Guilty pleasure # 1.
As far as skeletons in closets go, guilty pleasures are only minor (if not a skeleton in a closet, then at least a fibula in a cupboard), but they’re there, nonetheless, stuffed away in that small cabinet in the back of our minds along with our irrational fear of dentistry, our juvenile but still existent boyhood fantasies and the silly dances we do when we’re convinced that no one’s watching. Everybody has at least one, and often several: enjoying a song you should not like, adoring a film lacking any redeeming features, idolising a person void of any personality, etcetera. Often you’re not even aware of these guilty pleasures until you stumble upon them.
IndentA while back I stumbled upon one of mine; a film. And upon repeat viewing I had to admit that, yes, this is one of my guilty pleasures.
IndentIt’s Vin Diesel. It’s intergalactic action on an epic scale. It’s both the first, the second and the last part of a doomed trilogy.
IndentIt’s The Chronicles of Riddick.
IndentI love it. Love it. The character of Riddick is interesting, some kind of long lost survivor of a doomed warrior race cum badass criminal cum saviour of universes (yes, plural). Diesel’s acting skills are virtually non-existent, which, luckily for Diesel and director Goyer, is perfect for the character of Riddick: understated, morose, wooden.
IndentAfter Pitch Black, the Indie-ish sci-fi flick that made Vin Diesel a star and introduced the public to Riddick, was a sleeper hit writer-director Goyer saw an opportunity, both financially and artistically, to tell the epic space opera he’d had in his head for years. Cue Chronicles, with a story both grand and shabby, special effects both good and bad, and acting both atrocious and, well, just plain miserable.
IndentConveniently, the cleverly androgynous Jack from Pitch Black grew up to be a killer babe, so that there’s even a hint of romance in this big-budget romp through several universes. Universi. Whatever.
IndentSo far, so crappy.
IndentBut the set pieces. It’s the set pieces that make this flick worth watching; they’re genuinely exciting. The escape from the aptly named prison-planet Crematoria, aptly because only the ever-shifting dark side of the planet is habitable, is one to look for. The fights are well done, especially the final confrontation between Riddick and the Grand Marshall, the leader of the Necromongers, the baddies.
IndentSo yes. This is definitely one of my guilty pleasures.
IndentWhat are yours?
IndentA while back I stumbled upon one of mine; a film. And upon repeat viewing I had to admit that, yes, this is one of my guilty pleasures.
IndentIt’s Vin Diesel. It’s intergalactic action on an epic scale. It’s both the first, the second and the last part of a doomed trilogy.
IndentIt’s The Chronicles of Riddick.
IndentI love it. Love it. The character of Riddick is interesting, some kind of long lost survivor of a doomed warrior race cum badass criminal cum saviour of universes (yes, plural). Diesel’s acting skills are virtually non-existent, which, luckily for Diesel and director Goyer, is perfect for the character of Riddick: understated, morose, wooden.
IndentAfter Pitch Black, the Indie-ish sci-fi flick that made Vin Diesel a star and introduced the public to Riddick, was a sleeper hit writer-director Goyer saw an opportunity, both financially and artistically, to tell the epic space opera he’d had in his head for years. Cue Chronicles, with a story both grand and shabby, special effects both good and bad, and acting both atrocious and, well, just plain miserable.
IndentConveniently, the cleverly androgynous Jack from Pitch Black grew up to be a killer babe, so that there’s even a hint of romance in this big-budget romp through several universes. Universi. Whatever.
IndentSo far, so crappy.
IndentBut the set pieces. It’s the set pieces that make this flick worth watching; they’re genuinely exciting. The escape from the aptly named prison-planet Crematoria, aptly because only the ever-shifting dark side of the planet is habitable, is one to look for. The fights are well done, especially the final confrontation between Riddick and the Grand Marshall, the leader of the Necromongers, the baddies.
IndentSo yes. This is definitely one of my guilty pleasures.
IndentWhat are yours?
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