Riddick (Vin Diesel), a fugitive and murderer, is brought to the planet Helion Prime to fulfill a prophecy that one of his race will stop the cult of the Necromongers from destroying society. Once there, he learns that the young girl he abandoned five years earlier is locked away in the system’s most unpleasant prison. Now he has to save her and deal with the cult leader who is responsible for the destruction of Riddick’s own world.
The Chronicles of Riddick is a sequel to the low budget, horror-SciFi thriller Pitch Black. The characters of Riddick, Imam the holy man, and Jack (re-named Kyra and now played by the sexy and athletic Alexa Davalos) all return from the first film, but otherwise, there is little connection between the two. These are very different types of films and both work better when the other is ignored. The Chronicles of Riddick poses as a SciFi film, but it isn’t. This is an epic fantasy, far closer to the 1982 Conan the Barbarian than to its own prequel. In fact, the Conan connection is too close to be coincidental. Like Conan, Riddick’s people were wiped out by a warrior who later becomes the head of a religious army that he must face. Both are trained for warfare and held prisoner, and become amoral rogues. There are other similarities, particularly the ending, which is a straight steal, but I don’t want to give away too much.
This is probably too big of a picture and could have been split into two: The Chronicles of Riddick: The Rescue of Kyra and The Chronicles of Riddick: The Defeat of the Necromongers. The science is also nonsense. But those are minor complaints. This is a great big shiny picture. It is fast paced, with stunning sets and original art design. It just looks good. And sounds good as well with music that adds to the tension while emphasizing the heroic nature of the story. It all adds up to a great popcorn movie. As long as your expectations are set for a visually dazzling Conan in Space you should have a good time.