The Chronicles of Riddick.
Jun. 8th, 2004 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiI went to a screening of this last night (along with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jet_li_wannabe and lj-less Tracy).
Worst. 1988 Olympic Documentary. Evar.
(okay, had to get it out of the way).
Actually, it was a surprisingly fun movie. Not brilliant, but a much better sci-fi yarn than I've seen in a long while (possibly going back to Pitch Black, although I may be forgetting a movie or two), certainly better than either of the films that Lucas has released since then (if less epic).
Which isn't to oversell it. It's still got cliches, some bad overacting (and underacting, mostly on Vin Diesel's part), and mediocre fight choreography. Plus a mad religion that converts you by sticking pins in your neck, which convert you until it's conveniently time to unconvert. And Judy Dench as a weird elemental.
But hey, it's got Angel's Gwen Raiden (wearing much less leather, alas), as well as Keith David (one of my all-time favorite b-movie actors). And Thandie Newton (who used to have a career, until that Jonathan Demme bastard got through with her). And Caesar from Xena (he was also in some movie that Peter Jackson was involved with). And lots of fun action sequences, with some nice twists on the traditional cliches.
If you liked, say, Soldier, you'll like this one. Worth catching as a matinee or on video.
jet_li_wannabe and lj-less Tracy).Worst. 1988 Olympic Documentary. Evar.
(okay, had to get it out of the way).
Actually, it was a surprisingly fun movie. Not brilliant, but a much better sci-fi yarn than I've seen in a long while (possibly going back to Pitch Black, although I may be forgetting a movie or two), certainly better than either of the films that Lucas has released since then (if less epic).
Which isn't to oversell it. It's still got cliches, some bad overacting (and underacting, mostly on Vin Diesel's part), and mediocre fight choreography. Plus a mad religion that converts you by sticking pins in your neck, which convert you until it's conveniently time to unconvert. And Judy Dench as a weird elemental.
But hey, it's got Angel's Gwen Raiden (wearing much less leather, alas), as well as Keith David (one of my all-time favorite b-movie actors). And Thandie Newton (who used to have a career, until that Jonathan Demme bastard got through with her). And Caesar from Xena (he was also in some movie that Peter Jackson was involved with). And lots of fun action sequences, with some nice twists on the traditional cliches.
If you liked, say, Soldier, you'll like this one. Worth catching as a matinee or on video.