The Chronicles Of Riddick

Release Date: June 11, 2004
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: David Twohy
Screenwriter: David Twohy
Starring: Vin Diesel, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban, Colm Feore, Linus Roache, Keith David, Yorick van Wageningen, Alexa Davalos, Judi Dench
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violent action and some language)
Official Website: TheChroniclesofRiddick.com

Plot Summary: Vin Diesel reprises his star-making "Pitch Black" role of enigmatic anti- hero Richard B. Riddick in the new science fiction action-adventure epic, "The Chronicles of Riddick". Riddick has spent the last five years on the move among the forgotten worlds on the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding mercenaries bent on collecting the price on his head. Now, the fugitive finds himself on planet Helion, home to a progressive multicultural society, which has been invaded by the Lord Marshal (Feore), a zealot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of warriors known as Necromongers. Exiled to a subterranean prison where extremes of temperature range from arctic nights to volcanic days, Riddick encounters Kyra (Davalos), the lone survivor from an earlier chapter in his life. His efforts to free himself and Kyra lead him to the Necromonger command ship, where he is pitted against the Lord Marshal in an apocalyptic battle with possibly the fate of all beings-both living and dead-hanging in the balance.

Review By John Barker:
- Take a pot shot but be warned.

Five years after Pitch Black, another blockbuster franchise rears its ugly head; kick started by the star power of Vin Diesel who post-Fast and the Furious and Xxx now demands a $20 million salary for his services. The actors’ fees helped this science fiction epic to reach a reported $100 million budget and while the film is economically opulent, the same complement can not be paid to some rather poor plotting and characterization.

Writer and director David Twothy created the first film of this saga with a minimal budget of $30 million. The film relied on good characterization to create suspense in one of the best sci-fi shockers of the past few years. Unfortunately, the sequel suffers from a Battlefield Earth-style story with elements of biblical fatalism added for good measure.

Riddick (Vin Diesel) is once again being hunted as the universe’s top fugitive with a bounty levied upon him. After escaping some particularly violent mercenaries, he tries to discover why he has a price on his head. This leads him to meet Aereon (Judi Dench) who is ambassador of the ‘Elemental’ race. It turns out that the bounty has been placed on Riddick’s well sculpted head to draw him out of hiding, as the universe is about to undergo invasion from the empirical force of the Necromongers and he is the only man who can stop them. Aereon helps him discover his past and origins, telling him that he is a prophesized individual who is destined to kill the Lord Marshall (Colm Feore) of the Necromongers.

However, Riddick is once again captured and imprisoned but meets Kyra (Alexa Davalos) who is one of the few survivors from the first film. Together the two escape the prison, but on route to freedom the pair are captured by the Necromongers. Finally Riddick faces off against the Lord Marshall to decide the fate of the planetary systems.

Although Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey and err…Wing Commander have all graced our screens, proclaiming to be space-operas. The Chronicles of Riddick tries hard to be an intergalactic opera but falls short due to a quite repetitive narrative, with Riddick escaping perilous situations more times than a sprightly Houdini.

Still, there is much to be applauded about this silly sci-fi thriller. Firstly, the production design and art direction, courtesy of Holger Gross and Kevin Ishioka, is superb and embellishes the alien worlds and environments, creating a cosmetic but believable sphere for the characters to work in.

Vin Diesel also appears at home in the shoes of anti-hero Riddick and shows that his leading man status is now beyond any doubt. The rest of the cast play second fiddle to Diesels’ Stradivarius with only Colm Feore mustering up enough energy to share the screen with the big man.

Overall, the film is entertaining and at points frustrating, due to narrative frailties, but there may be more chronicles in store for Vin Diesel. Although, hopefully a little more invention and originality will creep its way into the series and really make this a quality franchise to rank alongside the Alien saga and Planet of the Apes films.