MOVIE: Nightfall and the Chronicles of Riddick - Part 2 Animation, Games, TV

UPDATE Jan 10th: I am currently writing a RIDDICK Part 3 - I had originally intended it to be a "Quick Part 3"................. well, I can't. I'm actually going to include some detail, if at all possible. I feel the series deserves the respect. I am seriously impressed with the "Hugeness" of it. The fans especially are so "into" this. I'm personally NOT. NOT that terribly "into" Riddick. But I must honestly respect the substantial work it represents.

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If someone speaks of the animated parts of Riddick, these are the usual pieces referred to as of the end of the year, 2013: "Slam-City", the storyboard prequel to the movie Pitchblack. "Dark Fury", the straight-to-DVD, Anime' made to tell a story between Pitchblack, and The Chronicles of Riddick. Dark Fury, was released in a special package, with those two movies. [See DVD cover photo - below]. I shall also include one piece, in this article, that is a live-action movie made for TV (not animated) called "Into-Pitch-Black", because, while it is not animated, nor truly directly focused on Riddick, it is simply part OF, the "media franchise, RIDDICK". And also occurs, 19 weeks after Pitch-Black, between the first two movies. The entire TV-movie is providing information ABOUT Riddick, the characters, and places, in the Riddick universe. "Into-Pitch-Black" was a writers exercise, brought to life, merely as part of the creation of back-story and the Riddick Universe. Then, finally, there was a recently (summer of 2013) released storyboard-animation of the intro to RIDDICK 2013, called "Blindsided". If you have already seen the movie, "Riddick - Rule The Dark", you will find nothing new in this "prequel". Virtually every word of the "prequel" is in the movie. I only include it here for purposes of media-completion. When it came out, it was of much more value, revealing the "tone" of the new movie. It is the Riddick voiced admission that he was "Blindsided" by the Necros. He had let his guard down.

The entire movie, "Rule The Dark", is simply a "reset-movie". Since Riddick must get back... to what he was. Towhy, is "setting us up" for the movies that follow...

Both, Dark Fury, and Into Pitch Black, are of actual entertainment value. Slam-City, does indeed also have a real story attached to it, but is rather short, at 8 minutes length. [ Blindsided, has virtually NO entertainment value for us ] But, Into Pitch Black, 48min length, does contain pertinent details pursuant to Riddick directly, and life as a police officer or mercenary. But even some of the information provided by Slam-City, is actually debated within the Riddick community, with respect to games and their back-stories, which create minor discord. There are three games that had entire back-stories created for them, so that they may exist. The games, have also been integrated into the Riddick Universe, as part of writing exercise. So, I am sure there is much MUCH more detail, which we the viewers, will not know... The first game, "Escape From Butcher-Bay" - 2004, is one that introduces a little of the informational debate. It's nothing major. Only a super-Fan would actually CARE deeply about some of these details. I actually do NOT "care"... DEEPLY, at all, I'm just waiting to be entertained by the movies, I simply know, (without doubt) that Towhy knows what-the-heck he is doing... and that's good enough for me. In this case, Butcher-Bay, there is a bit of debate, for instance, about how Riddick ACTUALLY got his "Eye-Shine", But, the general and accepted consensus is, as the story is told by the first 3 animations. His eyes are "shined", in Slam-City, ...for a pack of cigarettes...

Of all the animated stuff made for Riddick, Dark-Fury is a serious piece of animation, and is 33 minutes length, where, "Slam City" is just for conceptual purposes. Dark Fury, was designed from the git-go, with the intention to actually be a -watchable- mini-movie. You can find a fair amount of material on the background and creation of this Anime', One of the main character designers / artists, is named Fil Barlow, and Peter Chung (director) is also a character designer, from Korea, There was a great deal of collaboration between artists on this movie, and Fil Barlow was primarily responsible for creation of a hybrid creature called the JowJow.

JowJow, was that large "monster" that looked like two creatures surgically put together. Peter and Fil went back and forth trying to figure out what the JowJow should look like, and it was actually Peters idea that JowJow's appearance should suggest two creatures joined together. The sketch at the end of my little video is by Peter Chungs own hand. Believe it or not, Peter intended it as a bit of a joke.

Fil said he had "cleaned up the lines" of that drawning, then used Lightwave (the rendering software) to make the 3D models of JowJow, like the one you also see at the end of my "Darker" video. Fil Barlows opinion was that Peters hands were a bit "tied", and should have been allowed to write more of the actual plot... in Fils' opinion, Peter would have done a brilliant job.

