Review - The Chronicles of Riddick (2000-2013)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, after having discussed franchises like The Fast and the Furious and xXx, it only seems right to discuss Vin Diesel's third major franchise: The Chronicles of Riddick. Created by David Twowy, who has written and directed all three main films of the series, The Chronicles of Riddick, which tells of the exploits of a man named Richard B. Riddick, has spanned three live-action movies, one animated short film, two video games, and a short-run comic book series. But it all started with a movie called Pitch Black. 

        Released in 2000, Pitch Black starts off with a merchant vessel, the Hunter Gratzner, being caught in a meteorite storm, causing the captain to be killed, and the ship to fall out of the shipping lane and crash into a desert planet. The only survivors of the crash are the ship's pilot, Carolyn Fry, a mercenary named William J. Johns, settlers Shazza and Zeke, antiquities dealer Paris P. Ogilvie, a teenager named Jack, an Imam and a trio of pilgrims traveling to New Mecca, and convict Richard B. Riddick, whom Johns is planning to take back to prison. 

        As the group surveys the desert planet, they discover it has three suns: a binary set of yellow and orange suns, and a solitary blue sun. Also, there are many caverns beneath the planet that house deadly creatures called Bio-Raptors which are drawn to the scent of blood, a geological survey team has left behind a station on the planet twenty-two years prior, and a planetary eclipse is coming. Unfortunately, Zeke falls into the caverns and is killed by the Bio-Raptors, and Fry almost meets a similar fate herself. Luckily, there is a ship left behind from the survey team, and the Hunter Gratzner survivors attempt to restart it with power cells from the Hunter Gratzner. 

        Unfortunately, it's too late, as the dark planet eclipses the binary suns, leaving the desert planet in total darkness. Ogilvie, Shazza, and all three pilgrims are killed by the Bio-Raptors, the remaining survivors travel on foot to get to the drop ship, and a secret Jack had been harboring comes to light. You see, throughout the movie, it's believed that Jack was a boy, but it turns out that Jack was a girl, and the Bio-Raptors are being drawn to the scent of her menstrual blood. Yikes. Unfortunately, this causes Johns to snap and attempt to sacrifice Jack to the Bio-Raptors, but Riddick kills him before that can happen. Riddick takes the cells to the drop ship, while Fry, Jack, and Imma discover bioluminescent creatures that can help light their way, as the Bio-Raptors are extremely sensitive to light. 

        Fry confronts Riddick, who attempts to convince her to take off, leaving Jack and Imam behind. However, it's her willingness to give her life for the lives of others that convinces Riddick to go back for Jack and Imam, Fry ends up being killed by the Bio-Raptors, and Riddick, Jack, and Imam make their escape in the drop ship, ending the movie. 

       So, Pitch Black is very unique in the realm of science fiction, as it didn't feel like any other sci-fi franchise that was around at the time. It didn't have the earthly feel of Stargate, nor the epic feeling of sci-fi escapism of things like Star Trek and Star Wars. Instead, Pitch Black goes for a more gritty, dirty feel, which would later inspire the likes of Dark Matter and Killjoys. This more independent, gritty looking form of sci-fi was certainly different for the time, and was genuinely fascinating. The main cast was fantastic, with Vin Diesel stealing the show as Riddick. Both Cole Hauser and Radha Mitchell as Johns and Fry were fantastic, as was Keith David as Imam. I also really enjoyed seeing Claudia Black as Shazza, while both Rhiana Griffith and Lewis Fitz-Gerald were decent as Jack and Ogilvie. Lastly, the design of the Bio-Raptors was genuine nightmare fuel, and I like the idea of nocturnal predators on a planet with three suns, where it takes a planetary eclipse to unleash these monstrosities. Overall, I love the movie Pitch Black, and I give it a rating of 5/5. 

