Riddick (2013)

 

Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.

 

 

I seem to remember this movie when it was called PITCH BLACK. It seems like Vin Diesel and Director David Twohy have gone back to what worked for them in the past and just remade the same movie - mercenaries have the most dangerous man alive captured, who conveniently is the only man who can save them when they are attacked by creatures in the night. Because as you know, Riddick can see in the dark and always has a plan for escape up his sleeves.

He also enjoys his suffering. Why else would he give up his cushy gig leading the Necromancers from the last movie, The Chronicles of Riddick just to find his mythical home planet of Furia. I enjoyed that last Riddick sequel more than most because I say you can never go wrong with Keith David in any movie. I was hoping we could see more of the Necromancers but I suppose Riddick works best all on his own.

There are certainly a lot of creatures here that want to kill our Mr. Riddick. From the buzzards, to the wolves to the fish in the undrinkable water, and the lizard/snake/crab creatures, this is no vacation spot. But what makes the hero's victory the most sweet? When he can overcome these challenges and triumph, of course.

I am a sucker for movies that feature a basically unknown caste of characters who have to team up for survival after their first plan to capture Riddick turns to shit. We know most all of them won't survive to the end of the movie but that is all part of the fun. I also like the fact that Riddick runs with a demon dog puppy that he rescued. I so didn't want any harm to come to Riddick's doggy. Pets and children should never die in any movie.

I liked this one. It moved fast and had some fun moments of interaction between the mercenaries and the perpetually grumpy Riddick. Did they re-invent the wheel? Of course not. You have seen it all before.