The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• moon r

  
  The sequel to Pitch Black, and Vin Diesel repeats his take as the hero who can't seem to find a shirt. This time its to save the little girl he saved last time only now she's all grown up. CGI effects twirl and explode as Diesel grunts, smirks, and dull one-liners his way… More
  The sequel to Pitch Black, and Vin Diesel repeats his take as the hero who can't seem to find a shirt. This time its to save the little girl he saved last time only now she's all grown up. CGI effects twirl and explode as Diesel grunts, smirks, and dull one-liners his way through more bad guys (they wear black, but so does Diesel when he's not flexing) than Custer fought Indians.

• paul s

  
  I found the graphics, style and the story line of this 3rd film of the series to be quite good, and yet there's something missing here. I don't know if it was the wooden performances of Karl Urban and Thadie Newton as Lord and Lady Vaako, or the concept that a race of… More
  I found the graphics, style and the story line of this 3rd film of the series to be quite good, and yet there's something missing here. I don't know if it was the wooden performances of Karl Urban and Thadie Newton as Lord and Lady Vaako, or the concept that a race of warriors dabbles in the dark arts and concocts a religion that glorifies death as a gateway to achieving godhood - the combination of warrior and religion begetting planetary genocide. On the surface it seems preposterous, but upon further review, I guess 77 virgins makes this seem not quite as far fetched. When I first saw Riddick as a theatrical release I had no back story about him, having not seen the first two films. Having rectified the situation upon this viewing I was further drawn into this rather epic space opera and in particular Riddick's relationship with the girl formerly known as Jack. Riddick is portrayed as a loner who lives by the creed "take care of yourself - nothing or no-one else matters"... but in the Director's cut, you can see that Riddick is far more than a simple thug (that he is the dark avenger of a race wiped out by the Necromongers), and that, while supposedly amoral, is in fact caring and committed to the girl in his own fashion. The story takes us on a wild journey, filled with action and bizarre planets and set pieces. This uber universe sits uneasily on the fence between humanistic grit and foibles and grand vistas and concepts. Somehow, it manages to entertain, and yet fails to truly enlighten or amaze, too often falling into cartoonish conventions and motivations. In the end, I enjoyed the film more upon this viewing (having the background of the prior two films) than when I first viewed it - and really, if you compare this to several later "grand epic" type films like Clash of The Titans, this comes out head and shoulders above them.

• xGary X

  
  Riddick returns to discover that he is a warrior prophesied to end the brutal reign of a race of religious zealots conducting a crusade against the rest of the universe. I was a fan of David Twohy's previous work, particularly the original to this somewhat bloated sequel Pitch… More
  Riddick returns to discover that he is a warrior prophesied to end the brutal reign of a race of religious zealots conducting a crusade against the rest of the universe. I was a fan of David Twohy's previous work, particularly the original to this somewhat bloated sequel Pitch Black which was a visually stylish sci-fi horror that inventively transcended it's meagre budget. In this however he has the keys to the toyshop and wantonly plunders from Macbeth, Krull and everything in between. He is clearly trying to do Star Wars in the style of Dune, but falls a little short of the epic scale he was aiming for because the mythology he has created is slightly unconvincing and the somewhat episodic plotting. The story is little more than a series of excuses for spectacular set pieces and some of the dialogue is clunky at best, but it never bores and is always a visual feast; the special effects stand up well today and it has some wonderful production design. In fact this film is guilty of a lot of the same self indulgent excess as the Star Wars prequels, but with one major difference: Twohy can actually direct. It won't be to everyone's taste but if you are a fan of pulpy sci-fi, it should be a fun ride.

• Brad W

  
  Terrible film, boring, and one of Vin Diesels wost movies ever.

• Conner R

  
  Vin Diesel's sci-fi epic. He attains maximum hulkage throughout the movie, but still has his quick wit and intelligence from Pitch Black. Riddick is an outrageous character, but somehow Vin Diesel and his shaved Gorilla strength manage to make him believable. The plot is… More
  Vin Diesel's sci-fi epic. He attains maximum hulkage throughout the movie, but still has his quick wit and intelligence from Pitch Black. Riddick is an outrageous character, but somehow Vin Diesel and his shaved Gorilla strength manage to make him believable. The plot is extremely complex and undoubtedly wanted to be one of many sequels to the explosive character. His glowing eyes can see in the dark as well as peer into the human soul. This is action packed, bizarre and awesome. It has a great addition to the cast, Karl Urban; the commander of the Necromongers. He seems to be the only match for Riddick, but in the end he is still no match.

