Ignoring the bloated space-opera of The Chronicles..., like its title suggests, Riddick is basically a stripped-down back-to-basics Pitch Black 2 that is reasonably enjoyable but falls sort the character development/interest and delicious tension of the original. There are three distinct acts: the first, how Riddick survives on the planet on which he has been abandoned (with a half-hearted explanation of how he came to be there), and it is to Diesel's credit that he maintains viewer interest; the second, a by-the-numbers Riddick vs. anonymous bounty-hunters; and finally, a moderate re-tread of Pitch Black's night monsters, here summoned by a massive rainstorm. The mid-low budget is used wisely but not always convincingly, the music score does not impress, and apart some killer one-liners the dialogue is generally quite awful. Nevertheless, Diesel makes the character of Riddick very watchable, and there are some flashes of real creativity and style which are sadly not sustained. It is also another Summer of 2013 movie that would have benefited from being shorn of at least twenty minutes (especially in the mid-section) which would have made the film slicker and more dynamic overall.
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