Riddick Trilogy: (Pitch Black/ The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury/ The Chronicles of Riddick) (2DVD)

 

 

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The Chronicles of Riddick begins shortly after the events of the previous movie, Pitch Black. While the first movie in the Saga is more in the vein of the original Alien movies, the following movie begins a spectacular journey across the unique Riddick Universe. With special effects on par or better than that of King Kong and War of the Worlds - this adventure is certainly a feast for the eyes. Some of these effects were developed by Industrial Light and Magic, the makers of Star Wars. The Visuals of this world are really quite amazing, driving the entire genre forward into unexplored territory.

The Journey begins when a Starship crashlands on a remote planet, carrying a Convit named Richard B Riddick. Following the Crash, Riddick escapes, while the crew faces off against Alien Predators. Riddick and the crew must join forces to survive this deadly situation, before the planet plummets into an everlasting eclipse.

Part 2 of the trilogy is an animated feature made by the creator of The Animatrix. This story fills in some of the gaps between Pitch Black and the Chronicles of Riddick. Riddick must face a deadly band of bounty hunters intent on adding him to their collection.

Part 3, The Chronicles of Riddick, takes the character of Riddick to an entirely new level. Five years after the events of Pitch Black, a new enemy has begun to systematicly wipe out the galaxy, planet by planet. Riddick's planet of Furya is attacked and wiped out in the ensuing chaos. Riddick must discover his past, and prepare himself for his most epic challenge.

I have never witnessed such a unique set of films such as this. The character Riddick is presented not as a Hero, but as an Anit-Hero. Riddick begins as a person who obviously cares for no one but himself, having grown up alone and spending most of his life in "Slams" the movie's term for jails. Riddick soon begins to change as he meets the other survivors of the crash in Pitch Black. "A Holy Man," by the name of Imam is a Muslim on a pilgrimage to New Mecca. Another character, Carolyn is a captain who must face her own guilt and try to become more than what she is. Jack, a young child idolizes Riddick, finding a role-model in an unlikely individual. Farscape's Claudia Black makes an appearance as a caring woman who discovers that there is more to Riddick than meets the eye, and she must grapple with her own fears and anger as she comes to term with the good in her unlikely allies. Judie Dench appears as a wise Elemental, who alone believes that Riddick has within him the capacity to be more than just a Convict. Plauged by visions, Riddick see's much of his now destroyed homeworld through dreams, which he struggles to one day understand. A Prophecy tells of a warrior who will rise and claim victory against future oppressors, propelling Riddick even further into situations where he must change from the cold-hearted convict to an unlikely hero. Shades of grey are present throught the Trilogy, compunding the fact that Riddick is not really your typical man of honor. He does what is necessary, and learns of loyalty, honor, and courage from the people around him, who one by one discover his inner strength. Refences to Hamlet and other such stories can be found in the third film, reminding the viewer that this is not your average sci-fi action movie. Prepare for a complicated storyline, similar to that of the movie Dune, which ends up being entirely satisfying. You will enjoy every minute if you find any of what I have mentioned your cup of tea.

The first 2 movies are combined on the first DVD with a good amount of bonus material. Due to space limitations, the menus are no longer animated. The second DVD houses the third film, Chronicles of Riddick. Picture and sound quality are excellent, with all 3 films being presented in Widescreen format. Those wishing for a DTS audio track may be out of luck, as this release doesn't include one. The Audio remains excellent however, with powering ambient sound and soft silences balancing the thundering action sequences.

This Trilogy is a great choice for anyone looking for something new in the sci-fi genre! I prefer this saga to that of Star Wars in terms of action. The story and visuals are quite uniqe, and actor Vin Diesel is at his best here. The 105 million dollar budget is even bigger than that of the 90 million dollar budget of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, so expect some truly amazing moments.

"The Riddick Trilogy Box Set makes complete one of the greatest sci-fi Epics of all time!"

