Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Riddick is a warrior, born to the race of Furians. A Necromonger ordered the massacre of the Furian race when he heard a prophecy that foretold of his death at the hand of a Furian warrior. However Riddick, who was thought a dead infant, survived the massacre. During his years of trying to stay alive and main his freedom, he committed murders, which often imprisoned him in the slam. To increase the odds of staying alive, Riddick had his eyes “shined” so that he could see in the dark.

The three movies in the Riddick Trilogy follow Riddick’s adventures after he escapes a prison. The first film, Pitch Black, begins with Riddick captured and being returned to the slam ... until fate steps in.


Description

This is a two-DVD set in a special package. The front of the cardboard packaging is a trifold done in monotone metallics. Each of the three movies is briefly described through Riddick’s viewpoint, and inside are panoramic scenes from the first and third movie. A plastic keepcase houses the two DVD discs, and the keepcase slides into the top of the cardboard packaging.

The first DVD contains two movies: “Pitch Black” and “Dark Fury”. The second DVD contains the movie “The Chronicles of Riddick”.


The Movies

I’ll do my best to describe the movies without including spoilers. For those who want the short version that doesn’t include any spoilers ... here goes:

The Riddick trilogy of movies involves the exploits of escaped prisoner Riddick (played by Vin Diesel). In the first movie, Mercenary William Johns captures Riddick to return him to the slam. Unfortunately, their ship crashes on a planet inhabited by vicious creatures who are waking from a long nap. The second movie, has Riddick falling into the hands of a woman who collects famous criminals ... and she intends to add Riddick to her trophy list. The third movie finds Riddick being asked to save the universe. This is a much more sweeping movie. The first two movies were “land locked”, where this third movie has many off-planet adventures.

Through a series of events, Riddick keeps eluding capture. He meets people along the way that embroil him in adventures, and in a few cases, Riddick develops attachments he would rather not have.

Now for a more detailed look at the movies:


Pitch Black – 1 hour 52 minutes

The movie begins with Riddick in cryo-sleep, captured by mercenary William Johns who is transporting Riddick on a civilian ship back to prison. A meteor shower damages the ship so that it is forced to crash land on a supposedly uninhabited planet. What the survivors don’t realize is that life exists on the planet ... and the creatures are hungry.

These creatures hibernate during the lengthy bright cycle of the planet, and emerge every 22 years when the three suns eclipse. Which happens just after the survivors crash on the planet.

Riddick escapes the ship, is recaptured, and eventually bands with the survivors to try to escape the planet before the creatures kill them. The survivors need Riddick. He has the special ability to see in the dark, and it’s pitch black on the planet. Riddick bonds with two of the survivors, one of them a juvenile named Jack and the other a holy man named Imam. Will he leave everyone to die to save his own life? The mercenary who captured Riddick offers him a deal: Riddick’s freedom for saving only the two of them.

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This movie has some genuinely frightening scenes. The way the creatures are handled is masterful. They are intense, vicious, and out for flesh. The cast is excellent. I enjoy the character studies. They aren’t your typical cardboard creations invented to further plot. We learn about their backgrounds, their plans for the future, their strengths and weaknesses.

The first time I saw this movie, there were jump-out-of-the-seat surprises. There are genuinely creepy moments. The movie’s ending is rapid and filled with desperate circumstances. As you can imagine, not everyone survives. At the movie’s end, we are left with a brief glimpse of hope ... perhaps.

The movie is in widescreen format and is the unrated director’s cut, which includes deleted scenes. This DVD can be played in English or with subtitles in English, Spanish or French.

The movie also has two optional commentaries. The first commentary is voiced by Vin Diesel (Riddick), Cole Hauser (William Johns) and director David Twohy. The second commentary is voiced by director David Twohy, producer Tom Engelman, and visual effects supervisor Peter Chiang. I always enjoy listening to the commentary and learning the behind-the-scenes story.


