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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Chronicles of Riddick
Bigger isn't always better, but for anyone who enjoyed Pitch Black, a nominal sequel like The Chronicles of Riddick should prove adequately entertaining. Writer-director David Twohy returns with expansive sets, detailed costumes, an army of CGI effects artists, and the star he helped launch--Vin Diesel--bearing his franchise burden quite nicely as he reprises his title role. The Furian renegade Riddick has another bounty on his head, but when he escapes from his mercenary captors, he's plunged into an epic-scale war waged by the Necromongers. A fascist master race led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), they're determined to conquer all enemies in their quest for the Underverse, the appeal of which is largely unexplained (since Twohy is presumably reserving details for subsequent "chronicles"). With tissue-thin plotting, scant character development, and skimpy roles that waste the talents of Thandie Newton (as a Necromonger conspirator) and Judi Dench (as a wispy "Elemental" priestess), Twohy's back in the B-movie territory he started in (with The Arrival), brought to vivid life on a vast digital landscape with the conceptual allure of a lavish graphic novel. But does Riddick have leadership skills on his resumé? To get an answer to that question, sci-fi fans will welcome another sequel. --Jeff Shannon
Pitch Black Owing a major debt to Alien and its cinematic spawn, Pitch Black is a guilty pleasure that surpasses expectations. As he did with The Arrival, director David Twohy revitalizes a derivative story, allowing you to forgive its flaws and submit to its visceral thrills. Under casual scrutiny, the plot's logic crumbles like a stale cookie, but it's definitely fun while it lasts. A spaceship crashes on a desert planet scorched under three suns. The mostly doomed survivors include a resourceful captain (Radha Mitchell), a drug-addled cop (Cole Hauser), and a deadly prisoner (Vin Diesel) who quickly escapes. These clashing personalities discover that the planet is plunging into the darkness of an extended eclipse, and it's populated by hordes of ravenous, razor-fanged beasties that only come out at night. The body count rises, and Pitch Black settles into familiar sci-fi territory.
What sets the movie apart is Twohy's developing visual style, suggesting that this veteran of B-movie schlock may advance to the big leagues. Like the makers of The Blair Witch Project, Twohy understands the frightening power of suggestion; his hungry monsters are better heard than seen (although once seen, they're chillingly effective), and Pitch Black gets full value from moments of genuine panic. Best of all, Twohy's got a well-matched cast, with Mitchell (so memorable with Ally Sheedy in High Art) and Diesel (Pvt. Caparzo from Saving Private Ryan) being the standouts. The latter makes the most of his muscle-man role, and his character's development is one more reason this movie works better than it should. --Jeff Shannon
Synopsis
In The Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel to cult sci-fi hit Pitch Black sees Vin Diesel enthusiastically returning to his role as Richard B. Riddick. Director-writer David Twohy is on board again, building on themes established in the first movie, and expanding his vision with some incredible special effects work. Twohy opens the movie with Riddick on the run from a group of bounty hunters. He escapes them with ease, then seeks information from an old friend named Inam (Keith David). Inam informs Riddick that he has been singled out by an Air Elemental, Aereon (Judi Dench), as the one man who can stop the evil Necromongers from taking over the Universe. Suddenly, the Necromongers arrive on the planet, causing mayhem and destruction. They capture Riddick. He soon escapes, only to fall into the hands of the bounty hunters he so deftly eluded at the start of the movie. They take Riddick to a rogue prison planet where he is met by scorching heat, an underground penitentiary, and his female companion from Pitch Black, Jack (who is now called Kyra, and played by a different actress, Alexa Davalos). They plan their escape from the planet, and vow to bring down the Necromongers. Things don't go according to plan however, leading to a suspense-filled climax to the film, and an eyebrow-raising ending that suggests Twohy may have plans for further installments in the story. In Pitch Black a spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving meek officer Fry (Radha Mitchell) in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visible life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its suns in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors. However, the dangerous Riddick, through black market injections received in lock-up, is able to see in darkness- causing the surviving crew members to reluctantly remain dependent on the potentially harmful criminal. As the survivors are killed one by one by the hungry creatures, they realize that Riddick may be their only hope.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
All I had to go on regarding the quality of this film prior to buying the DVD was word of mouth. The opinions I'd been party to were mixed to say the least.