This two disc set from Universal gives us the Riddick trilogy of films so far produced starring Vin Diesel in the title role:Pitch Black(Feb/200),Dark Fury,animated(June/04) and The Chronicles of Riddick(June/04).Pitch Black contains about 13 minutes of extra footage while Chronicles gives us an extra 15 minutes.
Pitch Black is an uneven story about a cargo ship on its' way to port.Its crew are all in stasis when an unexpected storm of meteorites penetrates the hull,killing some of the crew and compromising the hull's integrity.The crew is automatically brought out of their sleep but the ship is perilously close to a planet and they end up crash landing on it.Aboard the ship is a Merc(mercenary or bounty hunter)and his prisoner is one Richard Riddick.Riddick is wanted in several systems and he has a frightfully bad rep.After the crash he escapes while the rest of the survivors do what they can to consolidate supplies.Everyone is one edge wondering if Riddick will strike as they go about their work on the hostile desert planet.The sun seemingly never sets and water is their first priority.While digging one of the survivors finds a hole and investigates.His screams are heard and Riddick is seen at the scene but flees.No body is found and a further investigation in the hole finds caverns inhabited by some unknown creatures that were the actual cause of the passengers terrible demise.
On a walkabout they discover a geological encampment that is 22 years old.Along the way they also stir up some of the creatures that were discovered in the cave.As things start to escalate and more people fall victim to these creatures the skies start to darken and eventually a long night arrives.This of course is the creatures cue to arise from their slumber in the caverns below and fly about the surface looking for prey.The survivors had found a ship at the gelogical encampment but the only way to get off the planet is to return there with fuel canisters.They do this but this time in the dark and more are lost along the way.In the end only Riddick,a holy Muslim on a pilgrimage to the second Mecca and a young girl survive the ordeal and escape.
This film was uneven in its' original form but the extra footage alleviates this a little,just a little.The film sets up a kind of stop and start routine throughout,sidetracked more often than not by the constant internal squabbling of the survivors.I give this version 3 1/2 stars as opposed to the original version's 3 stars.
Dark Fury was released around the same time as Chronicles and is a 35 minute anime' starring the original voices from Pitch Black and Chronicles.It is a bridge between the two movies and it manages to tell a very interesting story in that short amount of time.It concerns a collector of beings;beings with the most ruthless reputations in the galaxy.The collectors' ship is a virtual museum piece of displayed frozen entities.Continuing with the last moments of Pitch Black as the girl,the holy man and Riddick are leaving the desert planet,here they get captured by the collector.There is an initial struggle but Riddick and his charges succumb to her forces.She wants to see exactly how Riddick fights/kills before she freezes him so she puts him into a ring with two deadly floating aliens.In the end he wins the day and the three struggle free from her clutches and escape.She unfreezes a bounty hunter whom she sends after them and this hunter will be seen in Chronicles at the very beginning.
The anime' is very well done and directed by Peter Chung.It has a compelling story and the use of the original voices for each part enhances it greatly.I give it a solid 4 stars.
Chronciles of Riddick begins with Riddick being chased down by the bounty hunter from Dark Fury on an ice planet,whom he manages to escape from and head to a planet called Helion Prime.Here he seeks out the holy man only to arrive just as the race known as Necromongers arrive.Its leader is a half dead dictator who plans to take over world after world.If they don't submit and convert they are killed.Riddick is eventually taken prisoner by them but escapes only to be caught by the bounty hunter he eluded on the ice planet.He is taken to Crematoria whose surface temperature during the day disintegrates anything living in a matter of seconds.The "slam"/prison there is about 30 K's below the surface.It's a deadly place full of the most despicable criminals anywhere and who should he run into but the girl he escaped with from the desert planet in Pitch Black,now all grown up.At the right moment Riddick,the girl and some other of the inmates escape overland to a hangar where an escape craft is located.It's a race against the approaching heat of the rising sun and the prison guards who also want to escape.When they arrive some Necromongers are there to try and foil everyone's plans.
The Necromongers capture the girl and Riddick barely escapes with his life.He is saved by a Necromonger who stays behind.It seems Riddick isn't the only Furyan left as the Necrmonger reveals his origin is the same as his.With nothing left to return to the Necromonger walks out into the heat of the day,committing suicide.Riddick returns to Helion Prime and confronts the leader of the Necromongers in order to gain the girl's freedom,who it seems has already been "converted".It's a fight to the death but Riddick comes through in an epic battle but loses the girl in the process.The ending has Riddick sitting on the throne full of grief and very fatigued,slowly looking up and realizing the entire Necromonger army is at his command,and saying"You keep what you kill".
Epic is the word I would use to describe this last movie of the trilogy.Everything seems to flow well throughout this film and we learn alot about Riddick and how he came to be the person he is.There are side plots here of the Elemental who has predicted Riddicks return and that of a subordinate of the head Nercomonger who's wife would like nothing more than to obtain ultimate power for her husband and thusly herself.And it's all on a grand scale where the special effects are top notch and help to enhance the movie all the way.I give it 4 1/2 stars.
Technically the movies are all transferred very well and all are in their delightful widescreen format.The special features in Pitch Black are The Johns Chase Log,Feature Commentary with Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser and Director David Twohy,Feature Commentary with Director David Twohy, Producer Tom Engleman and Visual Effects Supervisor Peter Chiang,featurettes The Making of Pitch Black,Dark Fury: Advancing the Arc,The Chronicles of Riddick Visual Encyclopedia,and A View Into the Dark.In Dark Fury they are From Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick: Bridging the Gap,Peter Chung - The Mind of an Animator,and Into the Light.In Chronicles of Riddick the extras are Deleted Scenes,Virtual Guide to The Chronicles of Riddick,Toomb's Chase Log,Riddick Insider,Visual Effects Revealed,Vin Diesel's Guided Tour,Interactive 360° View of the Sets,and Audio Commentary with Writer/Director David Twohy and Actors Karl Urban & Alex Davalos.
If you enjoyed the Riddick films like I did then you will definitely enjoy these special director cut versions with extended footage in Dark Fury and Chronicles.Dark Fury was always the weakest of the two(playing more like a poor man's Alien)but Chronicles more than makes up for the formers weaknesses.Dark Fury is a wonderful story bridge in anime' with a very appealing plot and the original voices along to give an authentic aura about it.All in all a must have for the Riddick fans in your family.

These movies are already SCI-FI classics to me. The extras in this box are great. However the lack of "scene selection", which I believed was a mainstay of DVD features, is a glaring omission from each of these dvds. Was it dropped to make space for other extras is unknown as I haven't owned the individual retail dvd's.

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