About the "shine job" story, I just took it to mean Riddick has his secrets. Someone stated earlier than Furions have those eyes, but they don't, the ex-furion guy that walked into the sunrise didn't have the shiny eyes.

Riddick keeps everything else to himself, and lies when he wants, and is willing to lie to intimidate or impress. This is obviously what he did about his eyes(or did he?). Given how much else we know about him and his history(ie, nothing), why should the eyes be any different?

I really like the movie but really, I like the setting better. It's good to have some fresh sci-fi in the movie business. It has a very Conan-esque feel too it where we don't always get to know much about our protaganist but we do get to come along for the ride. I'd like to see the stories continue like that, with the next Chronicle having nothing to do with this one or Pitch Black, and so on and so on, occasionally coming back to what's been done(like the old Sword and Sorcery novels with Conan, Grey Mouser, and Elric), but it's unlikely to happen, just not sure if it's a feasible idea. Then again the setting is unfolding in a cross platform setup, with X-Box game telling it's own story, and the anime telling it's own, so it might be possible.

Conan is the first thing I thought of when I saw Riddick sitting on the throne.

Same here. Awesome ending.

I think Riddick was the problem with the film because his character is just too two-dimensional, and the quips don't quite flow well enough for me to really "get" Riddick.

The sets, and the effects were nice eye candy, I liked the designs of the ships and locales on different planets.

The pacing of the plot left a bit to be desired, it's just too haphazardly done in many spots.

I didn't quite get really into the Necromonger (the antagonists) either. Perhaps not enough menace in such a conquering force of the galaxy. Of course, for me, the problems of conquering any lands is that pre-occupation is the bigger headache than the actual conquering. Oh well.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

Well you might have noticed the Necros don't have much of an occupation plan. They come, they conquer, the assimilate the losers, and the blow the planet up and move on.

I kept on thinking someone was going to say:

"Tell me of your home world Usul"

Yeah I thought of DUNE the whole time. I really liked the Necromongers and their Technology. I liked the movie but his smart ass quips were annoying.


I must admit I would love to see the stroy of the Necromongers. The leader and his powers were interesting.

yeah the whole nercomonger, "Underverse" came off way too cheesy
I mean at least be a little more creative with the names
they sound like names a high school nerd uses in his own sci-fi fantasy
the action was decent, but I did like the way they were filmed, too
close and camera shakes way too much to tell what's going on (the fight on Crematoria) also the CG mutant rat/dog were pretty bad
I wished that the plot had been an extension of pitch black

I LOVE THIS MOVIE! It's so creative in all of its details. I mean, just look at the way the prison warden's office rose to the surface. Or the mercs hanging from the ships. The imagination on display is endlessly impressive. It did take some common genre ideas, but somehow they managed to make them feel interesting and fresh. And David Twohy did a great job directing. Ultra stylish and exciting.

I even liked the way they incorporated real life, contemporary language and elements (current religions, typical American names) into the grandiose space opera stuff. Seemed to ground the film a little and make it easier to get into.

About the eye thing:

I took it as something that the Furions had. The reason the Necromonger didn't have it is because he was changed into a Necromonger, and he's no longer really a Furion.

Really enjoyed this movie. I wish there were more large scale
sci fi movies being put out (besides Star Wars).

Jason

There was a whole excised subplot with Riddick having super powers (you can see an "energy blast Riddick" in one of the trailers). He also used to have visions of some being leading him towards a goal or whatever, and they explained his eye shine as a "gift" bestowed on him by these supporters. So his doctor story was definitely not true. Apparently, all of this stuff is in the novelization.

Overall I liked the movie

Although the whole scene at the hanger at Crematoria seemed kinda dumb to me.

When the sun rises the surface temperature rises to 700 degrees where people will be vaporized if in direct sunlight but yet Riddick and others can blissfully stand in the shade of the hanger when the outside surface is convered in sunlight?

I'd also have prefered more fluid action shots instead of the chop job comic style of flashes that were used.

But I did like the movie quite a bit. Best free movie tix I ever used.

And what's up the multimedia storylines like The Matrix and Van Helsing? Video Games, animated dvd's, and other crap.

STOP THIS RIGHT DAMN NOW!!!!

I mean to find out what happened between Pitch Black and Chronicles you have to rent the animated video or video game. What' sup with that bullshit?

