Riddick (2013)

 

Vin Diesel so liked the character of Riddick, he actually fought tooth and nail to get this entry finished. You see, 'The Chronicles of Riddick' unfortunately didn't do as well at the box office and so the plans for the third entry were shelved. But a bit of tenacity and perseverance go a long way and the third installment was made. 

It's also a lot smaller in scope than the pretty lavish second entry, but that is not a bad thing. It brings it all back to basics and in this universe, that makes sense. Yes, the lower budget undoubtedly also contributed to this, but it also forces the makers to stick more to the characters and that is why this one is eerily like 'Pitch Black'. 

Well, it's actually a lot like 'Pitch Black', but for some strange reason, it doesn't take away from the enjoyment. 

Riddick is betrayed by several of his Necromongers and left for dead on a planet that is only slightly more habitable than the one from the first film. There's life here, and water. Sure, some life is venomous and lethal, but there are also things that look like dogs. 

Well, they are really dogs, just a little more alien. Riddick now once again has to rely on his wits to survive and like he says: "Sometimes, you just need to go back to the beginning." He discovers there are greener pastures beyond a crevasse and there he discovers an old camp/base, a merc relay station. When he sees a massive thunderstorm slowly approaching, he activates the emergency beacon, rapidly drawing mercenaries to this spot who are eager to bag Riddick for the bounty. It also brings a team of soldiers, of which one turns out to be the father to Johns from the first one. The cat-and-mouse game is afoot once again, but things rapidly heat up when the rains hit and a massive number of the venomous creatures emerge... 

So yes, without a shadow of a doubt, this one rehashes a great many ideas from the first one, except now it isn't the dark, but water that brings danger. The visual style is also reminiscent of 'Pitch Black', even if now most things are saturated with yellow and orange. And wisecracking Riddick is still here, now facing off against a group of mercs of which most are pretty disposable. 

And still, it works. This smaller scale fits better with the character and somehow, director/writer David Twohy and Vin Diesel make this obvious retelling of the first one fun and engaging enough to stick with it to the end. Heck, there are a little too many references to the first one, almost as if the second one is forgotten. It isn't, as it sort of bookends this story, but well...

This is clearly Vin Diesel's film and he steals the show. For the biggest part of the runtime, he carries the story and you get invested in him once again. Of the other characters, only Katee Sackhoff stands out as a total badass, but Boss Johns is a bit flat and merc leader Santana is way too over-the-top and goofy to be believable. This is also an early role for Dave Bautista, and he doesn't get much to do besides standing there menacingly and grunt, but his screen presence is clear. 

This is obviously one for the fans, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you don't follow the 'franchise' (if one could call it that), the second one is a must-see, but if you like like the adventures of Riddick, this one is a nice close to the story, with a inkling of hope that perhaps one day, a fourth one could follow.