isnt the directors cut the only one out there? I mean that usually defies logic, but I remember when this movie was released... only the directors cut was in stores n' shit...

Leave notes for us to discuss, I look forward to conversation.

I haven't listened to the commentary yet but from the posts so far I feel I will be disagreeing as well. Riddick is f'ing awesome.

Still looking forward to it though. I just listened to the complete thrashing you rightfully gave Surrogates.

I have to go with Jimmy on this one. If someone made a movie followed by a sequel that had virtually nothing in common at all with the first movie, the burden is not on me to watch the second movie first. The burden is on the second movie to make sense. It's not my fault it's in the same franchise, they could have named it Indiana Jones. (With similar results, but.)

Riddick is a weird mess, some people like weird messes. Even I like them occasionally. (Snow Crash, Sucker Punch.) The thing is, though, "weird mess" is a status, not a genre, and it's even more mileage-may-vary than a controversial genre would be.

But you yourself agree it's not really a sequel. Your mistake is thinking of it as one. Stop! 'tis an awesome hi-budget movie preceeded by an okay-ish small budget fair... which you can think of as a test-movie, or something that just happens to use the same actors and character names. FORGET ABOUT IT, Pitch Black isn't what's important, CHRONICLES is what's important!!!!

/Z

Ya'll be trippin'. Riddick is a classic example of a bad movie. The plot is totally overstuffed, and completely nonsensical.

On a similar note, when I told a friend of mine recently that I had the same complaint about At World's End, he told me that he actually liked it better than Dead Man's Chest (because there were less random story tangents and fewer running gags), and that he never understood how people found it confusing. Apparently, he always understood it perfectly. Is that what's going on with the Riddick fans in the room?

dork man got the war hammer 40k thing right on. made me really want to see a WH40k movie but not as a pitch black sequel.
If this had been a free standing concept and thus the story changes necessary to do that, could this have worked maybe?
the Necromongers as Sardaukar or Harkonnen would be great too.

Last edited by Deamon (2011-06-08 02:01:57)

Sorry, I will not apologize for loving Riddick. It's over the top, yes. But it thrusts me head first into this beautiful-to-the-point-of-absurdity world *without* going all tounge-in-cheek about it (fifth element, I'm looking at you), it's unapologetically operatically over the top, and doesn't flinch about it. I wish more movies were like that.

Heck, I even like the acting, and would NOT place dame Dench on such a pedestal as y'all do here. Sure, she does her job, but you guys seem to be of the impression she is the only one able to act here? The whole POINT of these operatic-to-the-max things is that it SHOULD be the battle-of-the-poseurs, FFS!

Yes, I saw Riddick before Pitch (notice how - at least in this part of the world, there is no "Chronicles of Riddick" labeling on Pitch Black?) and this colors my opinion. I understand you guys are confused and shell-shocked by that transition. I get that.

But come-on?

Isn't this FANTASTICALLY operatically over-the-topically glorious?

Also, the Necromongers aren't aiming for a "specific point in space"; but the underverse, which seems to be some kind of afterlife-ish thing/parallell dimension-ish/magical realm-ish, which completely explains why they need followers (perhaps you need a belief-quotient-density greatrer than 62 hail-mary's per cubic inch of space to warp space-death-time enough to pass over?)

You guys lack imagination

/Z (I still love you, tho)

What, you had something snarky and you deleted it - or - you thought what I said was snarky and unconstructive?

If the former, I'd love to read your snarky version >

/Z

Seriously, guys. It's fine to like bad movies. We all do.

But don't kid yourself about how good or bad it is. How much you enjoy a movie is a matter of subjective opinion. How well it tells its story is not.

For the most part, I agree with Zap.

First of all, you guys did a great job with this commentary. It was entertaining and constructive, without being a total slam fest, which I don't think you want to do. You guys made me think...for good or ill...and here are my thoughts:

1: Plot summary: Every since "Pitch Black" and the statement that that movie could be summed up neatly while "Chronicles" could not. So, I figured that I would summarize it. "The fate of the universe rests with a murderous loner to try and stop a marauding army led by a crazy half-dead." Not perfect, but it works, IMHO.

2. I saw this movie before "Pitch Black," and was not familiar with the movie at all, so the tone and feel did not feel off to me. Yes, it has more of a fantasy epic feel than a hard sci-fi piece, but that does not take away from the film. However, I do agree that they could not decide what kind of movie this was going to be, and that muddies the film a little, making a few scenes feel a little out of place. Overall, though, I think the world is very interesting, and engaging, which drives me to enjoy this movie.

3. Yes, I get the Necromongers  motivation. We are told they will "kill or convert" every human being. In this way, they are not different than the Borg or the Empire in their desire to dominate the galaxy.. I find it interesting that we accept that the Empire in Star Wars as evil but all other bad guys must be defined and defined well.

4. Perhaps the point I want to emphasize the most is that in this movie Riddick has character development. In "Pitch Black" he is just a killer or happens to be able to save them. In "Chronicles" Riddick goes from being a loner, to having some relationships with Kira and Iman. He cares enough to risk going into the middle of the Necro army and take on Iman's killer. He manipulates the Mercs into going to Crematoria where he knows that Kyra is, based on what Iman told him about her. He goes from an anti-hero to reluctant hero, as he is forced to take on the Necro army.
I think people who watch Pitch Black then Riddick have a problem because Riddick goes from player to main character. While Riddick is an interesting from a character standpoint, having him be the main guy upon which the whole movie turns perhaps is a dramatic turn and not everyone reacted well to it. I personally enjoy Disel's performance, but not everyone will.

By the way, know your enemies:
Necromongers:
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2 … -Vaako.jpg

Necromancer:
http://www.tuckborough.net/images/sauron.jpg

Those are just a few important tips

Except that for most of the movie, he's not trying to stop them. Even at the end, it's more about him saving what's-her-name than defeating the Necromongers.

As a man who loves Howard the Duck, I don't have the righteous high ground to judge anyone.