Now let's talk about Computer Generated Imaging: Starting with the 1973 Yul Brynner oater "Westworld" and decades later "Avatar" in 2009, we have seen so much CGI, we gag. Hollywood can't seem to smell it yet and I admit some of it is dazzling, but how about a good script? Lots of cologne can't mask a failure to bathe, nor can lots of CGI mask a lame script. Which brings me to this third installment of a third Vin Diesel franchise ("Fast and Furious" and "xXx" are two others); it has brilliant CGI but some of the dialog made me wonder how the actors kept a straight face...
Here they are:
- Vin Diesel ("The Pacifier") is Riddick, the legendary loner who sets his own broken leg (don't ask).
- Karl Urban ("RED") in a 30-second bait and switch. Do NOT go if you are expecting to see Mr. U. in an actual role...
- Jordi MollĂ ("Knight and Day") is Santana, the bounty hunter. To him, Riddick is worth more dead than alive.
- Matt Nable ("Killer Elite") is Boss Johns, seeking Riddick to learn more about his son's death.
This has some of the best CGI work I have seen to date, the production design is wonderful, the photography is masterful, the story is basic but involving, and like other Diesel outings, includes an anti-drug bit. On the other hand, the R-rated plot is rudimentary, the comedy is crude, the fight scenes are endless, and one of the monsters eats its own entrails. Fan boys loved the action, while I admired the CGI. Yup, I said it!
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Here is a trailer (note the canine sidekick):
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