So, part of the reason my posting is sporadic is that, in addition to feeling guilt over not doing thesis or fiction writing while writing my blog, I also have a Young Man to spend time with and a non academic job, which I've had for years and quite like (and I've had enough bad jobs in my life to be prepared to leave a bad one as soon as I can). I'm talking about the job now because we've recently been very busy, and as a result, I was looking forward to seeing a fun film last Friday with both my Young Man and the Good Doctor. And that film was the inestimable Riddick.
Now, I'd like to give you a bit of background on my history with this particular character. I can't quite recall how I stumbled upon Pitch Black, but I do know that I loved it. Let's be fair, this is Vin Diesel's best role, not least because he clearly loves it (by all accounts, ie SFX, he took basic wages for the latest installment). But back to Pitch Black: it is a fantastic creature feature, and, unlike many creature features, the reveal of the monsters is not a disappointment. The reveal is helped by the fact that we see them most clearly through the eyes of Riddick, with the purplish night vision that entails. It also, and this is important, does not make Riddick into a hero. In many ways he finishes the film the same unmitigated bastard he is at the beginning, though let's be fair: Riddick, embracing his anti-hero nature is often a better person than those trying to be heroes (this, I think, is true of many anti-heroes. They don't try to be better and succeed at being as good as they are capable of). I saw Chronicles of Riddick in the cinema (I can't recall who I went with) and, despite the sheer madness of the plot, I loved it as well. Even things which would normally annoy me (50 degrees below absolute zero? Are you kidding me?!) went down very well, mostly because it seemed clear to me that everyone involved just had a lot of fun with it (they got Dame Judy Dench! That was awesome!).
Fast forward a few years and my Young Man invited me along to a movie night with the Good Doctor; specifically a Bad Movie Night (there have been some dire examples, which I thoroughly enjoyed). So, of course, I brought Pitch Black, which was the edition which happened to feature the first 8 minutes of Chronicles of Riddick. The Good Doctor immediately suggested the latter film for our next Bad Movie Night, after which she discovered the impending approach of Riddick, which brings us back to last Friday.
What does one say about Riddick? Well, firstly, I'm glad to finally be seeing some adult-rated movies (the impending PG-13 Robocop is depressing to me. Is Hollywood really that worried about ticket sales that there can't be any adult movies anymore?). I mean, if I had to have my mother buy the tickets for 15s movies when I was 13, can't modern children do the same (my mother is awesome. And I'm fairly sure she knew what every film I saw was about)? Secondly, Riddick has a fantastic cast of characters, one of whom is imbued with a lethal drinking game (you take a drink every time he says something ridiculous). And the creatures once again don't disappoint. What I liked best is that, like the transition from Pitch Black to Chronicles of Riddick, we get another genre jump; this time to a thriller with Riddick playing mind games with the people he loathes the most: mercenaries.
[I interrupt this train of thought to bring you the Good Doctor's best comment of the night; upon 'Richard B. Riddick' coming up as his full name, she turned to me and said 'Is his name actually Dick Riddick?']
The film is fantastically bad; aside from he of the fatal drinking game, there are what the Good Doctor called snakeadiles, a magnificently overdone badass walk out of the wilderness by Riddick himself and some wonderful moments with a vicious puppy (it even features a whole 'even lesbians are into Riddick' bit, which was so cheesily done I can't help but feel they're sending up that particular trope of the irresistible anti-hero). There is a very real sense that Vin Diesel kind of wishes he were Riddick; aside from being the ultimate Gary Stu, a lot of the film feels like wish fulfillment. But all of the silliness of Riddick is recognisable to the audience, and you're left with the feeling that this is a film you can take the piss out of for a very long time.
I think what a lot of filmgoers can forgot (and certainly Hollywood studios can too) is that one of the primary reasons we go to the cinema is to be entertained and lifted out of our world. Riddick is set in a far future where the biggest bastards are the mercenaries who bring in criminals and the only one likely to save the universe from a planet destroying army is someone you wouldn't trust with the silverware - you can't tell me that's not entertaining. Thankfully, Vin Diesel wants to bring Riddick back some more (and ya know what? Finding out he plays D&D on set means I am a fan forever), so we should get more genre jumping madness.
Now, the only thing we need to do is have a Riddick marathon when the DVD comes out. I'll report back as to whether our brains melted...
