Riddick (2013)

Movie Info

Who is a good dingo-jackal-dog thing?

Riddick (Vin Diesel) has been left for dead by Lord Vaako (Karl Urban) and the Necromongers on an empty planet fending for his life.  Befriending a wild jackal creature, Riddick manages to summon a band of bounty hunters to the planet.  Now, the hunters have become the hunted, but the hunt is personal for Johns (Matthew Nable) who blames Riddick for the death of his son.  Unfortunately, rain is coming to the planet and the rain has awaken creatures that don’t care about bounties or good or evil.

Directed by David Twohy, Riddick is the third film in the Riddick series following The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004.  The movie was pushed forward by Vin Diesel after The Chronicles of Riddick’s theatrical failure and was received by average to positive response from audience and critics.

Hey…I just wanted a nice drink of water and a place to call my own

I really enjoyed Pitch Black, and I was so-so about The Chronicles of Riddick.  Riddick takes the movie back to a Pitch Black type film, but still keeps a little aspect of The Chronicles Riddick with it.  With this balance, the series does bounce back a little and makes for a fun film.

The story of Riddick struggles a bit.  The movie feels very segmented.  First, Riddick must survive on the planet.  Second, Riddick must battle bounty hunters.  Third, Riddick must team with bounty hunters.  The movie spends a lot of time on each of these parts of the film and it feels a bit long.  I also wish that the creatures had been a little less like the creatures of the first film.

You wacky Necromongers!!!

It is good that the movie blends Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick…it isn’t as horror filled but it isn’t as sci-fi.  I was worried from promos that the whole plot of The Chronicles of Riddick was going to be forgotten, but fortunately, it was wrapped up a bit by an appearance by Karl Urban…I wouldn’t mind if the movie series does return to see the Necromongers return for a revenge battle but somehow a more horror aspect would need to be tied in.

Vin Diesel has never been a great actor, and that was half the problem of The Chronicles of Riddick which asked for more from him.  Here, he’s back to the old Riddick who talks less and is forced to show less emotion (though his voiceovers come off as almost bad video game quality).  He has some nice back-up with Matthew Nable, Katee Sackhoff, and giant David Bautista as the muscle of the group.  The first half of the movie has his dog-creature in a starring role which surprisingly wasn’t that obnoxious.

Monsters…the dark…the rain…again!

Riddick’s visuals are sometimes good and sometimes weak.  The jackal-dingo dog creature was actually pretty well done.  The monsters (as mentioned) were a bit to generic and like the Pitch Black creatures (all teeth)…I would have liked a bit varied design.  I also feel that the sets of Riddick left a little to be desired since the outpost set looked like a Star Trek:  The Next Generation set.

Riddick is a step-up from The Chronicles of Riddick, but not up to Pitch Black.  I hope that with the success, the character will return and the story will continue to develop.  I wish a really good writer would take a crack at one of the stories and really flesh out a good story that hits on the series high points.  If you are a fan, this is definitely worth checking out.

Related Links:

Pitch Black (2000)

The Chronicles of Riddick:  Dark Fury (2004)

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)