Recently I re-watched the series of movies about Richard B. Riddick - escaped convict, murderer, as the universe keeps on calling him to the point that he actually introduces himself as such. The movies: "Pitch Black", "The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury", "The Chronicles of Riddick" and "Riddick" are actually my favorite movie series of all time. I think I watched them ten or so times now. Riddick is an epitome of anti hero, likeable despite his flaws, spewing saucy one liners left and right and proving once and again that he actually has strong moral backbone despite everything he's done. Anyway, without further ado:
Pitch Black (2000)
The beginning of the series, "Pitch Black" begins with a catastrophe of a spaceship Hunter-Gratzner, which happens to be used as a transport for Riddick. The ship crashes on an alien planet, which the survivors soon find out to have three suns which keep it in perpetual sunlight, or so it would seem, as they soon discover.
This is actually my favorite movie of all time, which I consider to be even better then classic "Alien", from which "Pitch Black" actually borrows a lot. It's less claustrophobic and more focused on characters then aforementioned masterpiece. The cast is spot on, with everyone providing something different to the mix and every character being memorable. Other than that, it's just an overall great movie with interesting and memorable story.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004)
There isn't much to say about this 30 minutes long animated movie other than that it acts as an interlude between "Pitch Black" and "The Chronicles of Riddick". It provides some backstory on the world and characters but is otherwise not very memorable, good for die-hard fans like myself.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
The action of the second main movie in the series takes place five years after the first one. For all this time Riddick has been avoiding mercs hunting him, but the most recent bounty on his head, put by his "friend" from the first movie, makes him go back to "everything he hates", as he says himself. It turns out the worlds are being destroyed one by one by Necromongers - religious fanatics believing that Universe must be cleansed of all life.
The meat and potatoes of the series, "The Chronicles of Riddick" had budget almost four times that of "Pitch Black" and it shows. There are several locations in which action takes place, unlike basically one location in previous movie. The story arcs are much more epic in scale. The bigger budget shows in basically every aspect.
Unfortunately all this doesn't overcome the fact that it feels like a much more bland, generic Hollywood blockbuster, unlike original "Pitch Black". Aside from "Dark Fury" I consider this one to be the weakest chain in the series.
Riddick (2013)
The most recent of the movies about Richard B. Riddick, "Riddick" goes back to the core of what made "Pitch Black" so great. The titular hero, stranded on a hostile alien planet, goes back to his roots, he "zeroes the clock" as he describes it himself. Unfortunately he soon has to deal with mercs once again, and this time monsters aren't afraid of the light.
Second best after original "Pitch Black", "Riddick" is actually great even though it borrows a lot from the first movie.
Post edited July 08, 2022 by DreamerKnightX