Review Riddick film review by Justin J.
Written By Justin J. on 2013-09-08 13:47:43
4.0
First off, I just want to thank Vin Diesel for giving us the Riddick movie that the fans have been craving.
Secondly, SPOILER ALERT. I am reviewing this movie, in part, in detail. THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.
Riddick: Rule the Dark is a bloody, action-packed thrill ride from start to finish. It takes the character of Riddick back to the roots of who he is: a bad ass, merc-killing Furyan that can go toe to toe with even the most ferocious of creatures. It also shows us a side of Riddick that we haven't seen before: wounded, afraid & fighting for his life & just like most predators when they are wounded, he's still very dangerous.
The movie opens with a broken & wounded Riddick fighting to survive on a strange planet. We're given flashbacks to his rule of the Necros to fill in the gap from the Chronicles of Riddick to present. This is where I found my 1st problem with the film. During 1 of these flashbacks there is a scene involving 3 naked women laying in Riddick's bed. Now, I knew it was a rated R flick when I went in so I can't complain about a gratuitous nudity shot, but this felt forced & way too long. It was like Twohy was saying, "Let's take a break from the moving the narrative forward & learning how Riddick ended up on where he is & just stare at these 3 naked women rubbing on each other." However, I did think that the flashbacks were well done overall & tied in just right to the present-day scenes.
Along the road to recovery & rediscovery of the animal within, Riddick runs into some of the local wildlife of the planet. These creatures vary from some extremely nasty ones that have to be slaughtered to wild hyena-like ones that have some cute puppies. This is my 2nd issue with the movie. I didn't mind that Riddick raised a pup so that he had a companion. In fact, the jump from seeing it as a pup to a full grown dog does well to illustrate how long Riddick has been on the planet. It's just that certain parts of their relationship felt like it was shown as unnecessary filler.
From here Riddick runs into a big problem with the nasty creatures & has to find a way off planet. Enter 2 crews of some pretty tough mercenaries that Riddick himself calls. From here all manner of bloody action, ass-kicking fights & great creature action ensues.
All-in-all I really enjoyed this installment to the Riddick franchise. Any problems with the flick can verily easily be overlooked in lieu of watching Riddick do his thing & kick some major ass.
If you are a fan of the Riddick character then Riddick: Rule the Dark most definitely will deliver for you.
I'll close by saying this: If the story of Riddick ends with this flick, then as a fan I'll be happy, but I hope it continues.