Pluskylang Great Film overall

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Tweekums A militaristic cult, the Necromongers, is sweeping through a series of planets; the people of those planets are given a choice; convert or die. Riddick, having survived the events in 'Pitch Black' has been in hiding for the past five years but mercenaries have now caught up with him. He beats them and takes their ship and heads to New Mecca to find the man who employed them; the Imam he had saved. Here he meets Aereon, an Air Elemental, who tells him about the Necromongers. They soon arrive and take over the planet and Riddick kills one of their best men before being captured. Later their leader discovers that Riddick is a Furyan; a warrior race who have been prophesied to kill him so orders his death. He escapes and is promptly caught by the mercenaries who take him to the prison planet Cremetoria; a world where the daytime is over 700 degrees and the night time is well below freezing. Here he finds the girl he saved in 'Pitch Black' and once again starts to plan an escape… while the Necromongers are closing in on them.Having enjoyed 'Pitch Black', which I found genuinely scary I was optimistic that this would be pretty good too. Unfortunately while it isn't bad it is nowhere near as good. In many ways it feels like a film that just happens to feature the same protagonist rather than a sequel. The story is somewhat confused; it felt as though the creators came up with a variety of ideas they wanted to include then struggled to find a good way to justify their inclusion. The Necromongers weren't as threatening as they should have been; at no point did I feel Riddick was in any real danger. There special effects are fairly obvious CGI for the most part. There is some good action at times and I liked Alexa Davalos's performance as Kyra; it was better than some more well-known actors. Overall I'd say this is an okay main-in-neutral film; certainly not a must see unless you are s serious Vin Diesel fan.

NateWatchesCoolMovies David Twohy's Pitch Black was a dank, murky horror sci fi that took place inside a claustrophobic killing jar, all the action unfolding on one planet, and over a short amount of time. With The Chronicles Of Riddick, he lifts the lid off that jar, unveiling more planets, characters, creatures and broadening both the scope of what is seen visually and what takes place in the story. What began as a simple human vs. monster survival tale crystallizes into a full blown operatic space saga, and I loved every minute of it. Now there are a lot of people who hate it, and fine for them if they want to live inside such negativity. I was sold after the intro, in which a snarky, canine - like bounty hunter (Nick Chinlund) chases a haggard looking Riddick a across the bizarre, jagged face of a planet that would make the asteroid from Armageddon sweat. This film takes place sometime after Pitch Black, the few survivors scattered across the galaxy. There's a price on Riddick's head, which Toombs (Chinlund) intends to collect. Riddick unwittingly wanders into the path of something far more dangerous in his evasive efforts: a powerful, fascist master race known as the Necromongers are cutting a swath through the known universe, converting or killing anyone they find. They are led by the "" (Colm Feore), and commanded by Lord Vaako (another badass character for Karl Urban to another do to his rogue's gallery), a nasty piece of work who is further soured by his insidious wife (Thandie Newton). Riddick has encounter with them, as well as an old friend from former times (an all too brief Keith David) and is taken far and away, to a dangerous prison on a planet called Crematoria, where the wrecking ball of a sun fries everything on the surface every half hour or so. It all happens fast (and furious hehe), in a somewhat rushed frenzy of sci fi action, cool effects and surprisingly vicious antics for a PG-13 flick. Diesel was born to play Riddick, a growling night wolf of an antihero and endlessly watchable. There's all sorts of half Cooke ideas running around, some fun and others left unexplored. There's a prophecy involving the Purifier (Linus Roache) who has ties to Riddick's tragic past and the fate of his race, a strange elemental (Judi Dench looking confused), another person from his past (Alexa Davalos) and other intrigue involving Urban. Best to sit back and let it wash over you like the fun it is. Chinlund is hilarious as Toombs, the only character who seems to have wandered in from inner city L.A., a wide ass prick with a hate streak for Riddick and that old school charisma that carries scenes. The set pieces are exhilarating and make up for the plot which is at times spread too thinly, but never hurts the film. I love it, watch it all the time, let the haters sulk... more for us.

carbuff With regard to the negative reviews, what were you expecting? Come on guys, lighten up. This film delivers pretty much exactly on its promises, nothing more, nothing less. It is basically a live action Sci-Fi comic book, which is pretty much how it sold itself. The special effects are very good and the acting and plot are appropriate for a graphic novel. Sure, if you really think about this movie's storyline, or, even worse, well-understood laws of physics, it's total nonsense, but that's not the point. Just approach it as a B-grade Sci-Fi action flick, and it's very good slick entertainment which never slows down, making the 2- hour runtime no ordeal. Grab some popcorn, turn down the lights, turn-off your brain, you might actually enjoy this.

silverkelt First off, this really isn't pitch black, pitch black was a small indie scifi film, which shows what you can do with a very small budget, good story telling and compatible acting. This is more of a standard big budget affair, encapsulated in a antihero of Riddick. Vin Diesel reprising his role, is again fairly resplendent as the dark Riddick, not quite evil, he has a moral code, but its his moral code, you will not force him away from it. Its not maybe the best in its genre and I can see its failings, its slow to spin up and at times you have to set aside your logical conclusions or assumptions, the universe its set in, isn't always fleshed out the best, you have to infer things.Overall though, its pretty solid and after watching it a couple more times have to say, it was better then when I first watched it. Too bad it ran so poorly, it deserved its on sequel, what we got was just Riddick, which wasn't quite as good as its predecessors.