The character Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, made its big screen debut in 1999′s Pitch Black.  In 2004, the hard-nosed, no-nonsense, intergalactic convict, made his return in The Chronicles of Riddick.  Upon unleashing this Blu-ray in my PS3, I was prompted by a Riddick screen that asked me to choose between the uncut director’s version or the theatrical release.  Not one to have previously seen this film, I opted for the director’s cut.  I will say, I was open-minded yet apprehensive going into this film.  Pitch Black certainly did not light my fire or most of the movie-going public for that matter.  After all, it pulled in a dismal U.S. gross at under $40 million.  Nevertheless, let’s give The Chronicles of Riddick a shot because here come the Necromongers!

Film 

The Chronicles of Riddick is a sequel to Pitch Black only in the sense that both revolve around the same character, Richard B. Riddick.  The similarities stop there as both films can stand on their own as far as their stories go.  Riddick is one of the last of his race, the Furyans, whose planet was wiped out by the Necromongers, a race vehemently determined in their crusades throughout the universe.  Their goal?  To convert you to their religion.  Should you defy conversion, you face certain death.  However, conversion isn’t merely saying, “Okay, I believe whatever you do,” …if it were only that simple for the victims.  Many of the victims bowing to the brute force of their dark adversary become Necro soldiers, some become Lensors; zombie-like beings bestowed with thermal imaging technology to seek out foes of the Necromongers.  Others become ghastly, near-dead beings capable of telepathy. 

This massive army of evil is lead by the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), who himself possesses supernatural like abilities.  The Lord Marshal can steal souls and even separate his own from his bodily shell.  Initially that race is of no interest to Riddick (Vin Diesel), but the optically gifted escapee soon loses a close friend to the hands of the Necromongers.  Big mistake, Lord Marshal.  You may be able to do a great impression of Mortal Kombat’s Shang Tsung, but ‘this ain’t no Johnny Cage you’re facing.’  Riddick is the man with a plan and oh does he do a masterful job of unfolding it in the film. 

Also joining the cast is Karl Urban as Vaako, Lord Marshal’s right-hand-man, and Judi Dench (of James Bond fame) as Aereon the Elemental.  What a combination between those two.  Dench is a fine actress to the last.  Urban is a great actor too…until he starts talking.  I have now seen Karl Urban in three films that I know of; Pathfinder, Doom and The Chronicles of Riddick.  Tron is a film that cracks my top 20 films of all time.  I recently read that Urban could be taking the lead role in the upcoming 2011 sequel, Tron 2.0.  Please, no.  So far, it feels like every film this guy touches at the box office tanks.  He has the opposite of the King Midas touch.  I had to laugh at one point when Vin Diesel referred to Karl Urban as a great actor in one of the extras.  I can frown and talk raspy.  Do you see me on film?  No.  That’s why I’m sitting behind a desk typing this review…but I digress. 

Back to the meat of the film’s story, Riddick must travel from planet to planet, from penal colony to Necromonger mothership, in order to take down this almighty race and have his ultimate revenge.  There is plenty of fast action and discharged bullet casings to satisfy actions fans but I did feel like the film could have been a bit shorter.  I know, I know…I was watching the 15-minute extended director’s cut.  Still, another 15 minutes slashed from the film reel would have been a welcomed subtraction.  At times you’re waiting for the story to take you somewhere, thinking it will, only to realize when it’s over, this scene and that one really weren’t necessary.

Video 

There are scenes of grain here and there early on but man oh man does this film look beautiful in its 1080P, VC-1 encode delivery.  If you are looking for small nicks in the armor, grease on the face and grains of mineral in the cave walls, look no more.  The Chronicles of Riddick is quite the handsome Blu-ray indeed.  In some cases, the special effects seem a bit lacking, but this is from the initial studio creation and is no fault of the video transfer.  What I mean by ‘a bit lacking’ is some of the visuals aren’t all that convincing.  For instance, a wall of fire quickly envelopes a sun-scorched planet, but the ever moving thermal front is rather disappointing and blatantly low-income digital.

Audio 

What Richard Simmons did with Sweatin’ to the Oldies, The Chronicles of Riddick will do to your speakers.  “And a left and a right…aw right!  What a workout!”  The sound is truly a grand experience on this disc.  There was one scene that utilized my sound system better than any other film thus far and that was the throbbing pulse of a ship’s engines.  The sub-woofer began conducting this sound effect symphony whereas the rest of the speakers soon followed.  If you want to talk about an experience that will immerse you, this scene was it.  If I didn’t know any better, I thought that ship was outside my window.  That is not to say there was nothing else to offer, quite the contrary.  The thrust of a blade penetrating Necro armor, the exchange of gunfire and even the subtle noises one would most often overlook were delivered extremely proficiently.  My only negative was some of the dialogue, particulary a handful of lines early on in the film, were a bit harder to hear.  Don’t let that stop you though.  This disc is rockin’. 

Special Features 

I am beginning to learn that when a disc says its special features are both 1080 and 480, take the 1080 claim with a grain of salt.  Such is the case here.  You can bookmark scenes under the “My Scenes” extra and those are of course 1080.  You can watch the film with commentary and this too is obviously in 1080.  However, any extra that doesn’t involve actually watching the film itself is in 480p.  Boo, hiss.  This is disappointing. 

• My Scenes – Bookmark your favorite scenes from the film.
• Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Writer-Director David Twohy – This 8-minute featurette is the first of several 480p extras on the disc.
• Virtual Guide to The Chronicles of Riddick - Close to 8 minutes, this extra seems to be geared towards the hard-core fans of the film.  It features console-like graphics and displays segmented video with short dialogue.  It is done in a manner to present the material as real life(480p). 
• Toomb’s Chase Log - Toomb was a bounty hunter on the heels of Riddick throughout the film.  In this 10-minute extra, viewers get to experience the Toomb-narrated ship log.  One thing I found odd on this is his mention of going to Korriban, which is a planet in the Star Wars universe (480p). 
• Visual Effects Revealed - A 6-minute gander into the computer generated effects of the film as well as that of the effects on the studio sets (480p). 
• Creation of New Mecca - This 11-minute venture takes a look at the characters and delves into the building of the New Mecca set, the city where our story begins (480p).
• Riddick Rises - This 13-and-a-half minute extra provides interviews with Vin Diesel as we look at the evolution and transition of his character (480p).
• Keep What You Kill - the motto of the Necromongers; the longest extra at 17-and-a-half minutes, each of the main characters is covered in detail by the actor/actress portraying him or her (480p).
• Feature Commentary with Writer-Director David Twohy and actors Karl Urban & Alexa Davalos (1080p)
•  There is also a section outside of the extras known as U-Control.  Within this option, you can enable picture-in-picture, the “Complete Chronicles,” the “Chronicles Compendium” and “Anatomy of a Fight.” 

Final Thoughts   

The Chronicles of Riddick is some decent sci-fi but the story telling gets a bit heavy-handed at times.  As I mentioned earlier, there is some more time that can stand to be axed from the film reel.  For instance, Judi Dench’s character seemed to be more of a token role than something actually pertinent to the film.  She’s a great actress but her character didn’t strike me as vital to the story.  Any way you twist it though, there is still a good amount of action to be had on this disc and the audio and visuals will not disappoint.  Sharpen your knives, strap on your UV goggles and take flight with Vin Diesel in The Chronicles of Riddick.