Daily Dialogue — February 16, 2015
On the prison planet of Crematoria, Riddick has located a young woman he thought he left safely hidden away five years earlier. He finds Jack (now called Kyra) being roughed up by the prison guards.
Kyra fights a losing battle with several guards, eventually ending up in a choke hold.
RIDDICK: I don’t think she likes being touched. I’d take my wounded and go while you still can.
Guards release Kyra and turn toward Riddick.
SLAM GUARD: Is there a name for this private little world of yours? Huh? What happens there when we don’t just run away? You’ll kill us? With a soup cup?
RIDDICK: Tea, actually.
SLAM GUARD: Whuzzat?
RIDDICK: I’ll kill you with my tea cup.
Riddick places the metal cup on a nearby stone. The guards look at each other, then the Slam Guard huddles with Smernov.
SMERNOV: You know the rule. They aren’t dead if they’re still on the books.
Slam Guard draws his knife and goes for Riddick, but Riddick hammers the rim of the cup against the rock, splitting the metal, then drives the cup into the guard’s chest and twists. The Slam Guard falls dead to the floor. Smernov and Petrov back away.
SMERNOV: Come on.
Riddick bends down and picks up a tin can key, shows it to Smernov, then places it exactly where he had placed the tea cup. Smernov and Petrov hesitate, then quickly exit the cell with a body.
— The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), written by David Twohy, characters by Ken and Jim Wheat
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Prison. Today’s suggestion by Will King.
Trivia: The original script involved Riddick fighting the hammerheaded creatures in the underground of a city planet for entertainment. He is captured by a merc named “Big Foe” (Who turns out, in the third act, to be Jack from Pitch Black) and brought back to the planet only to find that the creatures were sentient and wanted revenge on Riddick as dictated by the evil god they worshiped.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “In this second installment of the Riddick franchise, what’s notable in this exchange is the change in Riddick’s approach. Throughout the first film and thus far into the second, Riddick has been a character of action and violence to achieve his ends. However, in this exchange, he shifts to using psychology rather than brawn. The tiny size of the sardine can key provides a comic moment when the remaining guards back down, uncertain if Riddick can actually carry through on his implied threat.”
If you have a suggestion for this week’s theme, please post in comments.