The Chronicles Of A Bad Scifi Sequel
I am hesitant to admit it, but I thoroughly enjoyed Pitch Black…for what it was, a guilty pleasure. I skipped the sequel (prequel?) because I knew that Riddick was a one-hit wonder. When I finally saw The Chronicles of Riddick on cable on a rainy Saturday afternoon, I was thankful I didn’t shell out $10 at the theater. Admittedly Riddick is an enigmatic character, but sometimes no backstory is better than a bad backstory.
Alas, like most things, Riddick was destined to come in threes. After all, a sequel isn’t a sequel unless it’s a trilogy. I’m not surprised that a bad movie has been greenlit for a sequel. No, I’m surprised that The Chronicles of Riddick has been greenlit for a sequel because it bombed at the box office. Universal shelled out $105 million for The Chronicles of Riddick, but it only took in $57.7 million. I’m no math whiz, but that doesn’t add up.
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| Original artwork from The Chronicles of Riddick sequel |
According to Collider, the sequel (to the prequel??) simply titled Riddick, started production last year, but quickly ran out of money. Somehow the film re-secured it’s financing and will soon start filming again. The new sequel will star scifi-fan favorites, Katee Sackhoff and Karl Urban (who starred in the previous film).
The official plot summary for Riddick is listed below. You decide?
“Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick (Diesel) fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.”
Can't agree as I prefer this to Pitch Black which was a great movie!
Guess they'll just keep trying until one makes money! Still can't believe they got Judi Dench to do Chronicles. And yes, Pitch Black was awesome.
Gosh, I remember watching PITCH BLACK in Las Vegas when it came out. I hadn't even heard of it before but it was an enjoyable flick. The sequel was messy and expensive.
To be honest, is the world really calling out for a third part? I mean, it's not like iit's anything more than a minor cult hit. I would hardly say it was up there with Alien.
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Pitch Black was a great movie. There's nothing to feel guilty about for liking it.
As for The Chronicles of Riddick – there are two versions. There is the completely destroyed version that was released to theaters and that is likely the version you saw on TV, and then there is the original version that the director intended, which actually made sense. I saw the latter on DVD and couldn't believe it when I later learned what the studio had been cut out of it for the theatrical release. It would have been a completely different movie in tone.
It's probably that success on DVD that has driven the making of the third one.