        Now, in 2004, an animated short film set after the ending of Pitch Black was released direct-to-video. Under the name The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, the animated short was directed by Æon Flux creator Peter Chung, and would see the trio of Vin Diesel, Keith David, and Rhiana Griffith return as Riddick, Imam, and Jack. 

         Picking up with Riddick, Jack, and Imam on the drop ship, having just escaped certain death on the desert planet they were on after the Hunter Gratzner crash, we see our three survivors captured by a ship belonging to Antonia Chillingsworth, along with her top mercenary Junner. Now, while many of Junner's mercs are killed, Junner doesn't kill Riddick, as Chillingsworth has other plans for him. However, she does order additional mercs to be unfrozen from cryo. 

         It turns out that Chillingsworth has a collection of career criminals all on display in a form of cryo stasis, and she plans on making Riddick a part of her collection. However, he easily fights back and rescues a captured Jack and Imam, and the trio easily escape. Enraged, Chillingsworth orders more mercs to be unfrozen, including a merc named Toombs. Riddick splits up from Jack and Imam, and uses his own blood to trick an alien into killing the pursuing mercs, and eventually killing the alien. Riddick then has one last showdown with Junner, killing, and eventually escaping with Imam and Jack, the latter of whom kills Chillingsworth. Upon their escape, Riddick and Imam talk about Jack's well being, and Riddick agrees to take both Jack and Imam to New Mecca, while going into exile. Toombs, who survived, swears to go after Riddick and collect the bounty on him. 

       So, while the story of Dark Fury is decent at best, I do admire the animation style. Peter Chung, who of course created Æon Flux, also directed a short called Matriculated, which was part of The Animatrix. And, I really enjoyed the animation style of Matriculated, so it was cool seeing it employed for a Chronicles of Riddick project. Having Vin Diesel, Keith David, and Rhiana Griffith reprise their roles from Pitch Black was really awesome, and I enjoyed veteran voice actress Tress MacNeille, the voice of Dot from Animaniacs and Babs from Tiny Toon Adventures, as Chillingsworth in the short. Also, this short introduced Nick Chinlund as Toombs, who would go on to play a key role in the next main Riddick movie. Overall, this was an okay short. I give The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury a rating of 4/5. 

       Now we come to the next main film in the franchise: The Chronicles of Riddick. Released in 2004, and once again directed and written by David Twowy, this was the movie that attempted to take the Riddick series from an independent sci-fi story to a mainstream sci-fi epic, but unfortunately not off a bit more than it could really chew. Vin Diesel and Keith David return as Riddick and Imam, as does Nick Chinlund as Toombs. Everyone else, however, is completely new. 

       The movie starts off with a narration regarding a death cult armada known as the Necromongers, who seek to convert others to their faith, kill those who refuse, and are capable of destroying entire planets. Their leader, the Lord Marshall, has made a pilgrimage to the Necros' promised land, the Underverse, and become a powerful being somewhere between life and death. The narration remarks that while evil has traditionally been defeated by good in the past, the form of evil that the Necros unleash may require a different form of evil to defeat it. And, it's here where the movie really begins. 

        We meet up with Riddick, who has been in exile on a planet in the UV system. Toombs, who has been after Riddick since he escaped Chillingsworth's ship years before, is closing in on Riddick, but loses both his crew and his ship, which is where Riddick learns of a new bounty of 1.5 million that's been placed on him by a private party based on Helion Prime. Riddick takes off to the planet, realizing the bounty is a message from his old friend Imam, who is seeking his help, thus he heads to Helion to find out what's going on. 

        On Helion, we see Imam and his family, who are hopeful that Riddick can help deal with the coming threat of the Necros, and it's here where we are introduced to an Elemental named Aereon, who tells of a warrior race that was among the only one to stand against the Necros, and the current Lord Marshall led a campaign to wipe them out. The warrior race, the Furyans, also happen to be Riddick's people. However, Riddick is reluctant to help, seeing as it isn't his fight. The Necromonger fleet arrives, and many citizens of Helion Prime are killed, including Imam. The next day, at a gathering, Riddick gets his revenge on the Necro that killed Imam, and is taken into Necropolis to be scanned. And, yes, it's confirmed that Riddick is a survivor of the massacre of Furya. Lord Marshall orders Riddick killed, but he escapes with the help of the Purifier. 

