Review of The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) by Chris R — 04 Sep 2013

Pitch Black was a fun, entertaining sci-fi flick. The Chronicles of Riddick, with its budget ballooned to $105 million, an even more high profile cast, and an epic visual style that desperately wants to be the next Star Wars, we now have.....a fun, entertaining sci-fi flick. Pitch Black was a cult film with a niche fan base. The Chronicles of Riddick is an attempt to expand that fan base into a summer blockbuster franchise where sequels could potentially generate hundreds of millions of dollars in box office returns as the general public embraces this series like The Lord of the Rings or The Matrix.

Unfortunately, there may not enough here that will make such an attempt work. The dialogue is cheesy and the attempts at humour too often fall flat. Diesel doesn't have much to do other than look tough and say bad one-liners, which is great for fans of Arnold and Stallone movies but probably no one else. The script is also very convoluted. In trying to make this universe have as much depth, religious references, and culture as a galaxy far far away, it throws too much at the viewer, resulting in undeveloped subplots and a story that just rushes through everything.

Having said that, if you turn off your brain and just sit back, it's not a bad film. The design of the planets are visually fascinating and the fight scenes are well choreographed. The film is also well paced, so you never feel too bored or easily distracted. Call this the Star Wars for the ADD generation.