Riddick (Towhy, David)

Last updated on: April 5, 2015 at 7:41 pm by Kenneth R. Morefield

Riddick (Towhy, David) 2015-04-05T19:41:02-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I found Riddick solidly entertaining.

I’m as surprised as anyone at that sentence. On my way to the screening, I was trying to recall what I thought when I saw Pitch Black, and…I couldn’t remember. Then I tried to recall if I had seen The Chronicles of Riddick (or just the trailer), and…I couldn’t remember. Expectations were not high. After the first seven minutes, I was worried, but then I realized the first seven minutes were actually a preview for a Metallica concert film. when we stop asking our films to save the lost while entertaining the justified and just let them do one or the other, I expect we’ll all be a lot happier.Once Riddick started, it grabbed my attention and didn’t let go.

The story is not particularly original, combining elements of Beowulf, Predator, Aliens, and Rambo, but director David Twohy has channeled the best parts of those movies rather than simply referencing them. From Beowulf we get a first act of man versus nature which actually shows the character being smart rather than simply telling us that he is. Like Predator we get a loose collection of characters who are quickly defined yet played well enough that they don’t come across as the cardboard cutouts they actually are. Like Rambo we get a hunter/hunted reversal. Most importantly, like Aliens, we get confident pacing, allowing the story to build to a climax rather than having the whole thing be frenetically paced.

Riddick is a bit restrained for an “R” rated film with roots in the horror genre. There is one gory kill that is rendered explicitly, and one gratuitous full-frontal nude shot in a flashback, but while the monster violence is omnipresent we don’t get an endless assortment of kill shots and blood splatter. We can actually follow the action, which always makes it more interesting to me than when we get too many shaky-cam shots and quick cuts.

Diesel plays to his strengths and has a certain glowering charisma. Katee Sachoff (whom most will know from Battlestar Galactica) is both buff and beautiful. (She too gets a gratuitous topless shot, but it’s brief and more about her character’s lack of self-consciousness than anything else). I appreciate, too, that when the point came in the film where a prayer-reciting junior member of the team would have been dispatched in cruel, ironic fashion were all of Hollywood as reflexively anti-God as some Christians think, the film once again showed restraint. It isn’t pro-God, but it doesn’t go out of its way to mock anyone.

Riddick didn’t make me regret trading in my copy of Pitch Black, but it was better than John Carter, better than Pacific Rim, and, yes, better than Prometheus. It’s not thematically complex, but I’m pretty sure that three years from now I’ll remember that I saw it. If Twohy and Diesel wanted to revisit this character, I’d watch it.

Previous Post

September 2, 2013

The Ultimate Life (Landon, Jr., 2013)

Next Post

September 6, 2013 Tio Papi (Rojas, 2013)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I found the Book of the Law in the temple during repairs and wept when it was read to me. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Josiah Asa Joash Hezekiah