Director: David Twohy.
Starring: Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff, Jordi Molla.
Running Time: 119 minutes.
Certificate: 15.
Synopsis: Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) is injured and abandoned on a foreign planet. His only way to escape the impending storm that is about to hit the planet is an emergency call out, letting bounty hunters know where he is. As two competing teams come to collect the bounty, it becomes unclear who can be trusted, who the hero is and who will make it out alive.
Riddick goes back to his PITCH BLACK roots and walks away from the civilisation introduced in THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. The barely human Riddick (who can see in the dark) gets rid of his crown and moves back to his animalistic roots on a desolate planet which might be the only thing capable of killing him. Friction arises between the two competing teams who both want Riddick; one wants him alive, the other wants him dead, one wants him for money, while the other team has different intentions.
Diesel has never been overly praised for his acting, but it is hard to mock his role as Riddick. His performance as the titular character is always solid and the monotone husky voice serves as a great part of making him who he is. This along with the all-seeing bright eyes, the R-rating, quick killings, desert settings and sufficient amount of nudity is what makes RIDDICK a worthier part of the franchise than CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. The concept of RIDDICK and the humour used is ridiculous, but encourages a giggle rather than a rolling of the eyes.
Katee Sackhoff may play the strong and interesting Dahl, but don’t get too excited when she is given a name which sounds like a toy. Violent sex jokes are thrown at her – along with an experimental sexuality – and seeing her needlessly show her breasts in a shower scene will quickly negate any positivity she brought to the table as an ass kicking woman.
RIDDICK is in no way lacking in engagement, but the numerous poorly executed fight scenes and tacky, typical macho dialogue never find a balance with its beautifully shot scenes or the suspense created from the hunter/hunted ideal. With far too many repetitive scenes, RIDDICK would have gained more from cutting twenty minutes and staying intense rather than the overdrawn and unfortunately tedious two hours it becomes.
The suspense in RIDDICK is similar to that of a great horror movie. Fear, hope and confusion are mixed together through great sound editing, the use of darkness and not knowing who the hero is. There are a few references to the previous two movies which will excite fan boys, but they aren’t significant enough to alienate new audiences unfamiliar with the anti-hero. This isn’t a prequel, nor is it a reboot. It is a good third part to the franchise, showing what happens when Riddick walks away from his crown and back to his roots. Admirably, Diesel and Twohy have gone back to give fans what they want to see; a bare, and more brutal killer struggling between basic survival instinct and the opportunity to save others.
RIDDICK is released in UK cinemas on Wednesday 4th September and in US cinemas on Friday 6th September.
