The Chronicles of Riddick - 06/15/04

Written by: David Twohy (script), Ken and Jim Wheat (characters)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench

Official Site

First off, I think this film should have been called Dune II.

Don't get me wrong, I thought this was a great movie, very entertaining... but man, this film couldn't have been influenced more by Dune, unless they hired Toto to do the music.

I'm a big fan of the first installment of Riddick, Pitch Black. I think the Wheat brothers did a great job with that script. Both Jim and Ken Wheat have worked on numerous projects together, including the Renny Harlin helmed A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, with about four other scribes, including Brian Helgeland.

They wrote the script for The Fly II. Jim also wrote, produced and directed After Midnight in 1989, which starred... nobody. Pitch Black brought them back into the mainstream... but we haven't heard from them since.

Interestingly enough, both Wheat brothers wrote and directed the TV movie of Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. How in the hell they got that job, I have no idea... they must have been associates of Lucas, in some capacity.

Twohy is an interesting director. He picks decent projects, things that come in off the radar with a cult following. The Arrival is an example of that. Starting out as a writer, he penned a few b-horror films. Critters 2 and Warlock, which is one of my favorite 80's horror films. After that he got in on The Fugitive in 1993, which made a ridiculous amount of money, also winning Tommy Lee Jones an Academy Award.

From there came a sequel to Warlock and the Charlie Sheen flop Terminal Velocity, which Twohy was also an Executive Producer. Then... well, then came Waterworld. Now, Waterworld had been tossed around for a while, so I can't say that Twohy was responsible for the demise of this production. Actually, I think that a lot of Waterworld is very imaginative and inspired. But, with its high price tag, it was destined to fail.

The Arrival came next, with Sheen in the starring role, and Twohy's directoral debut. He would follow this up with G.I. Jane for Ridley Scott. That's a good credit for any writer, having it become a Scott film. Jane made back its money in the theaters... which I'm sure helped facilitate Twohy getting the green light for Pitch Black, which followed Jane. Twohy would then write the script for the Philip K. Dick adaptation Impostor.

Then, in 2002, Twohy would write and direct Below, one of two films in 2002 that Dimension/Miramax decided not to promote (the other being Equilibrium). Below is a smart thriller/horror film that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Getting the $120 million dollar budget for this film could not have been easy. It's way more than any film that Twohy's directed in the past... and I have to say that the biggest credit to that is that every dollar is on the screen.

This film is incredibly effects laden, in a good way. Not muddy like Godzilla was muddy with CG, this film is inspiring with the amount of CG in it. I was very impressed with the imaginations of the cast (Vin did his share with the script) and the effects crew, along with Twohy's vision.

Diesel is an interesting actor. He was tauted as a new Schwarzenneger... but I don't see that. One of his first roles was in Saving Private Ryan. Diesel got the role after acting, directing and producing a short film called Multi-Facial, which showed at Cannes in 1995. Spielberg saw the film and cast Diesel in Ryan. That is an awesome way to start a career. Just awesome.

He would go on to do the voice in The Iron Giant in 1999, with a part in Boiler Room to follow. I think he was perfectly cast in Pitch Black, and that was the beginning of his career. The Fast and the Furious followed, and made him a big name. The first did an incredible amount in the box office, and led Diesel to begin producing (or Executive Producing) his films, starting with XXX in 2002, which was also very successful. His next film, A Man Apart, was not so successful... but I think Riddick puts him back in the mainstream, even though the film won't make its budget back in the theaters.

You've seen Colm (pronounced 'Column') Feore before, but probably wouldn't be able to put the name to the face. He's usually the guy behind the guy. Iron Eagle II, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, Face/Off, City of Angels, The Insider, Titus, Pearl Harbor, The Sum of All Fears, Chicago, National Security, Paycheck... not too shabby.

This is one of his first starring roles, and he does a very good job with the character.

I'm not completely anamoured with Thandie Newton, especially since I just saw her in this awful film called Shade. We first got to see Thandie (for real) in the second installment of Mission: Impossible II. She was good, beautiful... but isn't an incredible actress with a wide range. She followed that film up with The Truth About Charlie, which was a box office failure, even though it was directed by Jonathan Demme, from Silence of the Lambs fame. Too bad.

She does an ok job here, but her character is so transparent it's not even funny. She plays the role ok... sometimes overacting the character to the point of needing to be slapped by her on screen husband... there's just so much of the power hungry manipulating wife you can take...

I think Judi Dench should stick with Bond films and British television and theater... enough said.

The supporting cast did a great job with their respective roles and helping to create the atmosphere of Riddick's universe. The two surviving characters from Pitch Black come into play in this film with Keith David coming back as Imam. The second character, Jack/Kyra (played by Rhiana Griffith in Pitch Black and Alexa Davalos in this film) plays a larger role than just a supporting character... it was good that Twohy brought these two characters back, to make the transition between the two films more seemless.

Cinematographer Hugh Johnson has worked with Twohy in the past, but not on any of his features. Johnson started out working on Ridley Scott's film The Duellists, as a Clapper Loader. He would go on to work with Scott's brother on The Hunger as an Additional Photographer. In 1992 he would work with Ridley again as a Second Unit Director on 1492. In 1996 he would go on to be the full cinematographer for Ridley Scott's White Squall and then on G.I. Jane (both DP and Second Unit Director). He would direct Chill Factor in 1999, the Cuba Gooding Jr. and Skeet Ulrich flop.

It's strange, with Johson not having worked on a film (as a DP) since 1999, that he would get such a high profile gig... but Johnson did a fantastic job with the look, feel and atmosphere of this film. It's expertly lit, shot, blocked... very impressive.

The feel and plot comparisons and all that coincide with Dune... well, they can be overlooked. There are so many neat scenes that come up, so many great locals that the characters find themselves in... I see it all as a re-imagining rather than a homage. You'll notice some of the names of the planets have Dune similarities... along with the races of humans and the prophecy of the Furians... ok.

It's an impressive film, with good acting, some great lines, great CG... I think sci-fi fans will definitely enjoy this film.