Posted: 06/13/2004

The Chronicles of Riddick

(2004)

by Clint Fletcher

After four long years, Riddick rides again. Praise the Almighty Movie Gods! We finally have a Summer blockbuster on our hands that is worthy of all its hype! If I were to give a one-phrase review of this film it would be this:

Riddick rocks!

For those of you who are completely confused as to what this movie is about, allow myself to take a moment and explain. About four years ago, a little horror film was released called Pitch Black. Never heard of it’ Most people haven’t, except for horror fans and film buffs. That’s because Pitch Black didn’t make jack-shit at the bo’office and did just “ok” on video sales. But somewhere along the line it found a little audience, as slowly but surely people figured out that it was a damn good little flick (including myself). Now, in that film we are introduced to a handful of characters who crash-land on a distant planet (about 500 years into the future or so) who find themselves in the fight for their lives as they battle some pretty nasty creatures that fly about only at night. The main character of that film was Riddick, a murderer and prisoner who ended up leading the other pansies off the planet (those who survived at least). Riddick was born from a rare breed of human species that no longer exist, which gives him the power to see in the dark.

Now fast-forward five years. Riddick is now a wanted man and finds himself in the middle of a war between an Army of a new species of man led by Lord Marshal (ultimate baddie Colm Feore) and the rest of the human race. Marshal and his army have been swooping in and taking over every planet without much resistance, forcing people to join their kind. Once Marshal learns of Riddick’s existence, he becomes fearful for his crusade, as prophecies claim that a man of Riddick’s kind will be the one to slay Marshal and rule as leader of his army.

There’s not much that I can say about this film except that it is one kick-ass roller coaster ride of thrills and action as Riddick slices and dices his way to the top of the villain chain. Along the way he runs into some old pals from Pitch Black including Imam (Keith David) and little Jackie (Alexa Davalos) who is now all grown up and almost as dangerous of a killer as Riddick. It may be important to mention that Jackie, now known as Kyra, is pretty-much the only thing that Riddick cares about other than himself, which again makes him a pretty fucking dangerous guy. Special kudos go out to Vin Diesel for once again sliding into the shoes of Ultimate Badassness, and bringing Riddick to life in a way that no one else could& with brains AND brawn. I not only dug the action and special effects, but I also was really fascinated by the mythology of this new universe that was being introduced to me, a world that only Pitch Black touched upon but never fully went into detail about. And, just as I expected, Chronicles leaves us with quite an open-ended finale, again assuring us that the filmmakers intend to make more Riddick films. And I’m only going to say this once: they damn-well should make more! I read in an interview with Diesel that if he had it his way, he would want to make 3 more to complete the Chronicles. Make them, dude!

Now, typically since I review dog-shit instead of actual decent films, I generally close with my statement that every bad film has at least one redeeming quality. Well, since this film was so good, I feel the need to mention at least one flaw, so that we can all float back down to the harsh reality that is Hollywood. In Pitch Black, the character of Jackie was 12 years-old. They explain earlier in Chronicles that it takes place five years after the events of PB, which would make Jackie (or Kyra) seventeen now, right? So, why would the filmmakers choose to cast someone in their mid-twenties to play the part of a seventeen year-old’ I mean, I know its traditional to cast actors who are a little bit older but come on! The first half of the movie I kept thinking to myself - this chick is seventeen’?

Despite this very minor flaw, watching The Chronicles of Riddick had to have been the most fun I’ve had at the movies so far this year, and I’m hard to please. If you’re a fan of action, a fan of Diesel, or a fan of Sci-Fi, then drop what you’re doing this instant and get your ass down to the movie theater. You’ll thank me when its over.

Clint Fletcher is a writer and filmmaker living in Chicago.

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