longer conversation with Beckett and Jack Sparrow that explains a hell of a lot and suddenly you understand these characters and what happened. Before that everything else is so vague or you get the promise of things becoming revealed and that never really comes. Unfortunately all those important beats you were anticipating since the second movie just get left out. And I think Dead Man's Chest problem was that they over-wrote the movie in so many other areas that important elements that were really MORE important got left on the cutting room floor instead. And the movie is way over-wrought and also unfulfilling.

 

[nightwing06]

One of my favorite big screen anti-heroes returns 9 years after the drawn out The Chronicles of Riddick.
Riddick is left for dead on a planet bathed in a orange and brown hue and inhabited by vicious and interesting creatures
including one that is part dog,hyena and lynx that becomes his pet/companion.The first half hour focuses on
his healing and survival on the desolate planet,which was very interesting and entertaining.

The second half hour focuses on not one but two sets of Mercs vying for the bounty and the head of Riddick.
Diesel is Diesel if you're a fan of his like me you can watch him over and over again in tough guy roles
like this,and by now he can portray Riddick in his sleep.
Th dozen or so mercs have some fun moments but only one of them is given a back story.
The creatures in the film are as unique as the one's in Pitch Black.

The dialogue for the most part is loaded with extra cheese and there are a few get on with it moments.
Some of the SFX are way off,but i blame this on the films slim budget.

In the end Riddick has a far better pace than Chronicles,but not nearly as great as Pitch Black.
I sometimes wonder if Riddick would work as a series on HBO or Starz...well maybe not Starz
they are known to cancel the good stuff.

Scale of 1-10 a 7½

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Yes I agree. I feel better about the Director's Cut being a sequel to Pitch Black now. And yes the fighting is a lot better and Riddick's better kills are now intact. The fight with the saber claws is my personal favorite.

But now we get a better sense of the machinations by Vaako and his wife, Riddick's Furyan heritage and also why Marshal is so scared of Riddick as well.

Also the stuff they put back with Christina Cox is really good. Like that scene where she almost rapes Riddick in his sleep and he grabs her legs with his thighs and is just like, "hey if you want to do it, no problem." I mean it's an odd scene but it feels more like a "Riddick" scene in that instance.

I felt every scene they put back in added something, even small ones like the attempted rape and her asking Riddick later on if he will kill her. It all added to the story and made for a much better movie IMO. Throw the extra kills and violence an its just a better experience all around.

The Director's Cut definitely makes for a better film. It makes the ambitiousness of the film easier on the viewers and fleshes out the film. To be honest, I don't know why all of that wasn't in the original cut.

As Vile said I can understand them cutting out the violence to get the desired rating, they needed to make money on this, but the rest is great stuff for the story and adds to mythology a lot, dont know why they cut it.

 

[TheVileOne]

I get the sense that Twohy was trying too hard to service the audience and studio executives. And again that's kind of why I felt putting Riddick in such a big movie was a mistake to begin with.

I mean I like the director's cut and how much better it was, but would it have made more money? Well I'm not sure. I think it would've gotten better reviews for sure at least.

But here's one of the many things the director's cut fixes. In the theatrical cut the prison shootout scene is very poorly edited. Watching it in theater I was like, "OK what just happened and what happened to Toombs' crew? What happened to the chick?" In the theatrical version we literally see almost NOTHING. All the deaths are off-screen after we see them start shooting. It's anti-climactic. In the director's cut we actually see what happens. We see what happens to the Asian pilot, to Christina Cox. The sled gets blown up by a rocket launcher The prison guards win and take off.

So I mean that's something that led to my rather sour view of the theatrical cut, but suddenly on the Blu-ray it makes sense and I like it now. So I got to think if it was in the theater it would've played much better.

 

[Teelie]

Box office is $18.7 million so right about where it was expected and apparently decent considering this is supposed to be among the worst months for the box office over the year.

 

[TheVileOne]

http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

Weekend actuals actually have it at $19 million, so it did slightly higher than the estimates, which is usually a good sign.

 

[Teelie]

That is better than the report I saw which must have been using slightly outdated numbers.