Would you rather they just not tell the story at all? It's not like those stories would've been incoporated or been part of the movie. They're side stories...I for one love the fact they're doing stuff like that. If you don't like em, well you don't have to watch em. But for those of us who want to watch more stuff, there's more material to see.

All of these animated stories haven't been integral to the plots, just stories that took place about these characters. You can watch TCOR to find out what happened between Pitch Black and the new flick. But if you want to see a more specific telling of another Riddick story, it's there for you to watch.

I'd be pissed if they were just stripping things out of the main movies to make other stuff...but in general this is stuff that you don't really have to know to understand the actual films.

Why would you want them to stop this? That just makes no sense to me.

The animation for Riddick: Dark Fury is excellent and bridges the gap between both films superbly.

Here is the chronological order for the Riddick story:

1) Escape from Butcher Bay video game
2) Johns' Chase Log bonus feature from the PB re-release DVD
3) Pitch Black
4) Dark Fury - The Chronicles of Riddick
5) The Chronicles of Riddick movie

Just saw Riddick last night. Random thoughts:

It's the comedy smash of the summer!!

Diesel is not the new Schwarzenegger, but he is the new Stallone. I could see Diesel in just about any of the action roles Stallone played throughout the 90s. Judge Dredd, anyone?

Dame Judi Dench, how could you?

Did the remind anyone else of Temple of Doom?

I can't wait for Riddick 2. It'll be comic gold!

Just got back from seeing it and like B.A. , the movie exceeded my expectations too. I was never a big fan of "Pitch Black". But the previews for "Riddick" looked pretty good. Mainly because of the special effects. And they seriously kicked ass. This is going to be one killer DVD. I'm sad to seeing it take a pretty big drop at the box-office in it's second week. Looks like it'll top off around $60 million. Hopefully it'll find a wider audience on home video. It deserves it. I'd give this a solid *** out of ****.

It's nothing more than getting you to buy more shit.....period.

Tell the story in one media or don't tell it at all.

The Donnie Darko fiasco comes to mind....

I think you're being far too cynical about this. The director of this particular anime is highly creative and I'm sure he put his own stamp on the Riddick universe. At the same time, it's not essential for you to see it to get either Pitch Black or The Chronicles of Riddick. So what's the problem?

Yes, they are trying to sell you more stuff, but at the same time, this is something far more interesting than most tie-in type stuff. Instead of being sold Riddick beer mugs or Necromonger keychains, you get an extension to the story told by a unique filmmaker. Why is that so terrible? Also, the DVD can be found for $10 at most places, so it's not like it's putting a huge dent in your wallet.

The problem is I want the story but having to "track down" games(Matrix ), animated straight to dvd films(Riddick and Van Helsing), and other shit is silly.


{yoda} cynical I may be...but faaar to forgivng are you, young jedi{/yoda}

The marks on the necks of the Necromongers looked just like sphincters. I expected someone to take a crap out of their neck.

Also, how many times do we have to see Riddick pull of his shades. Count them, it happened prolly 20-30 times.

Otherwise, pretty enjoyable flick.

from the PITCH BLACK:

Jack: Where the hell can I get eyes like that?

Riddick: Gotta kill a few people.

Jack: 'Kay, I can do it.

Riddick: Then you got to get sent to a slam, where they tell you you'll never see daylight again. You dig up a doctor, and you pay him 20 menthol Kools to do a surgical shine job on your eyeballs.

Jack: So you can see who's sneaking up on you in the dark?

Riddick: Exactly.

The point you've missed is that you already have the story. Riddick's plot is self-contained; it can be enjoyed without seeing the anime. The film provides you with more than enough information to allow you to understand what the characters have been doing from the last film until this point. The filmmakers get you up to speed and then they tell the story they want to tell.

What the anime does is simply give you another story to enjoy the characters in. If you're a fan, you should actually WELCOME the chance to enjoy the characters once more and see a further expansion of the mythology. I certainly do. But if you're not a fan, you can still watch the film and never know you are missing anything. That's the key. Thus, the anime is no more of a cash grab than the films themselves.

So unless you suffer from some kind of obsessive disorder where you simply MUST HAVE EVERYTHING and simultaneously loathe that aspect of yourself, there's really no reason to get angry about the spinoffs. If you don't like them, then don't watch them. The movies still stand on their own.