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The Chronicles of Riddick

Composed and Produced by:
Graeme Revell
Orchestrated and Conducted by:
Tim Simonec


Label:
Varèse Sarabande
Release Date:
June 8th, 2004


Also See:

Daredevil
Red Planet


Audio Clips:

4. One Speed (0:32), 160K chronicles_riddick4.ra

7. Arrival at Helion (0:30), 150K chronicles_riddick7.ra

17. Furyan Energy (0:30), 150K chronicles_riddick17.ra

21. Keep What You Kill (0:30), 150K chronicles_riddick21.ra



Availability:

  Regular U.S. release.


Awards:

  None.









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The Chronicles of Riddick

Audio | Availability | Viewer Ratings | Tracks | Viewer Comments | Notes & Quotes
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  Avg. Rating: 4.50

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Filmtracks Recommends:

Buy it... if you want action music that is basically satisfying, but is only as intelligent as Vin Diesel's bulging biceps.

Avoid it... if you want original orchestral sci-fi action music that doesn't stumble over its own massive noise and underdeveloped themes.



Filmtracks Editorial Review:

Revell
The Chronicles of Riddick: (Graeme Revell) When the character of Riddick first appeared on screen in the 2000 film Pitch Black, audiences and critics did not indicate that it was the kind of sci-fi horror film that could spawn a sequel. But a cultish following on DVD has led the primary character (among a few others) to reappear in 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick. Whereas the first film was more of a straight horror flick, challenging the viewer to choose loyalties very carefully, the sequel sends the character into politics and battle of planetary and, indeed, galactic proportions. Without much dissent, critics have hurled considerable insult at The Chronicles of Riddick (the tagline "riddick-ulous" seems to pop up in several places), mostly because of the lack of any true plotline worth caring about and, of course, the ourpouring of CGI-rendered vistas, characters, and battles that causes many viewers to either cringe or laugh. Director David Twohy returns from Pitch Black to direct The Chronicles of Riddick, flooding the screen with flashing close-up shots of battle, and the director turns once again to composer Graeme Revell for the minor-key dominated music. With the score for the original film spreading amongst his fans in bootleg format, Revell's sequel score receives full album treatment by label Varèse Sarabande, which has been releasing the majority of Revell's efforts over the past two years. Whether he's been typecast into the role or not, Revell seems to take a significant number of scoring assignments for films that are predominantly gray and black in coloration. Most of these flicks dwell in the B-flick range, or perhaps just outside the A-flick range if only because of the high promise, but poor execution of the films he scores. Leaving horror behind and embracing straight action, The Chronicles of Riddick seems to follow the musical path set by Daredevil last year, but at a greater volume.

When you put Revell into these almost comic book sci-fi situations, he has proven highly unpredictable, though. On one hand, you have a rather uninteresting action score like Titan A.E., but then you get an innovative operatic space score for Red Planet on the other. His comparable space-faring scores seem to fall closer to the average kind of non-descript orchestral meanderings heard in his television score for Dune in 2000. To his credit, Revell gives us the feeling that he wanted The Chronicles of Riddick to be bigger and badder than that usual norm, flexing muscles like Vin Diesel's with a group of Los Angeles musicians and some choral extras. The result is a loud and ambitious score in parts, complete with thematic development and decent fight cues ("One Speed" is a highlight) that will rock your walls with brass and percussive power. Unfortunately, the same ambition leads to a tangle of noise for much of the score, with the title theme weak in memorability, the choir mixed poorly, and the score's action sequences painting a canvas just as jumbled and unauthentic as the CGI on screen. The title theme (arguably a Necromonger theme) begins promisingly in the opening cue, complete with nifty electronically enhanced rhythms, but its performances throughout the score (such as in "Necromongers") are unconvincing in separating itself from the rest of the wall of action sounds. The choral sequences are difficult to enjoy as well, perhaps because they sound electronically generated (or at least electronically altered) and perhaps because they are not meant to add harmony of chords to the overall equation. A single uncredited female voice flies solo in parts, including nearly graceful performances in "The Animal Side" and "Aereon Fortells" (speaking of Aereon, what the hell is Judi Dench doing in this film? Conversely, wouldn't be fun to see Vin Diesel do Shakespeare?). But the difficult choral passages are summed up by "Furyan Energy," which is nearly painful in its awkward mixing and disharmony. Even at the very end of the score, when the action music in the credits suddenly... stops... abruptly... you're left with a nagging feeling that there's a whole lot of cohesion missing from this score. On the whole, The Chronicles of Riddick has great intentions in individual cues, and occasionally provides stirring action rhythms. But it stumbles over its own feet for much of its running time, and offers few new ideas for veteran film music ears to enjoy. ***

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   Viewer Ratings and Comments:



   Track Listings:
Total Time: 47:58

    • 1. The Chronicles of Riddick (2:44)
    • 2. Hunt for Riddick (4:44)
    • 3. Vaako Conspiracy (3:19)
    • 4. One Speed (3:08)
    • 5. The Sweet Spot (1:29)
    • 6. The Animal Side (0:54)
    • 7. Arrival at Helion (1:11)
    • 8. Save My Family (1:19)
    • 9. Kyra's Theme (1:22)
    • 10. Helion Attack Pt. 2 (1:13)
    • 11. Imam's Death (1:46)
    • 12. Necromongers (1:24)
    • 13. Show You the Way (2:00)
    • 14. Hellhounds (2:18)
    • 15. Pop the Cock (1:35)
    • 16. The Slam (2:43)
    • 17. Furyan Energy (1:00)
    • 18. The Purifiers End (3:21)
    • 19. Aereon Fortells (1:51)
    • 20. Final Betrayals (1:55)
    • 21. Keep What You Kill (2:33)
    • 22. End Credit - Final Chronicle (4:02)




   Notes and Quotes:

    The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information about the score or film.







All artwork and sound clips from The Chronicles of Riddick are Copyright © 2004, Varèse Sarabande. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/9/04, updated 6/12/04. Review Version 4.2 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2004-2008, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved.