Review of Riddick (2013) by Alan T — 20 Jun 2015

In an attempt to re-create the atmosphere of 'Pitch Black', 'Riddick' goes back to basics by dropping off the title character on a dangerous planet, filled with creatures attempting to prey on him. Once mercenaries arrive to collect the bounty on his head, Riddick is soon captured. Before he and the remaining mercs alive can leave the planet, they must soon work together to survive even fiercer creatures than earlier encountered.

The main problem here is pace and a lack of likeable characters. Sure, we're given sci-fi fan favorite Katee Sackhoff, but she essentially portrays a watered down, lesbian friendly version of Starbuck. Through most of the first half of the film, Riddick is alone (with the exception of a dog-like animal he successfully tames) while he gathers food, water, and recovers his strength to fight off the alien creatures. All this is an attempt, I feel, to win back fans of the original who felt burned by the earlier and far less successful sequel 'The Chronicles of Riddick' but in my honest opinion, the director's cut of that film is more appealing than rehashing an already familiar film's plot points.