[SPOILERS BELOW]
- (P) Positives
- (N) Negatives
- (?) Other points/Neither positive or negative
- (P) The film is mostly focused on action and world-building with numerous set-pieces, thus the story is more the second priority as it were; basic but adequate.
- (P) The "Riddick universe" has been expanded substantially in this film, which, in combination with the higher budget, allows for a variety of locations (e.g. the blizzards on the harsh snow planet Riddick hides out on at the beginning of the film; the brick-and-mortar streets of Helion Prime; the half-freezing-cold, half-boiling-hot prison moon of Crematoria, the dark, cold halls of the Necromongers etc.), which are complemented by the set design, costuming etc.
- (P) Riddick himself has also been given an overhaul. The compassion and love he has for Jack/Kyra is made ever more present than it was in Pitch Black (the first film in the series) and we also get to see the "sassier", wise-cracking side of Riddick - most notably in the "I bow to no man" scene.
- (P) Clever details here and there (e.g. the scar marks on the sides of converted necromongers' necks left by the instruments used to "convince" them to convert).
- (?) While the cinematography was OK, there was a lot of shakycam in the fight scenes making it hard to actually see the action sometimes; particularly in the first few scenes on Helion Prime where there are so many strobe lights, it almost gave me a headache just looking at it. Luckily, these scenes didn't take up too much of the runtime.
- (?) Some of the moments in the film are so on the nose and are as subtle as a brick wall, it's hard not to laugh at them for how riddick-ulous (heh) they are. My favourite examples include the Lord Marshal, leader of the Necromongers, demanding information by saying, "THESE ARE THE THINGS I NEED TO KNOW"; The computer on the ship arriving at Crematoria: "ANGLE OF APPROACH - NOT GOOD" as well as Toombs, a bounty hunter who's after Riddick, screaming "RIDDICCCKKKK!" after being locked in a cage. While these are great and memorable moments, they make it harder to take the film seriously.
- (N) So many issues with the plot and overall structure
of the film. Firstly, there are so many characters that aren't given any
time to develop - so almost none but those remaining from the first
film are interesting. Secondly, some of the plot contrivances are
staggering ("Why was there a knife in the
necromonger-who-killed-Imam-and-was-then-killed-by-Riddick's back in the first
place? What is its purpose? Why is it there? Is it a holster? If it is,
it seems pretty inconvenient to have it sticking out of your back like
that..."; "Why did the Purifer release Riddick in the mind regression
chamber? Couldn't he just keep him locked down and have the Necromonger
guards attack him without risk of Riddick fighting back?" -->
However, the purifier is later revealed to be a Furian, like Riddick, so
perhaps this was the Purifier being conflicted between being a
Necromonger and a Furian, and so decided to release him...? Not too sure
about this one - either it's a major plot contrivance or it's a bit of
foreshadowing as to the Purifier's true nature). Not to mention the fact
that Riddick killing and overthrowing the Lord Marshal was prophesied by
the Elementals. Ugh, did we really need a prophecy for
this? A prophecy like that is such an overused trope as it is, and the
movie would have been just fine without one. Finally, the whole idea of
religious subjugation by the Necromongers is interesting, but was
handled with no subtlety or nuance whatsoever - making the Necromongers
into a cartoonishly evil threat whose leader actively enjoyed the death and
destruction he perpetuated, which left no room for any sympathetic qualities of any kind.
- (N) In a way, the lower budget of Pitch Black actually helped to make that film more timeless, as, with The Chronicles Of Riddick, the higher budget meant a lot more CGI, which now looks pretty dated - whereas the CGI in Pitch Black still looks OK, mostly because there was more of an emphasis on practical effects and simpler visual effects. As a result, it was a lot harder for me to get invested in this film - even though the CGI and other visual effects were well done, considering when it was made.
- (N) While the acting was mostly okay, some performances weren't that good. Karl Urban in particular, who plays the Macbeth-like Vaako, was stilted and unbearably dry for the entire runtime of the film.
Overall: 5/10; maybe a very high 5 or low 6 - but certainly not a 7.
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