Chronicles of Riddick [Blu-ray] by David Twohy, starring Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban: DVDNear.com

Chronicles of Riddick [Blu-ray]

Chronicles of Riddick [Blu-ray]
by David Twohy

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Colm Feore, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Thandie Newton, Vin Diesel
Director: David Twohy
Brand: Universal Studios
Writer: David Twohy
Producer: Camille Brown
Producer: David Womark
Producer: George Zakk
Producer: Scott Kroopf
Writer: Jim Wheat
Writer: Ken Wheat
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-03-31
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Universal Studios

Movie Reviews of Chronicles of Riddick [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Blu-Ray shines as best offering yet.
Summary: 5 Stars

I think this movie has gotten a bad rap by most reviewers. Maybe they are expecting too much or maybe they just don't understand what's being done here. Chronicles of Riddick (CoR) is an entertaining movie with just little bit of subtle sophistication and even a misunderstood pedigree. It's essentially an action/adventure kind of science fiction that doesn't go too terribly deep, but deep enough to get the story across and end up being an enjoyable experience.

I don't know if this was where the director was going, but I saw a lot of elements you would see in one of those classic 50's space operas. If you have seen any of the classic Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon serials you might get what I'm saying. The movie gives you the impression of being on a grand scale without actually being on that level. The plot itself is rather simplistic and that's why it works. The beauty is in the subtle complexities most probably won't even notice. The side plots in this movie don't seem to fit right, but by the end they show as being essential.

On a less glamorous note certain things that lend themselves to that 50's matinee style of Sci-Fi do seem cheesy like how stuff is named. You have villains called Necromongers. You have planets with names like Crematoria and races with names like Furyans. Names like that kinda kill the whole Riddick coolness. Riddick himself, on the other hand, is still the ultimate coolness he was in Pitch Black. I have to hand it Vin Diesel. He definitely has this character down. While Pitch Black did a decent job giving this anti-hero some development this movie further expands on it. You get a little more into his motivations and drives in this movie, which are mostly personal. I do believe this is the best anti-hero character I have seen in science fiction.

The action on this movie is sweet, but in the first few scenes it does go by VERY fast. After a while the action settles to a better pace, which will delight the bruisers in the crowd. The imagery is definitely worth watching and the set design is awesome. There is this medieval style to the Necromongers that give it both a familiar and unfamiliar vibe to them. Locations like Crematoria (I hate that name) are both fascinating concepts and nice looking design-wise. You get to see a lot of different types of special effects here and generally they look very solid. The computer-generated effects aren't in any way top notch, though they are several degrees better than movies like Van Helsing.

They have released a theatrical cut and an "unrated" director's cut. Supposedly some of the content that would have given the movie an R rating was put in the director's cut, but to be honest I didn't see anything that would have changed the rating in my eyes. I guess the MPAA are very picky about some things. What are the differences? Well for one there are about 14 more minutes added to the movie. Some of it just little details. Some of it totally new content that changes some scenes (and the storyline) completely. Some of it useless. The biggest and best change is the addition of a sort of Furyan destiny laid out in front of Riddick. Not awesome, but it is interesting.

The sad thing is some good stuff that was in the theatrical version is lost. One in particular is the big Necromonger (sigh...) fight scene in Crematoria (ugh...). The theatrical version was a shorter and apparently the sound editing would have been horrible if cut with the same audio. The result was a music only scene that I call the "ballet of death" that to me carried a higher sensory impact that the uncut, full audio, fight. I suppose less is more for me. Another cut I would have liked to see stay was Riddick's "back of the bus" monologue, which was replaced by a completely useless (although sexually suggestive) scene with one of the mercs.

Previous releases of this movie only gave you one option in regards to which version of the movie you wanted to see, including the HD-DVD release. This Blu-Ray release gives you both versions of the movie. That in of itself is a big bonus for a guy like me who sees good stuff from both versions. The good times don't stop there. The video is a VC-1 codec taken directly from the digital master (same as the HD-DVD release). I'm not going to say it's the absolute best transfer out there, but it is really nice and definitely is head and tails above any Riddick DVD release. The audio, on the other hand, gets the full praise with DTS-HD 5.1 lossless surround sound. Not even the HD-DVD had that. You also get DTS 5.1 surround in French and Spanish (subtitles in all three languages).

