Review - Riddick

At the Theater - "Riddick" - A promising first act, which finds our battered and bloodied hero left for dead and playing "stranger in a strange land" on an alien planet teaming with deadly creatures of various sorts, is undermined by the disappointingly lackluster remaining two-thirds- it devolves into what is essentially a remake of "Pitch Black", though with more guns and thinner characterizations. Soon after two contrasting groups of intergalactic manhunters are introduced into the fold, the narrative loses it's creative drive and bogs down in familiar, derivative territory.  I've never really been in love with this franchise, feeling that the first film was slightly undercooked and didn't really have the budget to impress with it's visuals while it's exponentially larger-budgeted follow-up, "Chronicles of Riddick", was poorly edited and outright bloated with too much narrative. This third outing, like it's predecessors, is passable enough as sci-fi actioners go- it's just too bad that it spends the majority of it's time spinning it's wheels with no new particular destination in mind. 

Vin Diesel (The Fast and the Furious) returns as the titular anti-hero, "Riddick"- the 46 year old New York City native is as physically imposing as ever, with presence to spare.  He's a capable actor who I always believed to be a little too rough around the edges when subtlety or nuance was called upon.  Some may find his sly act annoyingly cryptic in an extended sequence when time is truly of the essence- Riddick harbors the knowledge that a swarm of bloodthirsty creatures are nearly upon the oblivious lot of motley mercs but can't pass up a host of opportunities to growl threats and prophetic riddles. His priorities and motives are a bit wily, to say the least.  Overall, it's a solid performance in the type of role I usually appreciate and I'm happy Hollywood hasn't completely abandoned releasing films of this nature at the theater- the consummate badass central character plopped down into a Creature Feature narrative is usually my cup-o-tea.

Jordi Molla (Bad Boys II) plays the almost hilariously inept boss of a rag-tag group of bounty hunters in "Santana"- I couldn't help but wonder how in the world (or galaxy) he ever secured the position amongst his gang of ruffians.  Watch closely and you'll witness his injured schnozz alternate between battered and bloody to perfectly unscathed and back to mangled and swollen again.  It's laughably bad continuity.

A clearly miscast Matt Nable (Killer Elite 2011) places himself in the lead of most lackluster foil of the cinematic year as "Boss Johns"- the leader of a crew of professional mercenaries also out to land the highly-prized fugitive.  His lead antagonist, saddled with a personal score to settle, is decidedly unimpressive- Nable has some acting chops but zero charisma to speak of.  This would have been a great opportunity to have cast a bigger, more believable presence in an effort to supply a worthy, memorable adversary.

Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) is criminally wasted in a garbage role as "Dahl"- it was painful to watch her character, established as a hard-as-nails lesbian Merc, flip the switch and turn into our hero's biggest swooning fangirl by film's end.  You'll roll your eyes at the awkward, 11th hour mishandling of the situation.  I believe the filmmakers should have switched her character over to replace Nable's and enhanced the role, but what the hell do I know?

Two-time WWE Champion Dave Bautista (The Man With The Iron Fists) does a commendable job of chewing scenery as the stereotypical hulk amongst the heavies, though he does little to further his acting career.  Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto), Bokeem Woodbine (The Big Hit), former kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter Conrad Pla (16 Blocks) and Nolan Gerard Funk (X2), as a young, ultra-religious sort that's glaringly out of place, round out the notable faces as various Mercs and Bounty Hunters out for Riddick's blood.  Most of these individuals were cast for their distinct, chiseled faces, with little or no character development to speak of.  It's a common mistake in these types of films that often works against replay value.  Most of the stronger Creature Feature/Action films in silver screen history, such as Predator or Aliens, boast a well-cast ensemble taking advantage of a healthy script, with each supporting character given their fair share of "little moments" to shine before being dispatched in some decidedly gruesome fashion- there are painfully few of those "little moments" here.

Hopefully this franchise's fans aren't fooled into thinking Karl Urban's (Dredd) involvement in this film is anything substantial- his reprisal, as the villainous "Vaako" from Chronicles of Riddick, consists of an early flashback cameo that literally amounts to less than a minute of screen-time... very disappointing.  

Writer/Director David Twohy has directed all three of the Riddick films- I'm thinking he should have passed up screen-writing responsibilities this time and handed it over to a fresher voice, more specifically, one that excels in the art of good dialogue.  That said, the effects are solid, with a nice blend of the practical and CGI, and it's without question the best filmed of the trilogy- it looks great and the the action is serviceably staged.  Those who enjoyed the first two will probably find more to love here than myself- I just never could shake the feeling that these three Riddick films showcased a character that was significantly more dynamic than the scripts and subsequent situations that surrounded him...

7.0 out of 10


FWIW-

Pitch Black - 7.0
The Chronicles Of Riddick -  7.0

***Of Note***
Some may recognize Grammy Nominated Keri Hilson in a cameo as an ill-fated prisoner- I had no idea who she was until well after the fact.