The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) Vin Diesel’s Patchily Plotted Sci-Fi Space Opera

Like the first film, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), continues to shape the “Riddick-verse”, enhancing the foundation that was created in Pitch Black (2000). In that first film we’re given a basic story and world view, and it works – in fact, it’s an excellent film because of it. Vin Diesel has equated his Riddick franchise to following a pattern made famous by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, the former being a standalone piece meant to set up the world and characters, and that’s what Pitch Black does, while The Chronicles of Riddick sets up a Lord of the Rings-like adventure. There are obviously differences, but that’s the way Vin Diesel wanted the story to evolve, and even though it’s a daunting task to replicate The Lord of the Rings‘ storytelling format, it manages to be pretty successful in its own way.

The story follows Riddick a few years after the events of Pitch Black, and throughout the film he deals with the villainous empire of Necromongers. Their beliefs mirror Christianity in some ways, from the promise of a better life after death, to a prophet who has come back from “the other side”, and a need to convert their conquered foes to their faith. He escapes from their attack on Helion Prime and ends up in a fearsome prison on the planet Crematoria, where he’s reunited with another survivor of the world in Pitch Black – Kyra (formerly known as Jack). Together they hatch a daring escape in one of the more gripping parts of the movie, the landscape and chase sequence reminding me of the action and excitement of the first film. 

Kyra, played this time by Alex Davelos, is obviously more grown up from the kid that she was in Pitch Black (when she was played by Rhiana Griffith), still has an almost unwavering admiration for Riddick, even though she believes that he abandoned her when she needed him most. She’s basically the female version of Riddick, and while it’s interesting to see them play off of each other, her absence for the first part of the film does make it suffer. Judi Dench plays Aereon, a member of the rare Elemental race who’s been captured by the Necromongers, but her character is somewhat underused as she only shows up to give some information, and then disappears. It’s honestly a role that anyone could have played given how relatively small and unimportant it is to the film, which is a shame as I like Judi Dench, but she doesn’t add much to the role. 

The Lord Marshal of the Necromongers, played by the underrated Colm Feore, is the main antagonist of the film, and although he’s a pretty cliche villain, he’s is still a worthy opponent for Riddick. It’s similar to the fable of David and Goliath, with Riddick going up against insurmountable odds to fight the Lord Marshal, but in the end there’s nothing that makes this antagonist unique. Vaako (Karl Urban), and his wife Dame Vaako (Thandiwe Newton), are interesting, and they’re revealed to have a relationship similar to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in that she is seductive and cunning, while he seems susceptible to her charms. Dame Vaako tries to get her husband to kill the Lord Marshal, but he’s resistant to the idea, and paranoid about even mentioning sedition. This sets up an interesting premise that ends up being pushed aside for the prison part of the story, and even though the outcome is fairly predictable, enough time has passed so the viewer may have forgotten 

Ultimately I feel that the story betrays The Chronicles of Riddick as the characters seem to go in and out of the story at random, and they can feel so unfulfilling (looking at Judi Dench’s Aereon and Thandiwe Newton’s Dame Vaako). Some of the aspects of the story were underwhelming, and although I may seem more negative than positive I have a genuine soft spot for sci-fi space operas, and The Chronicles of Riddick fulfills that for me. 

The Arrow 4K and Blu Ray edition is packed with special features that includes two theatrical versions and the director’s cut of the film, the latter containing two commentaries from director David Twohy, Karl Urban and Alexa Davelos. There’s also an hour-long documentary on the making of the film, short extras on the special effects, the worlds, and the various races that are in the film, a slipcover, and a forty four page booklet that has writings about the film and, maybe most important and useful, a compendium filled with character bios, a planet guide, and information about races, religious beliefs, and the various technologies featured in the film. If you’re a fan of Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, or the Riddick-verse in general then you should definitely pick up this Arrow release. 

Ben’s Archive – The Chronicles of Riddick