The Chronicles of Riddick is called a "media franchise". That is because, it is a franchise, with a movie series, there is one made-for-TV movie, an animated series (-...sort-of-), video-games with derivatives you might call animated-movies from the games, and two novels thus far, Pitch-Black (the novel) was written by Frank Lauria, and The Chronicles of Riddick (the novel), was written by Alan Dean Foster. It is said that the Pitch-Black novel contains a lot of background detail on the characters, including Riddick. I do assume a third novel will be coming out from the RIDDICK-2013 movie.

If you look at Wikipedia under "Chronicles of Riddick" you will find nine listings for media. The first three listings are the live-action movies:

RIDDICK #1 - Pitch Black - 2000

RIDDICK #2 - The Chronicles of Riddick - 2004

RIDDICK #3 - Rule The Dark - 2013

Then, there are three animated pieces. Here, in chronological order.

RDDICK Anim #1 - Slam City - [ story-board , 8-minutes with unique plot info ]

RIDDICK Anim #2 - Dark Fury - [ actual Anime' 33-minutes in length ]

RIDDICK Anim #3 - Blindsided - [ story-board, 5.75 minutes and redundant info ]

There are also three video games, with a story and plot associated with each.

RIDDICK Game #1 - Escape from Butcher Bay - 2004

RIDDICK Game #2 - Assault on Dark Athena - 2009

RIDDICK Game #3 - The Merc Files - 2013

Do not discount the creative effort of artistic integrity associated with the games, and the story. Just because games tend to turn people into vestigial members of society who are mono-maniac, junk-food-consumers... don't blame Towhy, because he wishes to capitalize on the market. The point is- This is all story, and character, development. And though the final focus is simple action or violence, centered on a hyper-macho anti-hero. There IS, actually a story, over all, and a grander scheme, that Towhy works from. Do not be misled. He's doing his homework. This did not just spontaneously happen.

One, made-for-TV movie, called: RIDDICK - "Into Pitch Black" - 2004 was created... Into-Pitch-Black occurs between Dark Fury, and The Chronicles of Riddick, in this time-line.

The single made-for-TV listing occurs between RIDDICK Movies #1 and #2, approximately AFTER the Anime' DARK FURY. In this TV special, a police officer is tasked with investigating the loss of Riddick from the ship, Hunter-Gratzner (see Pitch Black). This police officer, himself hires a female bounty hunter to track, and possibly capture Riddick. While she searches, she learns about the various passengers on the Hunter-Gratzner, and takes particular interest in Paris P. Ogilve's collection of precious artifact-collection which is ON planet M6-117 in the wreck of the Hunter-Gratzner.

So, beginning with the animated pieces, the Pitch Black prequel, called: Slam City and the Rule The Dark, prequel called: Blindsided, are based upon story-boards used to setup for the movies.

"Slam City", is done using story-boards and a bad soundtrack, just to convey the general story idea. There is actually a bit of a unique story in this first prequel. Slam-City is presented in the form of an official confidential prison record. In Slam-City Riddick acquires his "Eye-Shine" and we meet William J. Johns, bounty hunter, who is sent after Riddick, to retrieve him. We actually meet 'Johns in the movie Pitch-Black, and he dies on the planet M6-117 during it's nightfall.

"Blindsided", also is done using story-boards for the movie "Rule The Dark". It is virtually repeated word-for-word in the actual (Rule The Dark) movie intro, and just sets the tone for Riddick being left on the planet we call "Not-Furya". This entire "prequel" is in fact, redundant. The basic idea is that Riddick had let himself be "Blindsided" by the punch that took him out. His crime? He let himself begin to be "civilized", big mistake.

The animation that is second in chronological order is the Anime' Dark Fury. It's actually fairly good. If you count a Riddick story as ... "good". It is 33 minutes long, and is set within the little ship he leaves the Pitch Black planet in. They are being reeled in by a larger ship which has snagged them, and they become entangled with this ship of bounty hunters.

The lead-antagonist in the movie is named "Chillingsworth" and she is a commander who collects violent offenders... AS ART. Riddick will fit right in. In fact, he will hold a place of honor with her.

If she can KEEP him.

Into Pitch Black is set nineteen weeks after the Hunter-Gratzner crash.

Here, I provide a link to the entire made-for-TV show, "Into Pitch Black". If you begin looking at the internet and various reviews, they are not all positive. This follows the activities of a policeman who has been assigned to check into the "Riddick incident" associated with Hunter-Gratzners crash on planet, M6-117.

I do not read into it much. I believe this was merely an expression of creative writing, brought to life, in the name of the Riddick Universe.

Much detail is provided on the manimal called Riddick. Watch and assess for yourself. A quote from the movie Into-Pitch-Black is:

"He's adapted beyond your comprehension. He can sense your movement, just by smelling your pheromones. He can hear your blood, coursing through your veins. He can feel your presence, within half-a-mile radius."