The extras are a mix of content that was available in the DVDs and HD-DVD along with a little more (I did say this was the best release to date, didn't I?). Here's the breakdown (all in 480p standard definition):

Intro by David Twohy - Just an explanation of the transfer of the Director's cut. It almost sounds like an apology to those who may notice the cuts in editing. Same intro as in the Extended Cut DVD and HD-DVD.

Director's Commentary - Actually pretty informative as David doesn't seem to shy away from share all the details in making the film. Same commentary from DVD and HD-DVD (essentially the previous releases).

Virtual Guide to Chronicles of Riddick - A few entries on the Riddick universe as told by the characters in the movie. Same feature from previous releases.

Toombs Chase Log - A personal log chronicling Toombs' hunting of Riddick up until the start of the movie as told by Tombs himself. Same featurette from the previous releases.

Visual Effects Revealed - A short featurette on the special effects of the movie. I believe this is brand new, but it's pretty brief (about six minutes) so not much of a new bonus.

Creation of New Mecca - A look at the various set pieces from the movie. Same as the HD-DVD and it seems this featurette replaces Riddick's Worlds from the DVD. Alas... no more 360 degree views of the more impressive sets.

Vin Diesel's Guided Tour - Vin walks you around the sets showing you behind the scenes work on the movie. Same as in the previous releases.

Riddick Rises - A discussion of the Riddick character by Director David Twohy and Vin Diesel. The two people who effectively created the character give more background info on our favorite anti-hero.

Keep What You Kill - Very cool analysis of the Necromongers and their culture as well as film details like costumes and props and such. Same featurette as in the HD-DVD.

Complete Chronicles - A U-Control feature with picture in picture narrative of Riddick. Includes both video footage and text trivia. This is aBlu-Ray exclusive.

Chronicles Compendium - Another Blu-Ray exclusive that is also a U-Control picture in picture feature that delves into pretty much all the other things in the Riddick universe that Complete Chronicles doesn't cover. In the same format as Complete Chronicles as well.

Anatomy of a Fight - Yet another U-Control feature exclusive to Blu-Ray. This one focuses on Riddick's combat strategies and methods.

Deleted Scenes - Same as all previous releases. Some are alternate scenes. Some would have been nice to have added to the Director's Cut. Some definitely best left off the movie. Commentary by Twohy also available.

BDLive enabled - Of course this is a Blu-Ray exclusive. If you want to share Riddick comments and stuff that's what BDLive is all about.

Chronicles of Riddick is a good solid story with the look of an epic film but with the sensibilities of a good old 50's Sci-Fi adventure. If you are into action then you should be happy with this movie. This current release by far offers the most from any previous release with both versions of the movie, lossless audio, and a few extra features not previously available. If you have a Blu-Ray player this is the version to get.

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Summary of Chronicles of Riddick [Blu-ray]

Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: UN
Release Date: 31-MAR-2009
Media Type: Blu-Ray

Bigger isn't always better, but for anyone who enjoyed Pitch Black, a nominal sequel like The Chronicles of Riddick should prove adequately entertaining. Writer-director David Twohy returns with expansive sets, detailed costumes, an army of CGI effects artists, and the star he helped launch--Vin Diesel--bearing his franchise burden quite nicely as he reprises his title role. The Furian renegade Riddick has another bounty on his head, but when he escapes from his mercenary captors, he's plunged into an epic-scale war waged by the Necromongers. A fascist master race led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), they're determined to conquer all enemies in their quest for the Underverse, the appeal of which is largely unexplained (since Twohy is presumably reserving details for subsequent "chronicles"). With tissue-thin plotting, scant character development, and skimpy roles that waste the talents of Thandie Newton (as a Necromonger conspirator) and Judi Dench (as a wispy "Elemental" priestess), Twohy's back in the B-movie territory he started in (with The Arrival), brought to vivid life on a vast digital landscape with the conceptual allure of a lavish graphic novel. But does Riddick have leadership skills on his resumé? To get an answer to that question, sci-fi fans will welcome another sequel. --Jeff Shannon

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Chronicles of Riddick [Blu-ray]