Salt Lake Tribune Review
It's hard to imagine
Vin Diesel's psycho-criminal character from the 2000 sci-fi thriller "Pitch Black" transformed into the central figure of a futuristic "Conan"-like action epic. It's still hard to imagine after seeing writer-director
David Twohy do it, pitting Riddick against a race of world-destroying warriors led by a malevolent Lord Marshal (
Colm Feore). Twohy (who made "Pitch Black") has grander aspirations than your average laser-blasting action flick -- casting
Judi Dench as an oracular figure, and adding a "Macbeth" subplot involving the Lord Marshal's second-in-command (
Karl Urban) with an ambitious wife (
Thandie Newton). But Diesel's one-note tough guy, Holger Gross' oppressive production design (with ships decked out in Early Nuremberg Rally) and the overramped special effects crush "The Chronicles of Riddick" like a trash compactor, leaving a small and disposable hunk of metal.
The rundown: Vin Diesel reprises his "Pitch Black" bad-guy role, turning him into a rebel hero saving a planet from world-destroying warriors. Some cool effects and classy touches (like the presence of
Judi Dench) are overwhelmed by oppressive production design.
Synopsis: Riddick has spent the last five years on the move among the forgotten worlds on the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding mercenaries bent on collecting the price on his head. Now, the fugitive finds himself on planet Helion, home to a progressive multi-cultural society that has been invaded by the Lord Marshal, a despot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of warriors known as Necromongers. Exiled to a subterranean prison where extremes of temperature range from arctic nights to volcanic days, Riddick encounters Kyra, the lone survivor from an earlier chapter in his life. His efforts to free himself and Kyra lead him to the Necromonger command ship, where he is pitted against the Lord Marshal in an apocalyptic battle with possibly the fate of all beings--both living and dead--hanging in the balance.
