Vin Diesel is back as Riddick, the animalistic, escaped convict on the run and B-movie anti-hero who can see in the dark. Acting as a follow-up to 2000s cult hit "Pitch Black" and 2005's tedious blockflopper "The Chronicles of Riddick," David Twohy's "Riddick" takes cues from the former by creating a more modest, sci-fi action flick that is equal parts predictable and entertaining. While more fun for those familiar with the series, one of the strengths of "Riddick" is that it plays out well as a stand-alone piece. And it might prove to be the best starting point into the series for the general audience as it taps into the spirit of movies like "The Thing," "Rambo" or a handful of Arnold Schwarzenegger films from the ’80s. It is a return to the more rugged Riddick with Vin Diesel brooding and growling his way through a clear-cut, three-act story that would make an intro to screenwriting teacher proud.
FIRST ACT IS MOST ENTERTAINING
The first act contains some of the most original and fascinating scenes of the entire series. Riddick is left for dead on an unfamiliar world. He resets his broken leg while surviving against the desolate terrain and the planet's man-eating creatures. But this Riddick is older and more vulnerable, uncertain and not as quick in killing enemies. He "got civilized" and so attempts to find his infamous animal side. Moving with a deliberate and contemplative pacing against a backdrop of orange and golden hues, the first 30 minutes follow Riddick, stranded and alone, as he makes his way to a mercenary outpost while taming a wild dog-like creature for a pet and killing a few of the planet's big, bad aquatic-scorpion demons. And after noticing a foreboding storm off in the distance, Riddick decides to send out a distress beacon to alert his hunters to his location.
Shifting in both tone and focus, two groups show up to claim the increased reward on Riddick: a group of riffraff bounty hunters led by the arrogant Santana (Jordi Molla) and the polished and professional mercenaries led by Johns (Matt Nable) and his right-hand woman, Dohl (Katee Stackhoff). The setup comes from an ultimatum by Riddick for the antagonists to either leave him a ship or die trying to fight him. Not surprisingly, the movie becomes a suspenseful manhunt, choosing to focus on the 11-man team, as a nearly invisible and invincible Riddick takes out the group one by one. Riddick even steals the ships' powering devices in order to gain leverage knowing that his bounty is worth more when he is dead. While the predictability grows apparent, the film makes use of teasing camera pans and is freshened by gallows humor that is every bit as surprising as the indulgent violence is typical. Against the sky's thunderous clouds, the second act closes with a dramatic, western-style standoff dwindling into Riddick's capture.
"RIDDICK" RISES ABOVE BAD SUMMER MOVIES
Once the storm reaches the outposts, more of those scorpion demons emerge and the characters must team-up. Then the movie fully embraces the famed, over-the-top nature of the "Riddick" series. The movie briefly becomes a trapped-inside-by-outside-monsters creature feature before ultimately turning into an all-guns-blazing trek through the wilderness, a direct tip-of-the-hat to "Pitch Black." If you ever wanted to see Vin Diesel bare-knuckle punching alien monsters, then this scene is for you.
In comparison to this summer's spillage of mind numbing, go-big-or-go-home action films, "Riddick" actually stands out as movie with intentional focus and a striking balance. However, what starts out with an intriguing opening eventually finds it right where David Twohy has taken the past "Riddick" films before. But the disappointment is fleeting since this movie never pretended to be anything but a different approach to the same formula. Riddick himself puts it best when he says at the beginning of the film, "This ain't nothin' new."
