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Even the unrated cut version of the movie couldn't save it from mediocrity, it seems.
Much like so many potentially great movies out there, Riddick was unfortunately plagued by Hollywood trappings, too spineless to burst out of its comfort zone onto new territories. The bounty hunters pit against our eponymous hero aren't even that intimidating. I mean, if they at least tread the familiar grounds of McTiernan's Predator and have badasses who actually look like they could put up a fight, it would have at least been more interesting to a degree. No, Batista-can't-act doesn't count.
I mean, there were generally interesting scenes in this movie that just got washed up by this bounty hunter crap. The first half hour or so had Riddick fighting against the native creatures of the planet. And throughout cinematic history, similar scenes devoid of dialogues such as this often seem to be fascinating for some reason. Probably because they tell more visually via the characters' actions than any amount of words could.
That said, I did kinda have a bit of a problem with the extraneous sappiness that came with Riddick's relationship with the dog. I mean, who didn't see it coming? If there's a dog in a horror or thriller movie even, you know it's bound to happen. It's so pathetically manipulative. And don't get me started with that flying-into-the-sunset-with-the-girl ending. Thank god for the alternate ending salvaging what's left of the film's dignity with some actually interesting storyline.
But it's not all terrible, of course. Even the strings of Hollywood puppetmasters and Hollywood schmaltz can't get rid of Riddick's badassery. Even if he's gone soft in this adventure.
Riddick (2013)
Even the unrated cut version of the movie couldn't save it from mediocrity, it seems.
Much like so many potentially great movies out there, Riddick was unfortunately plagued by Hollywood trappings, too spineless to burst out of its comfort zone onto new territories. The bounty hunters pit against our eponymous hero aren't even that intimidating. I mean, if they at least tread the familiar grounds of McTiernan's Predator and have badasses who actually look like they could put up a fight, it would have at least been more interesting to a degree. No, Batista-can't-act doesn't count.
I mean, there were generally interesting scenes in this movie that just got washed up by this bounty hunter crap. The first half hour or so had Riddick fighting against the native creatures of the planet. And throughout cinematic history, similar scenes devoid of dialogues such as this often seem to be fascinating for some reason. Probably because they tell more visually via the characters' actions than any amount of words could.
That said, I did kinda have a bit of a problem with the extraneous sappiness that came with Riddick's relationship with the dog. I mean, who didn't see it coming? If there's a dog in a horror or thriller movie even, you know it's bound to happen. It's so pathetically manipulative. And don't get me started with that flying-into-the-sunset-with-the-girl ending. Thank god for the alternate ending salvaging what's left of the film's dignity with some actually interesting storyline.
But it's not all terrible, of course. Even the strings of Hollywood puppetmasters and Hollywood schmaltz can't get rid of Riddick's badassery. Even if he's gone soft in this adventure.