Riddick

Riddick appears on screen crawling, limping, through a harsh wasteland fraught with alien creatures bent on
his destruction. He's able to elude them, one by one until it becomes too much. He rethinks his strategy, slows his heartbeat, and rests in a custom made tomb. Narration kicks in and we're treated to the story of how Riddick got himself into this situation in the first place. People who could take a cue from him: he blames nobody but himself for his misfortune.

Redemption.

The first act of the movie follows Riddick in ultimate bad-ass survival. Ten years have past since Chronicles, and just in case we forgot, we're bludgeoned with reminders on how awesome he is. In the harshest of environments, Riddick thrives, domesticates and controls.

And just in case you weren't convinced of how brutally talented Riddick is at being brutal, they bring down teams of bounty hunters for him to play with. It's all absolutely brilliant fun, and I loved every second of it.

Pitch Black was a great film that came out of nowhere. I got it as a gift for Christmas on DVD many, many years ago and fell in love with it. Then, years later the sequel would come out and while it took a different direction, it was still enjoyable. Unfortunately it seemed to the final nail in the coffin for Riddick. Lo and behold, nine years later we discover Riddick was never in the coffin - in true Riddick fashion - he was just lying low waiting for the right moment to strike.

Riddick, the movie, strikes back to the beginnings of it all in a true echo of Pitch Black. The plot is simple, as we're returned to a desolate planet with a terrifying hook. In Pitch Black, we await darkness, and in Riddick, we await the rain. You're familiar with the formula basically, but the ride is different, and very satisfying. Katee Sackhoff turns up for a decent performance, but falls a bit shy of the original Radha Mitchell. All the other characters are fairly straightforward and stereotypical, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They bring a bit of comic relief to what could be misconstrued as a bit serious, and poke fun at the most important thing they could here: the myth of Riddick. It's akin to thugs taking about what Batman is and letting their imaginations go wild. Except instead of the streets of Gotham, the rumours spread throughout the entire galaxy here. It brings a bit of small town wonder to an otherwise gigantic scale. Riddick has an entire planet to explore, but the majority of the film takes place in and around a small mercenary outpost and it's surrounding inhospitable land.

After watching this, I had a look at the trivia and background of the film, as I typically do. It was interesting to see Vin's role in getting this film made: he agreed to do a cameo in third Fast and Furious movie, Tokyo Drift, in return for the rights to the Riddick franchise. So what may seem like selling out a bit for a quick bit of cash has ulterior, positive motives. Vin even helped fund the film to avoid delays in production. And we reap the reward. Riddick is a passion for the people involved, which really comes through on screen. Hopefully it doesn't take another ten years for a project in this world, but then again, we don't want to rush a good thing.