Climax? What Climax?

I saw Riddick yesterday and it was pretty good for what it was. For me its the type of film that, while I watched it, I was like “Yeah, this is good!”. But while my wife and I discussed it on the way home, we instantly began to find things wrong with it once we really thought about what we just saw.

Now, I’m not going to bash the whole film, like I said, I liked it for what it was. Though there is one thing in particular that I didn’t like, and that is the ending. The ending is what made me go from loving the film, to liking it, to just …eh.

Not sure if you saw the film or not but, whatever, I’m about to spoil the ending for you if you haven’t.

The part that instantly changed my feelings towards the film was when Riddick was fighting for his life up the mountain towards the end, and that one “big” creature had him pinned down. Seemingly, all Riddick could do was hold the creature’s sharp-toothed maw at bay with his bare hands, and then the “good guys” swooped in, cannons blazing, and save Riddick’s butt.

Now, I’m not mad that Riddick was saved. I wanted Riddick to live. It was how he was saved that got me. When Riddick was holding the creature at bay, the camera switched to a close up of his face, then it seemed to do another odd camera switch and suddenly the creatures were getting blasted away and the “good guy girl” wires down from a ship to snatch Riddick up to safety.

Honestly, I thought Riddick was dreaming. As if, we were seeing what he wanted or wished would happen to save his life. Kind of like in the film Descent, when the woman finds her way out of the caves, but then we see that it was just in her head, and she really finds herself hopelessly trapped in the cave system with her impending doom closing in on her. A really cool film by the way. Check it out if you haven’t. Oh, and sorry to spoil the ending if you haven’t seen it, but still, you should see the film Descent, ha!

(back to Riddick)

Even after the creatures were blasted away and the “good guys” swooped in to get him, I was still expecting Riddick to snap out of a dream, to show us that he was still holding the creature at bay, and then he would find some “extra desperation Riddick-Strength” to fight back even harder and defeat the creature on his own somehow.

When Riddick was swooped to safety, and the film, in my opinion, abruptly cut to two ships flying high above the heavenly clouds, I was still waiting, more like hoping, that this was not the real ending to the film. Riddick goes on to have parting words with the “good guys” and then the film ends.

I was like, “No, this can’t be the ending. Maybe there’s a really cool “after the credits ending” like in Fast & Furious 6“. I even said that to my wife. But no, that was the real ending.

Where was the climax?

Where was the part to make me cheer?

There was a really good build up, Riddick fighting for his life up the mountain all alone with a swarm of creatures hot on his trail, but instead of a proper ending to the final confrontation with the big creature, he was just whisked away to safety. It felt like the alternate ending you watch on DVD Special Features.

I felt dirty, lol. Like the film makers got what they wanted, my money, and after getting “theirs” they just got up, got dressed and left without me getting “mine”, a great climax, so to speak.

Even now, I’m still a little frustrated.