• Randy T

  
  Vin Diesel battles the evil Necromongers on planet Crematoria. That premise might have worked in a tongue-in-cheek Flash Gordon serial but here it's just sad and pathetic.

• Anthony L

  
  This one isn't so good!

• Josh L

  
  I never saw Pitchblack (should probably do that sometime), but I found this to be enjoyable despite no previous knowledge of the series. It does feel kind of generic, but it had decent special effects and fight scenes with a solid performance from Vin Diesel.

• Film C

  
  i love this movie its so action packed i love the storyline and i love the cast and acting i love the action packed fights and the wway he can kil someone with a cup so wortha watch really enjoyable!!

• Justin Y

  
  <i>The Chronicles of Riddick</i> is a follow up to David Twohy's <i>Pitch Black</i>. While this is an interesting sequel, it doesn't have anything that really stands out.</p><p>While seemingly connected to <i>Pitch Black</i>,… More
  <i>The Chronicles of Riddick</i> is a follow up to David Twohy's <i>Pitch Black</i>. While this is an interesting sequel, it doesn't have anything that really stands out.</p><p>While seemingly connected to <i>Pitch Black</i>, this film can easily stand on its own. Only Riddick and a couple side characters show up in both films.</p><p>The plot isn't that great and that is what hurts this film the most. The first 45 minutes of this 2+ hour picture is a mess. There is just not enough background for what is going on and it isn't engrossing enough to the audience. It isn't until the prison setting, where the film becomes entertaining, albeit the plot is still pretty weak.</p><p>The action isn't too bad and the futuristic guns are a nice touch to these scenes. There is also a ton of CG for this science fiction movie and for the most part, it looks good.</p><p>The acting is so-so. Vin Diesel is made to play certain characters and Riddick seems to be one of them. Still, his acting isn't award winning. Thandie Newton pulls off quite a wicked character and Alexa Davalos is one to keep eyes on. Karl Urban, Judi Dench, Colm Feore, and Nick Chinlund round out the rest of the decent cast. There is a frequent change in side characters throughout this film and while this keeps things interesting, there isn't enough development for most of them.</p><p><i>The Chronicles of Riddick</i> does have its moments and it is one true science fiction adventure, however there are just certain aspects of this movie that are unimpressive.

• Al S

  
  An explosive thrill-ride of unstoppable action entertainment. An utterly original and thrilling sequel taking the character to new teritory. A spectacular, adreniline-driven action-packed ride.

• Jani H

  
  "You keep what you kill..." "Pitch Black" was an awesome movie that introduced us to one of the coolest "heroes" in the history of scifi. Vin Diesel's performance as Riddick is one of the most memorable characters of the genre. I had very high… More
  "You keep what you kill..." "Pitch Black" was an awesome movie that introduced us to one of the coolest "heroes" in the history of scifi. Vin Diesel's performance as Riddick is one of the most memorable characters of the genre. I had very high hopes for this movie. David Twohy got a big budget which guaranteed us his vision as he would have wanted it to be seen. Everything looks very impressing and will surely satisfy every fan of Riddick. Still, "The Chronicles of Riddick" has some faults. One is probably that the filmmakers have tried to do the "greatest scifi epic". They've reached for something way too big. A lot of mythology elements and things that are left unexplained are stuffed into the script. May seen a bit hard to get the hang of it if you're not at all familiar to Riddick's first adventure. The majority of the audience was against this film and it failed at the boxoffice. I guess this film ain't for all. But if you're a vivid scifi fan as me, you'll probably love this movie. Diesel does an excellent performance. Ok, I don't mind the hate mail or the deleting of my Flixster friendship. There's only one Riddick and that's Mr Diesel. He's got charisma, good screen presence and he's quite the ladies man. He surely has a sweet spot for his women. "Its been a long time since I smelled beautiful" There's been some talks of a third installment to the Riddick saga. In the web, you can find rumors about "Return to Furia". Nothing is confirmed yet, just rumors, but Diesel and Twohy would like to bring Riddick back to the screens. Perhaps the film would find a bigger audience if the filmmakers would go back to the "Pitch Black" way of making a Riddick movie. Who knows? Still, the Riddick franchise is, for now, the best trilogy that wasn't made. I really hope that we would see Riddick once again on the big screen. It's been one hell of a ride everytime! "You'll kill us.. With a soup cup? - Tea, actually."

