Tuesday 10 September 2013

Riddick - Review (First one by The Misses!)

Directed by: David Twohy
Starring: Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff
Written by: David Twohy, Oliver Butcher, Stephen Cornwell




Rating: 4/10

Hi guys! Today you're in for a treat, because it's the Misses turn to take control of But You Didn't Hear it From us, for my first full review. Rather than ramble about how the Mr is a lot better at writing, constructing reviews and just generally better at using words than me, I'll just jump straight into the review!

Thanks for reading :)

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Vin Diesel. Oh Vin. We thought you could do no wrong, but how wrong the Mr and I were. If you know anything about us or listened to our first podcast about Fast & Furious 6 we love Vin...a lot. This film, unfortunately let him down. Where 2000's Pitch Black and it's sequel The Chronicles of Riddick were received fairly well (and we enjoyed them thoroughly) the latest instalment has not faired as well, and it is completely understandable why.

Riddick, starts with the film's name sake alone, after having been abandoned, due to deceit, on a barren planet. Being alone turns out to be a common theme throughout the beginning scenes, making for a lonely, desperate and broken Riddick fighting for his life...not that dramatically, through a backdrop of barren lands. Eventually Riddick finds a hint of salvation, in the form of an abandoned outpost, where he sets off the emergency beacon.This leads to Santana (Jordi Mollà) and his team of bounty hunters being drawn to the planet due to the price that has been placed upon Riddick's head. This team is followed by a more refined and shaped team lead by Johns (Matt Nable).

 After this point, not a lot happens in terms of interesting, fast paced or dramatic story. It feels almost as slow as Riddick's struggle seen at the beginning of the "story". And that is what killed the film for me, its slow pace, lack of full story and it never reaching its full potential set by the previous films.

Another strikingly bad point for me about this film was the place in which it was set. The backdrop to me felt so static, compared to the foreground which had texture, life (or where it was meant to, the great sense of lack of life) and was much more believable than the background. While I know it is a sci-fi film, it is not based on truth, but with the power of animation, computers and technology, I expected a lot more.

But enough of the negative. One redeeming point about the whole film was of course, Vin Diesel. While he wasn't overly outstanding, he was true to the character of Riddick that was forged in the previous films and for that I am glad.


What the Mr Thought:
I'll keep this simple and short - Vin Diesel turns in another Riddick performance that is a semblance of the title character. The rest of the film - not even worth watching. It's literally elements from the first and second films combined in a traditional concluding arc - but the pace feels dastardly slow and you'll start wondering where the exit is for the entire time

What the Misses Thought:
I loved the first two, and more importantly I love Vin Diesel. But this film let me down. It seemed to drag at the start, but that continued to the middle and surprise, surprise, right till the end. Which is such a shame because both the Mr and I were looking forward to it. And if you are too...Simply put, you'll be disappointed too.

But you didn't hear it from us!

The Misses & Mr

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