re:mote voices

Title: The Chronicles Of Riddick

Cast: Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Alexa Davalos, Karl Urban, Judi Dench

Director: David Twohy

The Chronicles Of Riddick could well be described as the polar opposite of Pitch Black, to which it is the sequel. Riddick was a prisoner being transported aboard a space ship when it crashed on an alien infested planet. Despite his clear status as bad guy, Riddick becomes central to the crash survivors chances of making it off the planet alive. Having managed to survive Pitch Black, Riddick has spent the last 5 years keeping his head down. But when mercenaries arrive to try and capture him, he decides it is time to take action. This puts him in the position of being a potential saviour again. A group, called the Necromongers, have been travelling across the universe, leaving a trail of carnage, and forcing survivors to join their ranks.

Pitch Black had a certain rawness, tautly driven across one planet against the creatures in the dark. Here we travel across the universe, layering up special effects as much as they try to twist details and ideas into the plot – providing as much of an expansion to the whole as possible. The problem with that is that perhaps The Chronicles Of Riddick has been pumped up so much that at times it feels transparent – certainly not as tight as Pitch Black, but in saying that we have to instead take The Chronicles Of Riddick as spectacle cinema – lavish, flash, big budget, and at times cheesily silly with that. There are some nice touches throughout, the Shakespearian and Robert E Howard references are particularly amusing. But I suspect this is not a film which will be as well remembered as it’s predecessor.