Riddick

David Twohy – 2013 – USA

A welcome return to form for the Riddick series following the unfortunate 2004 installment The Chronicles of Riddick.  This third film – with some transparent deliberation – takes us back to the basic premise that made the original Pitch Black (2000) so effective; namely, Riddick (Vin Diesel) battling monsters and mercenaries on a desolate, sunbaked planet.  Comparing the two films side by side, Riddick misses the aggressive stylization of Pitch Black with regard to color and cutting.  That and the familiar milieu and plot elements make it a slightly lesser film, but overall, Twohy’s attention to character quirks and moral questions lift it above run-of-the-mill action fare.  There is a brief obligatory prologue explaining how the sardonic escaped convict wound up back in the same situation, but I wouldn’t have missed this at all if it had been left out.  I particularly enjoyed the long first act in which the main character is alone on the planet finding ways not only to survive but to keep his sanity.  As before, I’m not sure how compelling it can really be to have Vin Diesel in danger as opposed to someone of a more average build, but that’s the kind of thing you have to buy into at the outset if you’re going to enjoy the film.