The Furyan is back in his third installment (fourth if you want to count the animated movie, Dark Fury [heck, five or six if you want to count the games as well]). This time around they'r ditching the Chronicles part and going just for the simple title, Riddick. It's a bold effort that ultimately was left lacking.
Vin Diesel and company have cerntainly learned from their mistakes from the second film Chronicles of Riddick. They've instead returned to the simpler formula that Pitch Black had involving a series of survivors against the darkness of the planet they are on.
This isn't the same planet. Riddick takes place shortly after Chronicles left off. The Necromongers have abandoned their new ruler to die on this lonely planet. Riddick then lives in solitude on this planet for possibly years. The time table is visible through a dog he adopts as a puppy. It grows up between scenes.
After all this time, Riddick finally realizes true danger is coming in the shape of a storm. Creatures are swarming within the rain. He now has to find a way off. Ridick makes his presence known and the bounty hunters are on the way. It becomes bounty hunter versus bounty hunter versus Riddick in a dash to the spaceship with vicious aliens surrounding them.
The opening starts off slow. It's Riddick alone on a planet with a few animals. A tiny flashback breaks it up showing us what happened before the film that lead him to near death. It's a lovely scene of man versus nature, but it's not what you'd expect from a rated R action movie.
Finally the movie picks up once the bounty hunters arrive. Riddick is up to his old tricks, killing and getting into everybody's head.
Then the action starts and it dies down quickly. The monsters despite being the entire trailer are only in the second half of the film. They aren't the crutch of the story they are just an obstacle. The heart of the story is Riddick being hunted by the bounty hunter, Johns. A name that might be familiar to Riddick fans. But what attention the middle of the movie gathered is all lost as Riddick deals with his enemies unspectacularly.
It's a strong film without a story to hold it up. Maybe they'll do better with another one.
3/5 stars
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