"Riddick" is an ode to the first two films in the series - no doubt. Fans of "The Chronicles of Riddick" series would definitely love this third outing as the film presents the same bad-ass, anti-hero character in the same no-holds-barred, raged-up style. Unfortunately, this also means that whatever problems the previous films had, "Riddick" also has. Worse, it mirrors its predecessor (specifically "Pitch Black") too much. Most of the story and the eventual situation the characters find themselves in are pretty much the same boat.
It is five years after the events of "The Chronicles of Riddick" and Riddick (Vin Diesel) finds himself at odds as the Lord Marshall. He decides to make a deal with Vaako (Karl Urban); take him to his home planet Furya then he will make Vaako Lord Marshall. Vaako agrees but instead of taking Riddick to Furya, his subordinate Krone takes Riddick to a desolate planet. As Riddick tries to stop the assassination attempt against him, a landslide happens and buries him alive. As Riddick wakes up injured, he is able to fix himself and stumble upon an abandoned mercenary station along the way. As a huge storm is about to arrive, Riddick decides that he must leave the planet as soon as possible to avoid creatures known as Mud Demons and triggers the emergency beacon within the station to attract possible mercenaries and hijack their ships.
As you can see from the synopsis, "Riddick" is eerily similar from "Pitch Black". The solar eclipse is now an impending storm and the vampire-like monsters are now mud demons - basically these are the same components from start and finish. And that's our biggest disappointment with "Riddick". We just felt that the film fails to expand and contribute to the "Riddick" universe. While some may feel that the second film was a bad outing, in comparison, it presented a deeper look into the character of Riddick and the mythologies and beliefs around him. The back-to-basics approach has its own merits though as the straightforwardness of pretty much everything on the film makes this a simple, entertaining watch. Yes, entertaining enough but we wish it could have done more.
Rating: 3 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- testosterone-filled and no holds barred action is the name of the game
- simple and back to basics fun
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- mirrors "Pitch Black" too much
- does not contribute much to the "Riddick" mythology
"Riddick" is an ode to the first two films in the series - no doubt. Fans of "The Chronicles of Riddick" series would definitely love this third outing as the film presents the same bad-ass, anti-hero character in the same no-holds-barred, raged-up style. Unfortunately, this also means that whatever problems the previous films had, "Riddick" also has. Worse, it mirrors its predecessor (specifically "Pitch Black") too much. Most of the story and the eventual situation the characters find themselves in are pretty much the same boat.
It is five years after the events of "The Chronicles of Riddick" and Riddick (Vin Diesel) finds himself at odds as the Lord Marshall. He decides to make a deal with Vaako (Karl Urban); take him to his home planet Furya then he will make Vaako Lord Marshall. Vaako agrees but instead of taking Riddick to Furya, his subordinate Krone takes Riddick to a desolate planet. As Riddick tries to stop the assassination attempt against him, a landslide happens and buries him alive. As Riddick wakes up injured, he is able to fix himself and stumble upon an abandoned mercenary station along the way. As a huge storm is about to arrive, Riddick decides that he must leave the planet as soon as possible to avoid creatures known as Mud Demons and triggers the emergency beacon within the station to attract possible mercenaries and hijack their ships.
As you can see from the synopsis, "Riddick" is eerily similar from "Pitch Black". The solar eclipse is now an impending storm and the vampire-like monsters are now mud demons - basically these are the same components from start and finish. And that's our biggest disappointment with "Riddick". We just felt that the film fails to expand and contribute to the "Riddick" universe. While some may feel that the second film was a bad outing, in comparison, it presented a deeper look into the character of Riddick and the mythologies and beliefs around him. The back-to-basics approach has its own merits though as the straightforwardness of pretty much everything on the film makes this a simple, entertaining watch. Yes, entertaining enough but we wish it could have done more.
Rating: 3 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- testosterone-filled and no holds barred action is the name of the game
- simple and back to basics fun
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- mirrors "Pitch Black" too much
- does not contribute much to the "Riddick" mythology
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