There is nothing much to say about "Blindsided". It exists. Its value was during the summer of 2013, merely to allude to the upcoming live-action movie. Setting the tone for the De-throning of Lord-Marshall Riddick. See for yourself.

Novelizations

Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick have received novelizations of their scripts, by Frank Lauria, and Alan Dean Foster, respectively. These expand on elements of the films, most notably Pitch Black providing character backstory for Riddick and The Chronicles of Riddick describing the Necromongers and their religion in greater detail.

The RIDDICK video games.

These games would not exist, if David Towhy did not create a story and entire setting surrounding them. This, is WHY I say that Riddick must be much more than we even know.

Yes, yes... I know ALL ABOUT the fact that the movies, games, and anime' is all superficial choreographed violence. That's the product, that Towhy is selling. He's selling a thrill-ride. Each movie is another ride on the roller-coaster called Riddick. But, I can tell from the extensive work surrounding all this "superficial machismo", that some very intelligent people are controlling this ride.

So, I do suspect that better movies, better stories must be forthcoming.

I suspect that there is a detailed setting in which these video games rest. Worlds, people and events that we are not privy to. Possibly NOBODY has access to them, if they are all kept within the vault of David Towhy's mind.

But who knows how much detail he has leaked out to his co-creators?

Does Vin Diesel know? The Diesel himself is quoted as saying that two more movies are coming. In the next one, we are supposed to meet two more of the Elemental human sub-species. An Earth and Water Elemental, according to him.

And before you go clicking on the animated things below. I just want to report an observation as to the total and complete ignorance that is "written" in some places regarding assessments of Riddick movies. I went to IMDB, to actually look at a review on RIDDICK 2013, and in the paragraph for the so-called "Storyline" it says... and I quote:

" Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, ... fights for survival... predators... more powerful ... dangerous... bounty hunters descend on Riddick ... they are pawns in his greater scheme for revenge ... Riddick unleashes vengeance ... before leaving to SAVE HIS HOME PLANET FURYA FROM DESTRUCTION ... "

I honestly don't think this person even ... SAW ... "Riddick Rule The Dark". Or, if he or she DID actually open their eyes as they sat there... their brain was entire disengaged.

THAT, that, rubbish... is a report from a brain-damaged gibbon. And that GIBBON... is "gibbering" about crap that never even HAPPENED in the movie.

He was -NOT-EVEN- "betrayed by his own kind". Riddick is a Furyan, whom the Necro's feared, actually. And, the Necro's treacherously left him for dead on Not-Furya. I do not think that movie reviewer was in the correct room watching the correct movie! Riddick, did not have a "Grand Scheme of Revenge", that he sucked the bounty-hunters into. He just wanted to get off that stinking planet. And at the very end of the movie, he still DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHERE FURYA WAS! Let alone going to SAVE "Furya from destruction"!

Jeepers. I guess IMDB let's just ANYBODY who sits at a keyboard type stuff there. That person was severely hallucinating, I think. Although, even I saw no reason to try to contact them or correct this... it's beyond hope. If IMDB can be so far off, just sayin', holy-moley! Am I the only one in the room who actually is LOOKING at the movie? Or am I the only one looking, at-least, in the DIRECTION, of the movie?

At the very end of RIDDICK Rule The Dark, Riddick does indeed say "Sooner or Later, we all have to go home."

The movie begins and ends with him NOT knowing where Furya is. His quest for Furya is how he got BLINDSIDED in the first place. He was not at "home", with the Necro's, he was just their top-predator. He probably would have made an excellent Lord Marshall of the Necromonger Faith, if he had only wished it. He did not wish it. It would not have been a natural state for him to live in. It WAS however, natural for an "Alpha-Furyan" to attack and win a fight, with the previous Lord Marshall... As foreseen by the Elementals.

That's just the kind of thing a "Riddick" does.

So now, here, and without reading INTO the video games at this moment, Nor analyzing any of this following material- I will post links to some action from "Escape From Butcher Bay", "Assault on Dark Athena", and "The Merc Files".

I really wish brainless or unobservant folks would stop trying to analyze Riddick so much. They may hurt themselves from the effort. It's JUST a roller-coaster ride, for goodness sake. And it's a WELL THOUGHT OUT Roller Coaster, it deserves some Respect... Nothing More than that, GO to the movie, WATCH the movie... Eat Popcorn and other foods your doctor will disapprove of. The Movie Watchers, are not expected to Engineer or Back-Engineer The Darned Thing...

...David Towhy's got that well in hand.

I just want to WATCH the stinkin' flicks. And, what I really want... is a Nice Lady to do it with. Curled up on the Love Seat, all snugly. And I can pretend, and kid myself a - a Little Bit... that I might on my good days be as Tough-As-Riddick.

At least a little bit, in chivalrous fashion, FOR The Love of My Life... of course.