So, imagine my delght when I bought this item, partly to catch up on the story and nature of Vin Diesel's main character, before going to watch the follow up, 'The Chronicles of Riddick'.
Not only is 'Pitch Black' incredibly stylish and aesthetically pleasing - just watch the incredible range of lighting effects - but the characters are charmingly intruiging, if largely archetypal for this type of movie. Yes, it relies heavily on its predecessors, but try making a 'humans stranded on an unknown planet and encountering carnivorous aliens' film that doesn't. The plot roles along nicely, and although it was never going to win any Academy Awards, is juxtaposed nicely with just the right amount of tension and action. Add into that mix a well above average muscle-bound anti-hero portayal from Diesel and you've got a very good movie, especially for the price.
There aren't many extras on this early DVD release - but if you want those you can splash a few extra quid on the Special Edition - but if you're looking for a B Movie type sci-fi horror that breaks the mould in terms of sophistication and performances you need look no further.
So, imagine my delght when I bought this item, partly to catch up on the story and nature of Vin Diesel's main character, before going to watch the follow up, 'The Chronicles of Riddick'.
Not only is 'Pitch Black' incredibly stylish and aesthetically pleasing - just watch the incredible range of lighting effects - but the characters are charmingly intruiging, if largely archetypal for this type of movie. Yes, it relies heavily on its predecessors, but try making a 'humans stranded on an unknown planet and encountering carnivorous aliens' film that doesn't. The plot roles along nicely, and although it was never going to win any Academy Awards, is juxtaposed nicely with just the right amount of tension and action. Add into that mix a well above average muscle-bound anti-hero portayal from Diesel and you've got a very good movie, especially for the price.
There aren't many extras on this early DVD release - but if you want those you can splash a few extra quid on the Special Edition - but if you're looking for a B Movie type sci-fi horror that breaks the mould in terms of sophistication and performances you need look no further.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a deserted, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving officer Fry (Radha Mitchell) in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visible life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its suns in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors. However, the dangerous Riddick, through black market injections received in lock-up, is able to see in darkness- causing the surviving crew members to reluctantly remain dependent on the potentially harmful criminal. As the survivors are killed one by one by the hungry creatures, they realise that Riddick may be their only hope.
When this film first came out, it was a bit of a cult hit that was sort of ignored as far as publicity and advertising went but I loved it all the same. Then came along its sequel, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, which gave this film a boost into the spotlight and is now considered a sci-fi/action classic. Watching it now on Blu Ray, some nine years later from when I originally watched it, I still can't believe how good this film is! It has everything you could want from this type of movie - brutal, hard-hitting action, fast-paced and nail-biting suspense, one of the best anti-heroes of all time and an excellent storyline. The special effects are great - the creatures that the characters are up against are genuinely creepy, the opening scene with the ship crashing is incredible and very intense, the planet feels extremely lonely and desolate and the impressive visual effects are so good (sometimes the film appears near-enough black and white because of the lighting from the planet's three suns). The acting from the whole cast is great too - this is one of the first films (along with The Fast and The Furious) that made Vin Diesel become one of the biggest names in Hollywood today.
The picture and sound quality is some of the clearest and best I have seen yet on Blu Ray so I highly recommend watching it on this format.
FILM - 4/5
PICTURE - 5/5
SOUND - 5/5
OVERALL - 4/5
When this film first came out, it was a bit of a cult hit that was sort of ignored as far as publicity and advertising went but I loved it all the same. Then came along its sequel, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, which gave this film a boost into the spotlight and is now considered a sci-fi/action classic. Watching it now on Blu Ray, some nine years later from when I originally watched it, I still can't believe how good this film is! It has everything you could want from this type of movie - brutal, hard-hitting action, fast-paced and nail-biting suspense, one of the best anti-heroes of all time and an excellent storyline. The special effects are great - the creatures that the characters are up against are genuinely creepy, the opening scene with the ship crashing is incredible and very intense, the planet feels extremely lonely and desolate and the impressive visual effects are so good (sometimes the film appears near-enough black and white because of the lighting from the planet's three suns). The acting from the whole cast is great too - this is one of the first films (along with The Fast and The Furious) that made Vin Diesel become one of the biggest names in Hollywood today.
