Growing up, I saw Star Wars as a young lad, and instantly fell in love with Han Solo. He was a cool swashbuckler, loving and leaving, flying through the galaxy, fighting fights, smuggling spice, barely avoiding death, with a giant Wookie as a companion. Heck, even the outfit was amazing, a hodgepodge of clothes that made him cooler than any human, or Corellian alive. I honestly didn’t think that I’d ever see an onscreen character as cool as him.
Then I saw the movie Pitch Black.
The first time I saw it, I watched it as a whole, and really liked it. A few characters stuck out, and one of them was played by the thesian Vin Diesel. He played a character that went by Riddick. He was an anti hero. He didn’t speak much. (much like Wesley Snipes, the less he talks in a movie, the better it is) He had an extreme sense of self preserverence, yet in the end, he went out of character and saved others (spoiler alert)
Richard Bruno Riddick has two histories. Wikipedia uses the history from “The Chronicles of Riddick” that a Necromonger officer Zhylaw has a vision that a man from Furya will be his downfall, so he goes to the planet, and kills all the young boys on the planet. He did this by strangling some with their umbilical cords.
In the movie, they made it sound like the Necromancers went in and wiped out the planet at some point.
Riddick remembered it as his mother not wanting him, and strangling him, and leaving him in a dumpster behind a liquor store.
Regardless, he survived whichever attack it was. He somehow survived on the streets by stealing and whatnot, until he graduated to bigger and better things, and made it to prison, where he claims that’s where he got his education. He made it to adulthood, and again, much like Jesus, not much is said of what happened between childhood.
Originally written, Riddick was a soldier. At some point, most of his unit is wiped out (not that unit Kenric), and he takes the blame, though the squad leader Johns (yes, the bounty hunter), is the one who was actually at fault.
In my opinion, this makes the most sense. Riddick can fly pretty much anything put in front of him, can drive anything offered, has a very good knowledge of weaponry and the mechanics involved, and can survive in any conditions. If you assume (I know, I know) that he is in peak physical condition in Pitch Black, that would have given him at least a decade in the military, to garner these skills.
For arguments sake, if I was going to rewrite it, I’d mix them together. I’d say the Nocromongers did try and kill him, he survived, hidden away, maybe got in a little trouble as a youth, and went into the military to straighten himself out.
It goes tits up, and he spends some time in prison, before he uses his skills to escape, and eventually Johns catches him. Then “Pitch Black” happens. (If you want someone to work on a script with Vin, give me a jingle)
I’m not saying he’s cooler than Han Solo. I’m just saying, if anyone comes close, it’s Riddick. They are both masters of self preservation. They aren’t afraid to kill people if they have to. They each have grand plans, that somehow go bad (usually because of others), yet they come out okay in the end. They always get the woman in the end (Han was stupid and married her) He may be the coolest 1A.
If you aren’t familiar with the franchise, I am going to sum up his life up until the last movie, hopefully in a way that will make you want to check them out. Or revisit them over and over.
In “Pitch Black” the ship carrying him and other passengers goes through the tail end of a comet, they are awakened from cryo, and crash landed on a planet. They find an abandoned scientist station, and eventually discover that they hadn’t left, just disappeared.
Riddick had a back alley operation where his eyes were “shined”. His weakness is bright light, so he has to wear “sun goggles”. The strength is when its dark, he can see like a cat.
What they found out, is the Bio Raptors came out every year, and as luck would have it, they landed a day or two before this was going to happen.
Now the race was on to somehow get a ship repaired so they could blow that popsicle stand.
In “Dark Fury” (happens between “Pitch Black” and “The Chronicles of Riddick”) Iman, Jack, and Riddick are captured by a mercenaries, that somehow freezes top criminals alive, and they become her “art”. Luckily, he’s Richard Bruno Riddick, so they escaped, stole a shuttle after killing most the mercs, and headed to New Mecca. (Helion Prime)
After dropping of Iman and Jack, Riddick takes off, so that they mercs won’t find Jack and Iman.
Iman betrays Riddick, reveals his location because the Necromongers are heading to Helion Prime to devastate the planet. The merc Tombs catches up to him on a distant ice planet. (UV, known for its harsh Ultraviolet Light) It doesn’t end well for him and his crew (he came in light), and Riddick leaves him alive, but steals his ship, and heads to Helion Prime.
He got there just before the Necromongers. Iman is killed, Toombs catches up and imprisons Riddick, and decides to take him to a prison that is considered unescapeable. You can only fly in certain hours, because of the suns that melt everything otherwise (the prison is inside the planet.)
Riddick reunites with Jack (who is now Kyra), they escape…well Riddick does, and he goes to the Necromongers, and becomes leader (you keep what you kill)
“Riddick” is the last movie. By last, I mean the most recent. I hope they come up with a Riddick movie up until the point you can’t believe Vin Diesel can kick that much ass any more, and then hopefully there’s another monosyllabic actor who can play his son, and continue the story.
Gang, you aren’t getting an Oscar winning script. You aren’t going to get an Oscar winning performance (even with Dame Judy Dench) Not even a Golden Globe. (the sets are amazing, though lots of green screen.)
You do get plenty of action. There’s always a pretty good story involved, as well as a few side stories that all wrap up nicely. The acting is good, there’s not many clunkers involved.
The character Riddick though is the strongest part. Diesel doesn’t play the character to be the star. Much of the action surrounds him, but not in the sense that it is all him. He seems to boost the other actors around them in an egoless performance.
His dialog is minimal, but poignant. He has intelligence, swagger, and a look that really sells the character. He’s the lead, but the others tend to drive the story, fill in the gaps, because he’s a man of few words. This also means that when he talks, people listen.
Gang, I’m @jaycanchu on IG, SC, and Twitter. If I ever set it up, I have an email at Spoiler Country (note to self, set up email) Go listen to Spoiler Country, or Shootin’ the Sith, or MiseryPoint Radio.
If you’re into reading (and you should), check out the K Files, Shootin’ the Sith articles by Robert, Casey comes up with an article here and there, Eli does some Deep Memeing, and Colton does press releases.
Keep What You Kill
Mista J