The Chronicles of Riddick

Review by Richard Lee

Universal Studios/ 2004 / 134 Minutes / Unrated Director's Cut
Street Date: November 16, 2004

Specifications
-DVD-Video
-DVD-9
-Region 1

Aspect Ratio:
-2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:
-English 5.1 Dolby Digital
-Feature Audio Commentary

Subtitle Options:
-English
-Espanol
-Francais
-None

Main Menu:
-Play
-Bonus Features
-Scenes
-Languages

Bonus Features:
-Deleted Scenes
-Virtual Guide to The Chronicles of Riddick
-Toombs' Chase Log
-Riddick Insider
-Visual Effects Revealed
-Riddick's Worlds
-Play the Xbox Game
-Audio Commentary with Writer/Director David Twohy and Actors Karl Urban & Alexa Davalos
-DVD-Rom
-DVD Credits

Sequel to a much smaller-budgeted and much better sci-fi film of 2000 "Pitch Black", "The Chronicles of Riddick" picks up several years after where our anti-hero, Riddick, played by muscle-headed, gravelly-voiced action star, Vin Diesel, is still on the run from bounty hunters. Only this time, instead of being wanted for his mass-murdering ways, he is being sought by one of the survivors of "Pitch Black", Imam, played by Keith David. Imam's home world, Helion Prime, is being invaded by a race of crusaders called the Necromongers, who base their religion on the undead. Their fulfillment is to convert or kill all the worlds of the universe and achieve their version of nirvana called the "Underverse". Led by an evil, soul-snatching priest Lord Marshal, played by Colm Feore, the only race of beings that the Necromongers fear are the Furyans, of whom Riddick may be the last one. Also involved are a race of ethereal ambassadors called the Elementals represented by Aereon, played by Dame Judi Dench. It never becomes clear what purpose they serve in this story other than to relate one character's motivations to another. We also come to know the small band of bounty hunters, one of whom, Kyra, played by Alexa Davalos, serves as the reason Riddick goes against his anti-social instincts and shows he has a soft side after all.

Writer/Director David Twohy is attempting here to add his name to the pantheon of sci-fi authors who created their own intricate mythologies and even more profitable films based on those novels. Only this movie is based on a script and not a novel. While watching this movie, one can see the obvious allusions made to previous sci-fi epics such as "Star Wars", "Lord of the Rings", and most blatantly, "Dune". Even the title is very similar to C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia". The special effects and production design are indeed impressive and very detailed. They could easily have been used in the SciFi's production of Dune without even changing the characters. But without a compelling story and cardboard characters led by a non-actor whose only expressions are a series of grunts and growls, it's hard to get involved in the story; great special effects or not. The film may have benefitted from a better action director, specifically the fight scenes, which were all rapidly edited with an annoying use of strobe light effects which made it difficult to see the action at all. The one good sequence takes place on the aptly named planet Crematoria, where daylight temperatures get so hot, one is instantly turned to a mass of ashes in seconds.

Picture/Sound Quality:

The picture looks great with ample use of grays and silvers for the interiors and earth tones for the exterior shots. With the span of the movie spread out over the dvd's dual layers, the picture's motion was smooth with no noticeable artifacting. The 5.1 mix was aggressive as is expected with this type of film. Constant use of the surrounds and the LFE channel.

Bonus Features:

Deleted Scenes include segments that were left out due to pacing or budget issues. The Virtual Guide gives short descriptions of the peoples and planets of the movie. Toombs' Chase Log is an audio diary kept by the head Bounty Hunter. Riddick Insider is a pop-up facts feature that can be turned on while watching the movie. There is a short featurette dealing the special effects of the film. Riddick's Worlds is an interactive guide through the numerous set designs of the picture. As a testament to the growing popularity of movie and video game tie-ins, there is included in this dvd an entire level of the Chronicles of Riddick video game which can be played by inserting the dvd into an Xbox console. The audio commentary is with writer/director David Twohy and actors Karl Urban and Alexa Davalos. Lastly, there is a DVD-Rom feature and scrolling credits of the people behind the production of the actual DVD.