The picture and sound quality is some of the clearest and best I have seen yet on Blu Ray so I highly recommend watching it on this format.
FILM - 4/5
PICTURE - 5/5
SOUND - 5/5
OVERALL - 4/5
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This punchy and slick sci-fi action horror is based around a small group of travellers who crash land on a strange uninhabited planet which, by some luck, is about to plunge itself into complete darkness which is set to last for some time. The main member of this gang and the character around which the entire film is based is a notoriously violent and ruthless killer called Riddick. As he can see in the dark and is known for his dramatic escapism the team decide to use him to help get them off the planet alive.
The rest of the film is spent watching the members of this plucky little group get picked off one by one. All of the characters face emotional difficulty and have to use all of their strength and wit to survive.
Vin Diesel plays a very convincing hard faced super cool killer who risks his own life to help save others. The other characters have their own individual charm and personality which really help to give this film some substance and make it seem very realistic.
The format however is pretty much predictable and you can have a good guess at who will be killed next, but the characters are played so well and the spooky and demanding world is brought to life in such a magical way that you cant help but enjoy every minute. Well worth a look if action and aliens are your thing.
The rest of the film is spent watching the members of this plucky little group get picked off one by one. All of the characters face emotional difficulty and have to use all of their strength and wit to survive.
Vin Diesel plays a very convincing hard faced super cool killer who risks his own life to help save others. The other characters have their own individual charm and personality which really help to give this film some substance and make it seem very realistic.
The format however is pretty much predictable and you can have a good guess at who will be killed next, but the characters are played so well and the spooky and demanding world is brought to life in such a magical way that you cant help but enjoy every minute. Well worth a look if action and aliens are your thing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
i am afraid of the dark
i love it. transfer is more than powerful to help bring Twohy's world of eternal light to life. the lighting is brighter on blu-ray. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Blackhound rise
Riddick at his best
I had this film on video and enjoyed it so much that when I saw how cheap it was I had to buy it.
Published 4 months ago by Jo
good entertainment
This film is good and watchable science fiction with a beginning, middle and end. The people crashland on a planet but discover there are creatures stirring in dark caverns and a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by gerry latawiec
Vin at his best
Absolutely fantastic science fiction movie without the cliches or overdone special effects.
Some really extraordinairy scenes and sequences, this is as original as SF action... Read more
Some really extraordinairy scenes and sequences, this is as original as SF action... Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. M. Van Kralingen
Who loves a bad as?
This movie is really good but it unfortunately doesn't get the credit it deserves. It contains all the essential criteria of whats needed to cook up a good sci-fi movie. Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. Heron
NOT FOR ME
Bought this on the strength of the 4star review rating, bad choice. Slow, dark, very poor story with rubbish surround sound and my partner totally concurs.
Published 9 months ago by EROS
They say most of your brain shuts down during cryo-sleep. All but the...
This science fiction film directed by David Twohy (The Fugitive) back in 2000 revolves around a small group of colonists who's spaceship crashes on a hostile desert planet. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Crookedmouth
Riddick/Pitch Black
This is by far the best double DVD package I've bought in both value for money and entertainment!From these two movies I have gone on to expand my horizons and bought quite a few... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ade
Rafael
This is a awsome movie, i remember watching it a long time ago. So to remember the old times o bought this bluray, and one thing that is true is that this classic hasnt lost its... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Rafael
Pitch Black
Love this film and the transfer is excellent if you enjoyed this on DVD get it on Blu-Ray you will see the difference.
Published 20 months ago by Wayne68
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