Riddick

Riddick (2013)
Directed by David Twohy.

I'm not going to try to compare this film to Vin Diesel's first two Riddick installments because it has been a long time since I saw them. But I can say that I went in to the film with low expectations and I wasn't too disappointed.

My biggest complaint is that not much happens during the nearly two hour long movie. Riddick gets stranded and must survive in a hostel environment. Riddick fights mercenaries. Riddick fights scary (and pretty well designed) creatures. And the most interesting part of the story, his reign as Lord Marshall and eventual betrayal by Karl Urban's Vaako, is glossed over with just a short flashback. I would have liked to see much more of that part of the story, and much less of Diesel crawling through the desert.

My second complaint is the film's bad special effects. Riddick's $38 million production budget is pretty low for a sci-fi action CGI-fest, but that still should have been enough for the effects to be more consistent. The creature animation and the practical effects were well done, but most of the green-screened landscapes just didn't mesh well enough with the real elements of the scenes. The worst effects shots of the film were when the characters were using their hover bikes. Essentially every shot with a hover bike was cringe worthy.

On the other hand, the film did have some good fight scenes, and the action was well-paced throughout the film (except for at the end.) And while not all of the acting is superb, it is obvious that the actors, especially Diesel, enjoyed making the movie. So if you're a guy who enjoys action flicks but doesn't require them to have much of a plot, then you'll probably enjoy Riddick, especially since you'll get to see a lot more of Katee Sackhoff then she let you see in Battlestar Galactica.

Riddick opened in about thirty countries this weekend and earned around $26 million worldwide. That's only $12 million short of its production budget, so this should end up as a modest win for Universal. It seems Riddick was able to survive after all, and we will probably see more of him sometime in the future.

Loved it? Hated it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

2.5 out of 5 stars.
Viewed September 8, 2013 at LOOK Cinemas Prestonwood in Dallas, TX.