        Toombs eventually shows himself, and he and his new crew capture Riddick, and after discussing which prison to take him to, ruling out both Butcher Bay and Ursa Luna, decide to take Riddick to Crematoria, which is where Jack is currently imprisoned, having followed in Riddick's footsteps. Lord Marshall then orders one of his followers, a Necro named Vaako, to go after Riddick and kill him. Yeah, the Lord Marshall is extremely threatened by Riddick's existence, and the reason is revealed that it's because of a vision that foresaw his demise at the hands of a Furyan male, which led him to lead a campaign that became the massacre of Furya, where male Furyan children were murdered, with newborns even being strangled with their umbilical cords. Jeez, just writing that made me cringe big time, but hey, it's part of the movie, so I had to mention it. 

         Toombs and his crew arrive at Crematoria, where Riddick is dropped into a pit with the other prisoners. And, it's here where he reunites with Jack, who is calling herself Kyra now, and has become a lethal killer since Riddick left her behind at New Mecca. Riddick, Kyra, and the other prisoners of Crematoria plan to make an escape, taking Toombs' ship, as Vaako, the Purifier, and a squad of Necros are on their way to kill Riddick for the Lord Marshall. Unfortunately, the guards took the sled to the hangar, forcing Riddick, Kyra, and the others to traverse the surface, leaving Toombs locked in a cage, surrounded by dog-like beasts who are kept in the prison. Unfortunately, most of the prisoners don't make it, and Kyra is taken by Vaako, who leaves Riddick behind. However, Riddick is saved, once again, by the Purifier, who reveals himself to be another Furyan survivor. The Purifier, who was sent to deliver a message from the Lord Marshall, telling Riddick to stay away from Helion, but as a fellow Furyan, hopes Riddick doesn't listen, and takes the chance to kill the Lord Marshall. 

         Riddick ultimately makes his way back to Helion, where he sees that Kyra was turned into a Necro, this instigating the fight between himself and the Lord Marshall. Kyra attempts to help Riddick, but finds herself killed. Vaako, egged on by his sadistic wife Dame Vaako, joins in in an effort to kill the Lord Marshall and succeed him, but it's ultimately Riddick that strikes the killing blow with a blade to the head. The remaining Necros, including Vaako, now before Riddick as their new Lord Marshall, and Riddick remembers a belief of the Necros: you keep what you kill. 

        So, as I stated earlier, The Chronicles of Riddick definitely bit off more than it could chew in terms of scale and storytelling. I actually have a saying regarding movies like it: "the whole isn't quite as good as the sum of its parts, but some of those parts are really good." It's a saying that I have applied to many movies that, while not wholly terrible, aren't necessarily the best either. Many of the performances, especially that of Vin Diesel as Riddick, were really good, with three major standouts being Alexa Davalos as Kyra, Karl Urban as Vaako, and Judi Dench as Aereon. Thandiwe Newton and Colm Feore as Dame Vaako and Lord Marshall were definitely distinct as villains in the movie, as was Nick Chinlund as Toombs. I also enjoyed the performances of Linus Roache as the Purifier and Kristin Lehman as Shirah, the latter of whom appears in Riddick's visions in the unrated director's cut, which is certainly the superior version of the movie to watch. 

         The overall production design is also really good. The planets seem throughout the movie, UV, Helion Prime, and Crematoria, are all different from anything seen in a sci-fi universe. I kind like the idea of UV being this frigid planet with an atmosphere that feels like the planet is under a massive blacklight. Crematoria looks like a infernal hell scape with a craggy surface designed by the combined efforts of Tim Burton and Michael Bay. Also, the ship and armor designs for the Necromongers is something that is wholly unique, and unseen in most sci-fi franchises. 

