THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
February 20th 2010 06:26
Category: Videos
You keep what you kill
- Necromonger Credo
Director: David Twohy
Written by: David Twohy
Producers: Scott Kroopf & Vin Diesel
Starring: Vin Diesel, Alexa Davalos, Judi Dench, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban, Colm Feore & Keith David
Produced by: Universal Studios
Released by: Universal Pictures
Running Time: 114 minutes Rating: M
Imagine if you will an entire armada of vessels knifing their way through the interstellar depths on a crusade against all the inhabited worlds of space, all the colonies, outposts and settlements in the name of a religion based upon death and destruction. Imagine that these vessels are crewed by soldiers who fear not death, injury, illness or defeat but who have a deep and abiding conviction that they will prevail and that either those who survive their onslaught will be converted or slain. Now once you have managed to wrap your mind around these concepts then you’ve got yourself a pretty good idea of the nature of the primary protagonists in this feature.
Naturally in order for this film to work the audience needs to get a clearer picture of the universe in which Riddick and his chronicle occurs. It is obviously set at some time in a distant future where humanity has expanded well and truly beyond the confines of this green planet, in fact beyond the confines of this solar system into the vast uncharted reaches of interstellar space. And in this massive Diaspora across the galaxy humanity has diversified even further, whole new offshoots of humanity have emerged inhabiting various systems and worlds. Still even though humanity may have undergone further diversification there are some things that just never change, fanaticism, conspiracy and hunger for power never seem to go away no matter the age or the people involved.
Ah yes the underverse, it seems that the current Lord Marshal of the Necromongers has discovered a whole new existence, all bright and shiny and those who embrace the faith shall live in that new existence. The trouble is that the current existence needs to be cleansed first before the vast armada under his command can make that last final journey to the gates of the underverse. Sounds rather fishy? Still it seems that the Lord Marshal has been irrevocably changed by his sojourn into that other reality, he is something more than a normal man. But even if his sojourn has changed him it doesn’t make him invincible, he may have extra abilities and powers but like everyone he is still susceptible to the foibles of life and chance.
In a way The Chronicle of Riddick takes the whole notion of the saviour archetype and turns it right on its head in a rather subversive manner. The universe needs to be saved, humanity is at the brink of extinction at the hand of these fanatic religious marauders yet there is no force that seems capable of standing up against them. In fact anyone who was capable of resisting the relentless destructive wave that is the Necromonger armada has been destroyed by its myriad soldiers and vessels, no Francis Drake is on the horizon ready to finish a quick game of bowls and teach these lunatics a lesson. Instead the fate of civilization and society rests instead in the hands of Riddick, an escaped convict and killer, not exactly the most pleasant of company but he operates with his own unique moral compass, he is not some amoral psychopath.
Visually there is a lot of contrast between light and dark, some scenes are completely filled with golden light whilst others are the twilight grey of the Necromongers vessels or the deeps of night lit by tracer rounds and explosions as the armada attacks some hapless world. And through it all moves Riddick, keeping to the shadows when needed and then emerging into the light when it’s necessary, you would almost think he was a creature of darkness and shadow although it’s more a case of attention. When he needs to be noticed he’s not shy about making his presence clearly felt or as my old man would say “he’s not backwards about coming forwards”. I enjoyed this flick; it had a good story, black humour, pathos, courage and lots of groovy special effects. It was a rather enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon before enjoying a tasty dinner.
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