Escape to the Movies: Riddick

[viranimus]

Well imagine that. An IP that does not fixate on being overly artistic for art films sake and does not pander to LCD franchises Bob is nostalgic for and not only do we get a


Bob even breaks out his "shit just got real" bean town inflection hiding under the surface to send the point home.

The Riddick universe while has some issues that do need some tweaking, it actually is fairly salvageable. Mostly behind the greater strengths of the games. If it could decide on what it will be, stick with it and flesh it out it could in fact evolve to something pretty good. It has both more depth, far more enjoyable and with more potential than many "lauded" franchises that do NOT deserve the respect they get and will remain nameless because of the irrationality of its fan base will spontaneously combust into all out flame war at the mere suggestion that it is a bad franchise that actually deserved the fate that it received.

The film and franchise are not bad. This is simply a case of blatant reviewer prejudice fueled by personal bias over more objective reasoning. This reviewer has made it abundantly clear of the personal aversion to "dark" "gritty" things. So a franchise focused on an "anti-hero" never had a chance.
___
On another note, the comment of "its 2013" + "Fuck it straight" concept might well be as it was put "gross" or disagreeable but perhaps it is just a tad bit more contemporary and relevant than you might want to think.

http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2013/09/03/when-bill-de-blasios-wife-was-lesbian

Not saying it is right or wrong or case example for anything. Just pointing out it is a little silly to be dismissive of something based on what certain people assume is what is "correct" when in fact it is far more subjective of an issue than can ever accept it being. Obviously it can and does happen in circumstances that people change their minds, perspectives, and tastes. To respond like it is so repulsive and ludicrous of a concept that it might as well be impossible is counter productive logic, short sighted and borderline intolerant.

 

[game-lover]

It was my impression that Pitch Black sold itself as a horror movie. Which is why it took me so damn long to watch it because I'm a coward like that. Then again... Alien/Aliens started off as a Sci Fi horror movie too but it went all action packed on us.

Anyway, I'm gonna watch it mostly because I like Vin Diesel, I like the character of Riddick and I wanna get my swoon on.

 

[ghostchild55]

After having seen the movie I don't really see the whole "fuck her straight" thing being that prevalent. She announces to the douche bag Santana that she "doesn't fuck guys" after quite a few nasty comments. Riddick is not present for this, so he's unaware that she is a lesbian. Though as the movie progresses it's implied she's not lesbian at all, given the way her character behaves with Riddick and the fact that after all his lewd comments she doesn't retort with the same. They're both capable alphas, chances are she probably finds Riddick the most worthy mate among the males around her, hell consent is even implied.

And I think the other merc trying to rape her is also pretty pathetic, given that it's trivialising rape and using it as a cheap engagement tactic, easy vilification of the one guy at the expense of her.

And for that matter, sexual harassment via unwanted comments and touching may not be as serious as rape, but it's still a serious problem in the world today, and is just really icky to try and use as part of a morally ambiguous character shtick.

Yeah Santana was already vilified long before that scene. He's an immoral asshole, the attempted rape was believable given the character. It wasn't a cheap tactic, nor did it "trivialize" rape. Just because it's a serious problem, and you think it's "icky" doesn't mean that it absolutely cannot be used in the movie. Murder and animal abuse are serious problems too. I don't see you complaining that the movie "trivializes" these things. Considering the same character killed both a woman and a space dog in cold blood. Or have you still not seen the movie?

 

[ProtoChimp]

Fucked straight? Fucked straight? I hope there is a backlash to this because that is fucked up and disgusting, not to mention homophobic to lesbians. That's sickening.

 

[ForumSafari]

Fucked straight? Fucked straight? I hope there is a backlash to this because that is fucked up and disgusting, not to mention homophobic to lesbians. That's sickening.

Maybe we should organise a joint protest with the Tunguska UFO Freedom Alliance and the Atlantis Aid Organisation, you know, just get together, save some time and organise one huge protest for all the shit that didn't happen.

 

[RJ Dalton]

You're absolutely correct and I thank you for alerting me to my mistake. Please allow me to rephrase that.

Nobody *who matters* cares about Riddick but Vin Diesel at this point.

Oh now that's just mean.

What can I say, I'm an asshole sometimes.

The "Riddick Series" has never been more than decent at its best (the first film) and it's decline has been painful to watch, especially since it represents an actor who can be really good when properly cast obsessing over the one moment when his career had promise. And I especially don't care to see a movie that's all about stroking Vin Diesel's injured ego by having characters repeatedly praise the character he loves. If I want that, I'll read fanfiction.

Yeah, I'll admit, that didn't sound particularly promising, but I contribute at least some of that to reviewer dislike. Bob makes no secrets about his opinions of movies when reviewing. Still, I'm hoping for a return to the galactic plotline in the future, regardless.

I don't usually agree with Bob in his opinions. I only watch him because I watch a lot of different reviews by critics. I like hearing the variety of opinions out there.
But Riddick . . . I'll give you that Pitch Black was only decent because Riddick was an interesting character, but it wasn't enough to make it a great movie. Or even a good one really. Just a decent sci-fi thriller, good for filling the empty space when you're bored and there's nothing better to do.
But the Chronicles demonstrated that Vin Diesel clearly didn't understand what made Riddick interesting, because it turned him into a one-note character who tries way too hard to be badass. It also made him "The Chosen One." Chosen one narratives are bullshit and almost as cliche as the Hero's Journey narrative.

You know what Vin Diesel really needs to do? He needs to use that clout to push forward another D&D movie. Only he should get a good writer on board instead of the hacks responsible for the previous two. I could see Vin Diesel as a really convincing rogue.

 

[evilneko]

Yay, I'm awesome according to MovieBob.

Spoiler: But....

But...I already knew that.

Also apparently more awesome than the movie in this review.

 

[JimB]

My apologies if this is the incorrect way to approach the matter, but I'm writing this post and then flagging it for moderator attention because this video is no longer a review of the film Riddick but is rather playing some sort of clip show of Escapist videos. It's my hope that the moderators can pass this information along to someone with the capacity to restore the correct video.