       But, unfortunately, the film's biggest criticism from fans of Pitch Black is in how it attempts to give a backstory to Riddick, taking a mysterious convict and making him an antihero from a powerful warrior race, with some of his more unique features, such as his unparalleled combat skills and signature eyeshine being Furyan traits. The eyeshine, especially, a trait unique among alpha Furyans.

        Overall, though, I had a lot of fun with this movie. It's not as good as Pitch Black, but I still enjoy watching it. I'm going to give The Chronicles of Riddick a rating of 3.95/5. 

        And now, we come to the latest entry of the franchise, the 2013 film simply titled Riddick. David Twowy returns, once again, to write and direct, and Vin Diesel returns in the role of Riddick, as does Karl Urban as Vaako. 

        In the years since becoming Lord Marshall of the Necromonger fleet, Riddick has been uneasy. His refusal to convert to the Necromonger faith, and his unwillingness to make his required pilgrimage to the Underverse, has left many of his followers begin to question his leadership, leading to dissent in the ranks, and attempts on his life. After another attempt on his life, Riddick meets with Vaako, who offers a deal: a ship with the coordinates to Riddick's homeworld of Furya, in exchange for Vaako succeeding Riddick as Lord Marshall. Riddick agrees, and Vaako sends Riddick, along with a battalion of Necromongers led by Krone, to take Riddick to Furya. 

       However, the planet they arrive at is not Furya, but a desolate wasteland of a planet with a handful of similarities to the desert planet from Pitch Black. Riddick kills a few of the Necromongers who betrayed him, but Krone causes a landslide and leaves Riddick for dead. Riddick then accustoms himself to this new planet, learning of the deadly fauna of the planet, including venomous Mud Demons, and jackal-beasts, one of which he finds as a pup and raises to become loyal to him. Building an immunity to Mud Demon venom, Riddick manages to get himself and his jackal-beast past pools filled with Mud Demons, and into a vast, dry savannah, which houses thousands of hibernating Mud Demons beneath the surface...and a rainstorm is approaching that will soak the ground and unleash the Mud Demons. Realizing that the only means to survive is to escape, Riddick arrives at a merc station and sends a signal broadcasting his location to mercenaries all over. 

       Two merc ships arrive: one with a more cutthroat crew led by Santana, and the other a more paramilitary crew led by Boss Johns. Johns, it turns out, is after Riddick to learn of what happened to his son, William J. Johns. Yes, the Johns we met in Pitch Black is the son of Boss Johns in this movie, in spite of the fact that their respective actors, Cole Hauser and Matt Nable, are only five years apart from each other in age. Eh, whatever. Now, something I like about the two merc teams is how they contrast each other. Santana's team, consisting of Diaz, Luna, Rubio, Vargas, and Nuñez, are much more gritty and cutthroat, pretty much typical of what one would expect of a band of mercenaries in a universe like this. Johns' team, consisting of Dahl, Lockspur, and Moss, are more professional grade, utilizing more military skills and state-of-the-art tech, which is really something we haven't seen much of in the Riddick franchise. 

       Now, while the two teams start off at odds, it's after three of Santana's men are killed by Riddick and the jackal-beast that Santana agrees to work with Johns. Riddick then manages to nab two power nodes, one from each ship, in order to cut a deal. Meeting with Johns, Santana, and Diaz, Riddick sets his terms: he'll leave a node from one of the ships for Johns, Santana, and the others mercs to take and flee, while the other node from the remaining ship stays with Riddick, so he can take the other ship and flee as well, and Johns and Santana have until the rain storm reaches the merc station. Unfortunately, it doesn't go well, and Riddick is captured, while his jackal-beast is killed. 

