The Chronicles of Riddick Movie Review

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Rent The Chronicles of Riddick on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Jim Wheat & Ken Wheat (characters), David Twohy (written by)
Directed by: David Twohy
Starring: Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Colm Feore, Thandiwe Newton, Karl Urban, Keith David
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
The wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.

Verdict
I didn't remember this being so bad. It's a genre shift, but this feels like someone wanted to put all of their ideas in one movie. This is full of tropes. Riddick is the last of an ancient race, he's also the savior as foretold in the prophecy, and he's the stoic anti-hero.  The plot is mindless action. A bigger budget doesn't always make a movie better. Loner Riddick must save the planet, and that's a joke because he only looks out for himself.
Skip it.

Review
This starts with an opening voice over that feels lifted from a fantasy describing supernatural beings, the Necromongers, subjugating planets. Riddick (Vin Diesel) is on the run from bounty hunters which isn't a surprise given where we last saw him. From the start this movie seems like a genre shift, capitalizing on a popular character from the first movie, Pitch Black. Riddick in this movie is amplified. In just a few minutes he already has more one liners than the entire previous movie. The first movie was a small world and this one is significantly larger, traveling to multiple planets though it's not necessary. This is a generic space war with Necromongers that are supernatural and can easily kill everyone, except for the extraordinary Riddick.

Vin Diesel plays Richard Riddick

Part of what made Pitch Black fun was the low budget survival genre that worked within constraints. With a larger budget this movie sprawls for no real purpose. The story is derivative, not that Pitch Black's story wasn't, but at least it was fun. This movie is mindless action that also brings in characters that the movie tells us Riddick cares about, except he's never been a team player. It's the movie trying to force an emotional connection that doesn't work. This movie also works in a lot of backstory that isn't needed. Riddick is the last of an ancient race, destined to defeat the Necromongers as foretold by prophecy. We even get CGI dogs just to create a situation for Riddick to pop off another one liner and prove how awesome he is. He even gets a sidekick just to force a powerful moment later. Instead it's silly. What's the point of this movie?

Vin Diesel plays Richard Riddick

This movie feels like someone tried to fit all of their ideas into one story, making sure to include action, humor, and emotional moments. There's too much here as this movie tries to be everything. There's no surprise to the ending, and that was one of the things I liked about Pitch Black, the ending takes a turn. Here it's very predictable and thus boring. By trying to give Riddick a background, this movie tempers an interesting anti-hero. That and the backstory is just ridiculous.