• Morgan G

  
  Good but not NEARLY as good as Pitch Black.

• David L

  
  'The Chronicles of Riddick' seems to be a movie that is always on the receiving end of unfair flak. I can understand why in most cases, but I question whether some of the critics have seen the film. After all, it can hardly be considered a 'nominal sequel', as one… More
  'The Chronicles of Riddick' seems to be a movie that is always on the receiving end of unfair flak. I can understand why in most cases, but I question whether some of the critics have seen the film. After all, it can hardly be considered a 'nominal sequel', as one critic stated. There is nothing nominal about it, when compared with 'Pitch Black'. A 'nominal' sequel to this film would no doubt take some people back to the planet it was set on, and face the same monsters again - and more of them. Most likely, the people would not be at all related to the first film. That is the suit that most sequels follow - more of the same. Chronicles is certainly not this. In fact, it is hardly a sequel at all - which is perhaps why it has never once been pegged as one. Many have complained about the lack of character development. Fair enough. However, it's not needed, and if you would like, there is an entire film dedicated quite separately to the character development of Riddick - 'Pitch Black'. Still, I would contend that Riddick's character develops a fair bit during the film - for crying out loud the guy is crying at the end of the film! I had hardly imagined that possible even having seen 'Pitch Black', yet I did not question it at all by the end of Chronicles. As to the weak plot, If you say Chronicles doesn't, then I would argue that few if any sci-fi operas, or epic fantasy films have. I actually found it well put together, and felt the story was very full. Many have complained about the place names, but lets be honest, those are exactly the sorts of names our society would give! Just look at the American West if you want proof! This alone makes the universe in this movie seem more connected to ours. Admittedly the talent is not taken full advantage of, but as this film was intended as part of a trilogy (as yet unmade), with 'Pitch Black' as a separate but connected tale (like 'the Hobbit' is to 'Lord of the Rings', according to Vin Diesel), it would be expected that more would be seen of these characters in later installments. When taken in this context, the film serves as an excellent introduction to a larger story and some of its principle players. Considering the current state of mind bogglingly unoriginal and empty fantasy films which seem to have dominated the market for the last few years, it is a breath of fresh air to find a space opera with beautiful art direction and imagery. It's also nice to find a film on such a scale that is not childish, and is wonderfully dark. In the end I hope we see the other two films made in this series. The story looks to be epic, and I very much look forward to see where its going.

• Megan S

  
  It was pretty good. Of course Pitch Black was pretty freakin' awesome so it was hard to compete.

• Ken S

  
  Solid action flick, enjoyable but not amazing

• Taylor B

  
  Riddickulous HAR HAR HAR GET IT

• Kalel J

  
  Aesthetical marvel and a magnetic lead character are the safe marks that excel this film from absurdity to acceptance. The film is enjoyable, and had potential to be great, but becomes marred by straying plots and horrid concepts that ruin an otherwise provoking screenplay. Take out… More
  Aesthetical marvel and a magnetic lead character are the safe marks that excel this film from absurdity to acceptance. The film is enjoyable, and had potential to be great, but becomes marred by straying plots and horrid concepts that ruin an otherwise provoking screenplay. Take out Diesel and Ketih David and you're left with a pretty poor ensemble cast that reaches to levels far behind their potential, almost to the point of giving this film the same 'B-Grade' aura of the series introduction (Pitch Black).

• A.D. V

  
  Overzealous mess

• Luke B

  
  There's a lot of hate towards this film. Yes it is quite cliched and perculiar. It also takes itself far too seriously and sees itself as some kind of operatic sci-fi adventure. It's mostly harmless fun though.

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