CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.!—break—>
Film Review: Vin Diesel Returns to Iconic Character in B-Movie ‘Riddick’
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CHICAGO – Did anyone else think there would be another film about Richard Riddick, Vin Diesel’s character from the great “Pitch Black” and not-great “The Chronicles of Riddick”? Me neither. But writer/director David Twohy won’t give up on this character, one he turns into even more of an iconized superhero in his third film, “Riddick,” the most B-movie of the three. When it embraces that low-budget, B-movie, John Carpenter-esque aesthetic, it works enough to recommend as a late-Summer bit of escapism but the movie is too bloated to stand next to the first. Still, more than after “Chronicles,” I’d happily see a fourth “Riddick” film. Why not at this point?
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The bloated opening act of the 119-minute “Riddick” is its weakest chapter and many won’t be able to get past this extended riff on “A Boy and His Dog” as Riddick (Vin Diesel) is forced to deal with life alone on an inhospitable planet after being stranded there. He fends off space vultures, trains local dingoes to the point that one becomes his animal companion, and trains himself to be able to pass a hideous Giger-esque creature blocking his path to potential civilization. He can see grass and water in the distance. The sad part is that it takes him so damn long to get there. If “Riddick” comes on cable before you get a chance to see it, watch something else for the first half-hour. You’ll be better off.
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Because the last 90 minutes of “Riddick” is a pretty good sci-fi/action flick. When Riddick gets to his destination, he finds a mercenary station, where he scans himself, sending off an emergency beacon to any manhunters looking to collect the most wanted criminal in the universe. Two groups show up. The first is a ragtag clan led by the obnoxious Santana (Jordi Molla) and is more brawn than brains. The second is headed by Johns (Matt Nable), a man with a connection to the action of the first movie, and Dahl (the great Katee Sackhoff of “Battlestar Galactica” fame). Riddick instructs them all to leave one ship and depart on the other if they want to live. Then things get really complicated when an incoming storm threatens to up the stakes for everyone involved.
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Riddick
Photo credit: Universal Pictures