The previous adventure of Richard B. Riddick left a bad taste in a lot of fans mouths. I think it moved too far away from what we thought the character was. Vin Diesel was at a point then in his career that he phoned a lot in. He thought he was bigger than he was and Chronicles of Riddick was hardly a huge success. Vin and director David Twohy did, however, create a character that fans truly developed a fascination with. The good news is Riddick's latest outing is closer to what Pitch Black was and not Chronicles.
Riddick begins injured and left for dead on a strange world inhabited by predators. He is fighting for his life and somewhere along the way befriends a dog like creature. The movie acknowledges the events of the last film, but quickly moves beyond it. We even get a cameo from Karl Urban.An undisclosed amount of time passes and the unlikely pair realize that the planet has a larger threat looming. Riddick determines that they both must get off world. They find a deserted mercenary base and send up a signal.
Two separate groups of mercs arrive. One led by Santana (Jordi Molla) and the other by Matt Nabel's character who has ties to the first film. Santana's group are a bit more criminal than the latter, but it matters little. Riddick begins to play with their minds and eliminating them one by one. The groups really don't get along and it worsens after Riddick steals computer cells to each of their ships. The bigger threat looms and an alliance between all parties is formed for the benefit of survival.
The special effects are average for a movie of this size and at times look a little sub par. Twohy does his best to create dangerous worlds, but in some cases they become visually bothersome. Still and A for effort and this unnamed planet doesn't look like any place you would want to visit. The creatures are OK, but it's the amount of them that is scary more so than their appearance.
The cast is the best since the first movie. In some cases even better. Molla steals the show from a comic relief stand point and is borderline Jack Sparrow at times. He has the right amount of sinister combined with stupidity. Bautista, who will later take a larger role in Marvel's Gaurdians of the Galaxy, little more than a thug. He is still believable and certainly looks the part. Katee Sackhoff is pretty cool. Hot in a bad ass kind of way and her interactions with both Molla and Vin are definitely high points in the movie. Comic book fans love her and this was a great role to have cast her in.
All of that is good, but make no mistake, it is Vin Diesel's show. He is still a bad dude. He brings Riddick back closer to where he was in Pitch Black. A savage killer that will sometimes show signs of being honorable. Vin helped to create one of the better movie anti-heroes of all time. He sees in the dark, loves sharp objects, and still bleeds cool. It is a another good turn for Vin. The plot is similar to Pitch Black, but not exact. There is a good balance of action and cheese. There is some plot and in the end if Riddick's adventures continue, I would go along for the ride.