Susan Hated Literature

Dir: Martin Campbell
Writ: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis based on the novel by Ian Fleming

• Daniel Craig - James Bond
• Eva Green - Vesper Lynd
• Mads Mikkelsen - Le Chiffre
• Judi Dench - M

Before I saw this film I said that I would enjoy it, I just decided, spur of the moment type of thing that I would like it. And I’m glad to report that I didn’t have to lie to myself, because I did enjoy it. It isn’t perfect, it is too long and a little lacking in plot. It isn’t isn’t really a Bond film, although of course technically it is. But it doesn’t have the same gadgets and big bad in the same way as the other Bond films.

Instead we get a Bond who is brand new to the world of being a 00 agent.

Craig makes a great Bond, he isn’t really good-looking, but then again I’ve never thought that any of the previous Bonds were good looking either, and I really don’t get the Sean Connery kerfuffle. What Craig has though is presence. He is an excellent actor and really carries off the coldness of Bond. I’d love to see him play an evil bad guy.

There is some great dialogue, some great action scenes, a wonderful car crash and plenty of violence.

Although perhaps I’m a little too cynical because Show Spoilers ▼

All in all a good film, but not really one you’d want to watch twice. Let’s hope that Craig doesn’t do too many Bond flicks because it’d be a waste of his talent.

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Dir & Writ: David Twohy
Writ: Jim Wheat & Ken Wheat

• Vin Diesel - Riddick
• Colm Feore - Lord Marshal
• Thandie Newton - Dame Vaako
• Judi Dench - Aereon
• Karl Urban - Vaako
• Alexa Davalos - Kyra

I’m a big fan of Pitch Black, that low budget horror in space. And I used to be a big fan of Vin Diesel’s but recent film-roles have made me all a bit meh. Still, I’m surprised it took me this long to get around to watching this film, but I finally caved and got the dvd last week. And I’m not too disapointed that I waited so long, because to be honest this film is trying so hard to be something that it isn’t.

I’m not sure why they bothered to keep the name of Riddick, marketing I suppose. Because this film is totally unrelated to the original. The universe we are shown in Chronicles is totally unlike that of Pitch Black, and the characters are also pretty unrecognisable, those few who actually survived the first film.

But lets ignore all that and try to treat Chronicles as though it were a standalone film, with no history.

It is a sci-fi film, one of those with the clichéd army of evil. Here in the form of Necromongers, an army who are trying to convert or kill all the planets of the universe in order to reach their promised land, the Under-verse. It tries to get out of the stereotype by having this evil army do battle, not with good, but with a “different sort of evil”. Trouble is it doesn’t really work, because in this film Riddick isn’t really all that evil. Sure he kills people but what action hero doesn’t? And everyone he kills here was actually trying to kill him first. Fair enough I suppose, maybe the ending of PB really did change him.

Overall this is a question of style over substance. Style over story. And style over characters.

And yes, it all looks great. In a “look at all our cool spaceships”. And they try and make this intricate back story about the Necromongers and the Furyans (I don’t really care how it should be spelled), and invents this reason why Riddick is so great at killing. But it just doesn’t work for me. None of the characters have even half the presence of those in PB. I did quite enjoy Karl Urban’s Vaako, but not enough to make up for the rest of the film’s shortcomings.

It is an average enough film. Nothing spectacularly bad about it, but nothing great either. Though I’ve heard that the director’s cut makes it a better film overall. I can’t say, I watched the theatrical cut.

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