Respond to these rapid questions in our Riddick quiz and we will tell you which Riddick character you are. Play it now.
The third installment of David Twohy’s “Chronicles of Riddick” series is titled “Riddick.” Audiences watched the adventures of Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel), an outlaw, thief, murderer, king, and antihero, beginning with 2000’s “Pitch Black” and continuing through 2004’s “Chronicles of Riddick.” The sci-fi/horror mashup “Pitch Black” was entertaining but derivative, and it proudly displayed its R classification. The series’ “Conan The Destroyer” was replaced by “Chronicles of Riddick,” a milder sequel that decreased the classification in an effort to increase viewership. I believe the only reasons we have “Riddick” are because of the PG-13 classification for “Chronicles” and the fan complaints that went along with it. It subtly brushes aside the second installment and begs forgiveness by exaggerating the gory mayhem.
The character is adored in each of the trilogy’s three films, but this one in particular has saliva streaming down both sides of the screen. Every frame displays the homoerotic stare that swoons and demands that you realize what a bad guy Riddick is. It appreciates him for it. You can hear Twohy’s camera sighing like the greatest Riddick fan in history repeatedly, scene after scene. This in no way constitutes critique. Even though you want to scream, “Get a room!” the movie’s most entertaining aspect is the absurd degree of Riddick adoration.
In order to see in the dark, Vin Diesel’s character Riddick uses a set of glowing contact lenses and his “Iron Giant” voice. “I’ve been here before,” he says, referring to the perilous landscape where he has been betrayed and left for dead, as his narration begins “Riddick.” Before Riddick pulls off his first act of badassness—strangling one of the planet’s flesh-eating creatures—the opening titles have barely ended. More monsters than Riddick can choke on will be revealed to us before the final titles.
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Working on the smaller size of the original, Twohy breaks with sequel tradition. “Riddick” resembles “Pitch Black” so closely at points that it seems like a remake. Once more, people are stranded on a hostile world and unsure of whether Riddick himself or the natives of the planet pose a greater threat. This time, two teams of bounty hunters are surrounding Riddick, one of whom wishes to capture him alive. Because the bounty will be doubled, the other would rather he was deceased. Our titular antihero is unbeatable by neither side. When the world turns dark and wet, they will be even less prepared to handle the monstrosities that await them.
Riddick Quiz
Santana (Jordi Mollà) is the captain of the “dead Riddick” crew. Santana’s most prized possession is a huge see-through box, in which he intends to place Riddick’s head, and his accomplices Moss (Bokeem Woodbine) and Diaz (Dave Bautista) react to an emergency beacon triggered by Riddick in an effort to “hail a taxi off this planet.” It’s been said that if a head-carrying box is introduced in the first act, a head will inevitably tumble into it in the third. Santana is a repulsive individual who releases his female victim after a rape in order to discharge a sizable hole in her running body. Moss and Diaz are hilariously incompetent, particularly once the world begins to rebel.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Riddick quiz.
One hunter is in charge of the “take Riddick alive” squad. (Matt Nable). Dahl (Katee Sackhoff), a super-butch lesbian who gives “Riddick” access to her bare boobs, the bottom of an attempted rape, and the odd fight scene, is a member of his team. Santana views this team as a major pain in the neck, but he eventually must work with them to capture their human prey (her punch sounds louder than Riddick’s).
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Riddick wastes two chances to distinguish itself from average fodder. The first happens early in the movie as the lost Riddick gets accustomed to his new surroundings. In a fantastic 25 minute scene, Twohy mimics Riddick’s movements. Beautiful details can be found throughout the planet’s environments. The gruesome CGI monsters that Riddick battles are an odd mixture of ingenuity and cheesiness. So help me, I fell hook, line, and sinker for this dingo-dango thing, a CGI-rendered hyena-dog combination Riddick later refers to as a “dingo-dango thing.” One of the finest alien creatures I’ve seen in science fiction in a long time. I would have awarded “Riddick” a higher rating if the entire movie had been Riddick versus the elements.
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If Twohy and friends hadn’t blown that second chance, at least another half-star would have been in order. The operatic “Mother of mercy! Is this the end of Riddick?” scene during the movie’s climax is incredibly gripping. The effectiveness of this sequence astounded me, but Twohy was unable to bring this scene to a satisfying end due to fan backlash or the studio’s sequelitis issue.
The macho dialogue in Twohy’s screenplay is so overdone that hearing it is embarrassing. (It’s Riddickulous! OK, I’ll stop.) It’s also jam-packed with graphic brutality, so those with weak constitutions need not apply. I don’t mind seeing an IMAX-sized close-up of a vivisected brain, but your experience may be different.
“Riddick” is better than I anticipated, and it does offer aficionados of the genre a fair amount of entertainment. Your level of enjoyment will rely on how much you like Diesel’s persona. You won’t need to watch the earlier episodes in order to understand “Riddick,” but I have a hunch you’ll enjoy it more if you bring your own supply of Riddick adoration. It won’t come off the screen with a scratch, so that’s why.
For more personality quizzes check this: Breeding Difficulty Quiz.
