A messy, messianic slasher/blaster in the Matrix Half-Loaded tradition, all nonsense plot and baroque costumes, sets and special effects.
Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:155
Fresh:46
Rotten:109
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: As an action movie, Riddick offers some thrills, but as a sequel to Pitch Black, it's a disappointment.
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: The sequel to cult sci-fi hit PITCH BLACK sees Vin Diesel enthusiastically returning to his role as Richard B. Riddick. Director-writer David Twohy is on board again, building on themes established... The sequel to cult sci-fi hit PITCH BLACK sees Vin Diesel enthusiastically returning to his role as Richard B. Riddick. Director-writer David Twohy is on board again, building on themes established in the first movie, and expanding his vision with some incredible special effects work. Twohy opens the movie with Riddick on the run from a group of bounty hunters. He escapes them with ease, then seeks information from an old friend named Inam (Keith David). Inam informs Riddick that he has been singled out by an Air Elemental, Aereon (Judi Dench), as the one man who can stop the evil Necromongers from taking over the Universe. Suddenly, the Necromongers arrive on the planet, causing mayhem and destruction. They capture Riddick. He soon escapes, only to fall into the hands of the bounty hunters he so deftly eluded at the start of the movie. They take Riddick to a rogue prison planet where he is met by scorching heat, an underground penitentiary, and his female companion from PITCH BLACK, Jack (who is now called Kyra, and played by a different actress, Alexa Davalos). They plan their escape from the planet, and vow to bring down the Necromongers. Things don't go according to plan however, leading to a suspense-filled climax to the film, and an eyebrow-raising ending that suggests Twohy may have plans for further installments in the story. [More]
Starring: Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Colm Feore, Alexa Davalos
Starring: Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Colm Feore, Alexa Davalos, Karl Urban, Nick Chinlund
Director: David Twohy
Director: David Twohy
Screenwriter: David Twohy
Producer: Vin Diesel, Scott Kroopf
Composer: Graeme Revell
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Chronicles of Riddick
Amazing-looking sequel to cult fave Pitch Black; unfortunately, the film's wrecked by a surprisingly weak, goofy script.
A static-filled space opera that is less thrill-a-minute than thrill-an-hour.
Writer-director David Twohy has a much bigger budget than he did for Pitch Black, but he makes the all-too-common mistake of believing money can substitute for imagination.
Despite a few goofily entertaining moments that are so over the top they are instant camp, the movie suggests that the hero's name derives from 'ridiculous.'
There's nothing here you haven't seen before, especially if you own a PlayStation.
This is purely a movie for fans of elephantine production values and the dwindling number of remaining Diesel enthusiasts.
While it's impressive in scope and special effects, it comes across as a mish-mash of sci-fi films -- everything from Dune to Star Wars to Battlefield Earth.
It's a little strange seeing quirky pianist Glenn Gould in a smackdown with xXx.
For people who like this sort of thing, this is just the sort of thing they like.
If the Terminator went back in time to win a game of Dungeons and Dragons, it'd be a lot like The Chronicles of Riddick.
An incoherent mishmash of ideas swiped from other, better science-fiction sources, chiefly the Star Wars, Star Trek and Matrix movies.
Aside from its dark vision and operatic flourishes, Chronicles of Riddick doesn't have much else going for it.
The movie veers between looking like a video game and a shaving commercial.
A big, cheesy sci-fi flick tailor-made for a young male audience looking for things that go boom.
Like so many sequels, The Chronicles of Riddick demonstrates Hollywood's law of diminishing returns: Its quality is inversely proportional to its budget.
Latest News for Chronicles of Riddick
August 26, 2008:
Diesel Promises a Double Shot of Riddick ![]()
His latest movie, "Babylon A.D.," might be running at a woeful 0 percent on the Tomatometer, but Vin Diesel has bigger fish to fry; according to a recent interview with MTV, the... More...
July 12, 2008:
Exclusive: del Toro on Why Wind in the Willows Went Away
Following revelations earlier in our exclusive Dinner and the Movies conversation with Hellboy 2 director Guillermo del Toro that he'd passed up chances to direct movies like... More...
July 10, 2008:
Exclusive: Guillermo del Toro on Creating an International Animation Studio
Guillermo del Toro plans to start up an international animation studio when he's finished work on The Hobbit film(s), he told RT during our exclusive Dinner and the Movies... More...
November 20, 2007:
A Third Installment for The Chronicles of Riddick?
Despite the underwhelming reviews and receipts that greeted 2004's Pitch Black sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, writer/director David Twohy still hopes to film a third... More...
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