       Back at the merc station, Johns asks about the Hunter Gratzner crash from ten years prior, to which Riddick confirms that Johns' son did survive the crash, but didn't make it off the desert planet. Unfortunately, the rain storm reaches the station, and the deadline is up. A number of Johns and Santana's men are killed by the emerging Mud Demons, and Johns agrees to work with Riddick to recover the nodes and escape. Santana, however, doesn't agree, and gets his head cut off with his own machete, with his head dropping into a plexiglass box meant for Riddick's head. 

        Riddick, Diaz, and Johns head to the place where the nodes were buried, and Riddick finally reveals the full story of what happened with William J. Johns after the crash of the Hunter Gratzner, including his morphine addiction, and his efforts to try and kill Jack in an attempt to survive the Bio-Raptors. Johns refuses to believe his sone was such a piece of shit, but Riddick reveals he has no reason to lie. Diaz turns on Riddick and Johns, and Riddick kills Diaz. Johns takes off with both nodes, leaving Riddick to fend off the Mud Demons. But, after installing one of the nodes onto his ship, Johns returns and, along with Dahl and Luna, finish off the Mud Demons and rescue Riddick, leaving him with the second ship. Johns initially asks where Riddick is going, but changes his mind, and the two part with Riddick acknowledging that Johns is a better man than his son. Now, this is where the theatrical cut ends. 

        However, in the unrated director's cut, Riddick returns to the Necromonger fleet, where Krone reveals that Vaako intended to honor his word and return Riddick to Furya, but Krone didn't care, and did what he did to Riddick for the Necromonger faith, so Riddick kills him. Riddick then asks a Necromonger woman if Vaako is alive or dead, to which she replies "Both," leaving Riddick to look upon a vast maw that is the gateway to the Underverse. 

        So, Riddick was an attempt to return the franchise back to its more simplistic roots of Riddick and a group of other people attempting to survive on a desolate planet crawling with deadly predators. And, while still holding onto some story elements from The Chronicles of Riddick, such as the Necromongers, Riddick being a Furyan, and so forth, it definitely feels like a welcome return to form for what started as an independent sci-fi film, but was turned into a much bigger franchise. I do appreciate the work that David Twowy and Vin Diesel went into making this movie work. 

         In addition to Vin Diesel, who again kills it as Riddick, I liked the return of Karl Urban as Vaako, who definitely shows that there are, indeed, honorable men among such deadly individuals as the Necromongers. I also liked the mixed bag of actors taking on the roles of the mercs, such as Matt Nable as Boss Johns, Katee Sackhoff as Dahl, Dave Bautista as Diaz, Bokeem Woodbine as Moss, Jordi Mollà as Santana, Nolan Gerard Funk as Luna, and so forth. 

        The overall look of the planet is very much something that belongs in the universe of The Chronicles of Riddick, and the designs of such creatures as the jackal-beasts and the Mud Demons is also neat. Now, I like how they are a swarm akin to the Bio-Raptors from Pitch Black, but are more aquatic in nature, with a scorpion-like look, and they thrive in moist environments, thus making them different from the aforementioned Bio-Raptors. 

        Overall, while Pitch Black is still the best of the franchise, Riddick definitely an improvement over its predecessor. So, I'm going to give the movie a rating of 4.5/5. 

       So, overall, how do I feel about The Chronicles of Riddick as a franchise? Honestly, I frickin love it. Vin Diesel's Riddick is a very different kind of sci-fi action antihero, and many of the worlds, creatures, and vehicle designs aren't like anything seen in science fiction prior to this series. What writer-director David Twowy and lead star/producer Vin Diesel did with this franchise has been pretty damn fun, especially with video game tie-ins like The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Now, Vin Diesel and David Twowy are currently hard at work assembling a fourth Chronicles of Riddick film, which is currently set to be called Riddick: Furya. But, much like with the planned fourth xXx, it's probably going to have to wait until Vin Diesel completes work on the eleventh Fast & Furious movie. But, needless to say that when Riddick: Furya does hit theaters, it's definitely going to have fans flock to the theater to see Riddick finally return home. 

       Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.