Review: The Chronicles of Riddick
June 13, 2004; Regal Falmouth #3
* * * 1/4 (out of 4)

It's been awhile since I've seen Pitch Black, but what I remember is that I liked it because David Twohy took a relatively small budget and a group of near-unknowns and made a very fun sci-fi action/adventure. More than that, the sci-fi material was rooted in a more realistic science, something few sci-fi directors are willing to risk doing nowadays. My hope was that in Chronicles of Riddick, Twohy would take those same ideas and apply the much larger chunk of change that Universal was handing him. While he does better than some sci-fi action titles, there's a freshness that has disappeared since Pitch Black, and in places it feels more like a typical Hollywood movie than I know Twohy can make. Nevertheless, Vin Diesel owns Riddick as much as any other action star can claim, and he makes the audience care about the anti-heroic killer.

Riddick is now a criminal, and after being captured by bounty hunters he is transported to a planet that has just recently been invaded by the Necromongers, a massive army/cult on a quest to find their ultimate paradise. Along the way, the Necromongers conquer worlds and add the conquered people to their ranks. After an altercation with Riddick, the Necromonger leader, the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), orders Riddick's death, afraid he might fulfil a prophecy that says only a "Furian" could topple this empire - naturally, Riddick is the last known surviving Furian. Not anxious to rush his own death, Riddick fights back, and begins a fight to save his own life and the lives of a entire world's population.

The centerpiece of this movie, and its strongest component, is Vin Diesel. No one is ever going to accuse the man of mastering Shakespeare, but he has proven he knows this character. It is so clear through the entire movie precisely what and who Riddick cares about, and every action is driven through those priorities. Plus, there's just something about Diesel's voice... it's too perfect. His deadpan and sarcasm transform a simple killing machine into a real, true character. The rest of the cast is... well, they're there, which has to count for something. One may spend a lot of time trying to figure out what Dame Judy Dench is doing in this movie, but for what her character is, she does her best. Alexa Davalos is horribly underused after introducing what could have proven to be a much more interesting character. The only supporting cast member to come out clean is Thandie Newton, as an ambitious upper echelon member of the Necromongers. She gets a good amount of screentime and plot presence, and she uses it well. She'll be a good addition to this series, should the planned sequels come to light.

David Twohy's directing delivers some ups and downs, though to be fair only fans of his work will notice the "downs." They're not so much downs as they are him falling back on standard Hollywood action fare, which isn't bad, it's just a little less than expected. The ups definitely come when he veers away from typical motifs and styles; a fight in near-darkness to demonstrate Riddick's abilities, a race against a planet's rising sun, and one fight that sticks out simply because Twohy removed the sound from the scene - these are the things that puts Chronicles above other action sci-fi movies. Unfortunately, these moments make up a much smaller portion of the movie than the typical stuff. Finally, that quarter-star comes solely from the last ten minutes of the movie; this could prove to be a beautiful set up for a franchise, and I am looking forward to see where Twohy can take it.