Dark Fury – animated – 35 minutes

This movie opens where the first movie left off. The plot is meant as a bridge between the movies Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick since the two movies, while following the trail of several repeating characters, are set about five years apart. In this movie, Riddick is captured by enemies (the Mercs). The captain of the ship has the perverted hobby of collecting criminals and posing them in unique fashion in her private museum. Riddick doesn’t like the idea of being a trophy or art piece. It doesn’t help that the captain has imprisoned his friends and is using them as leverage to make Riddick cooperate. What she doesn’t realize is that Riddick has other plans, and they don’t include being set on a pedestal.

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The most jarring thing about this movie is the animation, especially when viewing the movies in sequence. Going from live filming in the first movie, to an animated movie, and then back to live filming in the third movie is distracting. I’ve sometimes wondered why they even bothered to make this film. Granted it does answer a few important questions, and it introduces Toombs, a new mercenary who appears in the third film. However, this movie does not cover much new territory. The ending does answer a few questions such as how Riddick separates from his companions and why.

The animation is well done. It suits the characters and world that Riddick inhabits. There is a lot of detail, and the action is smooth. The colors are well rendered, and where appropriate, the film is dark and moody.

The movie is in widescreen format. This DVD can be played in English or with subtitles in English, Spanish or French. There are no bonus commentaries.


The Chronicles of Riddick – 2 hours 14 minutes

The film opens with a brief introduction by David Twohy. He explains how 15 minutes of deleted scenes have been added to the movie.

This movie finds Riddick being hunted by mercenaries. Meanwhile, his friends are separated and in danger. One is in prison. The other in mortal danger from the Necromongers, a race that is sweeping across the galaxy, annihilating everyone who does not bow down to them. Riddick is pulled into this fight of good against evil because it has been foretold someone of his race could save the universe. Riddick is reunited with his friends, with gripping and unexpected results.

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This is a dark film filled with action, conflict, torn loyalties, love and betrayal. It tells a gripping story of Riddick revisiting friends he had thought lost to him. I won’t give away the ending ... but I dearly wish I could rewrite some of the outcomes.

The action is incredible. The emotions raw. The special effects are breathtaking! This film works on a lot of levels. The actors do an excellent job of portraying their characters. The one stand-out character for me is the elemental played by Judi Dench. Her voice and presence steal every scene she is in.

The movie is in widescreen format and is the unrated director’s cut, which includes deleted scenes. This DVD can be played in English or with subtitles in English, Spanish or French.

There is one audio commentary. It features writer/director David Twohy and Karl Urban (who plays Vaako) and Alexa Davalos (who plays Kyra). Behind-the-scenes information is shared about the making of the film and the experiences of those involved. It’s fascinating to hear what happens during filming.


The DVD Extras

Pitch Black – comes with three bonus features: The Johns Chase Log, The Making of Pitch Black, and Dark Fury: Advancing the Arc.

Dark Fury – comes with three bonus features: From Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick: Bridging the Gap, Peter Chung - Mind of he Animator, Into the Light.

The Chronicles of Riddick – many bonus features: Deleted Scenes, Virtual Guide to the Chronicles of Riddick, Toomb’s Chase Log, Riddick Insider, Visual Effects Revealed, Riddick’s Worlds.


The Johns Chase Log

William J. Johns is a mercenary in pursuit of the escaped prisoner Riddick. The log is spoken as well as providing written text on the screen. Riddick’s image is at the right of the screen with some other flashing images and a changing space background that marks John’s route as he chases Riddick. This log is a prequel to the movie “Pitch Black”.

The Making of Pitch Black

This feature opens with a trailer for the movie. It includes some actor interviews. Various people who were involved in the project of the movie discuss the location, plot and special effects. It’s irritating that the various people discussing the movie are not identified. This is a disappointing look at the making of the movie. It is very short at five minutes and doesn’t cover any real detail.

