I loved Pitch Black growing up, it was one of the first thrillers that I can vividly remember watching, and being allowed to watch, while also introducing me to one of the most badass antiheroes that I had ever seen to date, Riddick. 13 years after the introduction of Riddick (Vin Diesel), the studios have granted us a third film (I can’t remember much about The Chronicles of Riddick) and it is a reminder of why I loved Pitch Black and what also makes this character so awesome.
Riddick opens up with a voiceover explaining how he ended up left for dead on a strange, hot planet inhabited by monsters who want nothing more than to kill him, just like every bounty hunter in the galaxy since he’s the most dangerous escaped convict known to man. Left on a planet he originally thought to be home, Riddick is left with few options and decides to hit an emergency beacon in a mercenary station giving away his position and luring bounty hunters to his whereabouts. Eventually two sets of mercenaries descend on the station; the first is a cocky and violent group of mercenaries led by a man named Santana who is looking to collect a large bounty while the second team is a bit more professional, much smarter and extremely well equipped but is there for more personal reasons. Soon a game of cat and mouse with Riddick begins as he makes it clear he wants a ship in exchange for sparing their lives but with a storm on the horizon that no one will survive, time beings to run out for the feuding mercs and the stakes with Riddick get higher.
If I didn’t bring a friend who was obsessed with Riddick I would not have gotten the significance of one of the main characters, which is important to the story, despite having seen Pitch Black at least 10 times as a kid. In fact, I have a feeling that there are a lot of people who don’t remember much about Pitch Black let alone that messy sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, but thankfully writer/director David Twohy takes that into consideration and gives us a little history lesson in the beginning of the film, explaining to us why Riddick is in the position he is in but naturally waits until later in the film for a different reveal.
Riddick is basically everything you thought it might be, maybe even a little better if you went in with super low expectations. The style is exactly the same as Chronicles with some elements taken from Pitch Black, it’s heavy on the CG with the bonus of a few more bloody comedic elements to help spice things up a bit. The script has its issues, most notably the ridiculous dialogue some of the characters spew and the stereotypical character archetypes. Additionally, some of the performances could have been way better, most notably Jordi Molla who plays Santana, the brutish and egotistical leader of the rowdy bounty hunters. Thankfully there are a lot of awesome kill sequences and battles with monsters that eventually distract us long enough to forget about those scenes but until they come all you can do is laugh it off.
If you’re a massive fan of the character Riddick and both films prior then you are going to love this new film but, if you’re like me and only enjoyed Pitch Black then this will be a mindless piece of fun entertainment that, though laughable at times, manages to bring stupid smiles to your face sporadically throughout the film. If you don’t like the character or neither of the other films don’t bother wasting your money, though to be honest I’d be wondering why you’re bothering to even read a review about it. All you need to know is that, like always, Vin Diesel will “bow to no man” and that’s exactly what this Riddick proves.
Rating: A mediocre sci-fi actioner that puts Diesel front and center and, doing what he does best, acting like a badass mofo antihero (5.9/10)
Recent Comments