Dark Fury: Advancing the Arc

This feature discusses how the real actors of Pitch Black were redrawn as animated characters. This is another disappointing feature. I lasts less than two minutes (I timed it) and barely discusses plot and the animation process.

From Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick: Bridging the Gap

Since Dark Fury is an animated movie, that aspect is discussed as well as the reasoning behind some of the choices made. This excellent feature answers a lot of questions ... What happened to Riddick after the end of the first movie until we meet him again in the third movie? What about a few of the other characters from the first movie ... where did they end up?

Peter Chung - Mind of he Animator

The Peter Chung feature briefly discusses his roots in animation and the art of animation through examples from Dark Fury.

Into the Light

This feature explores the reasoning behind the movies and Riddick’s character development. It also discusses plot of the third movie. There is nothing mentioned about the movie Dark Fury, even though this extra is included as part of the Dark Fury package.

Virtual Guide to The Chronicles of Riddick

A montage of scenic footage of the various backdrops and characters that inhabit the world of Riddick. Each is briefly narrated by a character in the movie. There is some background information about the places and characters, but I didn’t think this feature offered much.

Toomb’s Chase Log

Similar to John’s Chase Log ... except the mercenary Toombs describes his exploits in chasing Riddick.

Riddick Insider

This is a feature that can be turned on or off. When the feature is on, you will see facts about the movie. These facts pop us as rectangular text balloons over the movie picture as it s playing. Sometimes the information balloons pop up and disappear a bit too quickly. It’s an interesting way to watch the movie if you have already seen it. However, make sure you turn this feature off when done ... or it will continue to play, even when the commentary is selected.

Riddick’s Worlds

This feature offers an interactive 360-degree view of eight sets in The Chronicles of Riddick. It’s a neat way of examing the detail of the sets and to gain a better understanding of where things are positioned. Sometimes movie action moves so quickly that it’s hard to focus on the set itself. A fun feature.


The Cast – Major Players in all three films

Vin Diesel – Riddick
Kieth David – Imam
Nick Chinlund – Thoombs
Radha Mitchell – Carolyn Fry (Pitch Black)
Cole Hauser – William J. Johns (Pitch Black)
Lewis Fitz-Gerald – Paris P. Ogilvie (Pitch Black)
Claudia Black – Sharon Montgomery (Pitch Black)
Rhiana Griffith – Jack (Pitch Black)
John Moore – John Ezekiel (Pitch Black)
Simon Burke – Greg Owens (Pitch Black)
Roger Jackson – Junner (Dark Fury)
Tress MacNeille – Captain Chillingsworth (Dark Fury)
Colm Feore – Lord Marshall (in Chronicles)
Thandie Newton – Dame Vaako (in Chronicles)
Judi Dench – Aereon (in Chronicles)
Karl Urban – Vaako (in Chronicles)
AlexaDavalos – Kyra (in Chronicles)
Linus Roache – Purifier (in Chronicles)
Yorick van Wageningen – The Guv (in Chronicles)


Purchasing

I bought this DVD set at BJ’s Wholesale for $14.99. It retails for $19.98.


Summary

I am glad that the Riddick Trilogy is part of my DVD collection. If I had to pick a favorite movie in this trilogy, it would be Pitch Black closely followed by the third movie, The Chronicles of Riddick. The animated feature is nice to have since it bridges the plot line between the first and third movies, but it is not a favorite. If you enjoy action and adventure with a space theme, then I recommend this video. For $14.99 on sale, you not only receive the three movies but a lot of extras, including deleted scenes. It’s a bargain!

I hope you have found this review useful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Please read my other reviews:

The Mummy: The Legacy Collection (5 mummy movies on DVD)

The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (DVD movie)

Grand Theft Auto(DVD movie)

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LiteOn LVW-5005 DVD Player/Recorder

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Copyright 2006 Dawn L. Stewart

Recommended: Yes

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