The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Director:

David Twohy

Writers (WGA):

Jim Wheat (characters) &
Ken Wheat (characters) ...

Release Date:

11 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

All the power in the universe can't change destiny

Plot:

5 years after Pitch Black, the wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.

Plot Keywords:

Warrior | Planet | Necromongers | Prison Planet | Leader

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Vin Diesel	...	Riddick
Colm Feore	...	Lord Marshal
Thandie Newton	...	Dame Vaako
Judi Dench	...	Aereon
Karl Urban	...	Vaako
Alexa Davalos	...	Kyra
Linus Roache	...	Purifier
Yorick van Wageningen	...	The Guv
Nick Chinlund	...	Toombs
Keith David	...	Imam
Mark Gibbon	...	Irgun
Roger R. Cross	...	Toal
Terry Chen	...	Merc Pilot
Christina Cox	...	Eve Logan
Nigel Vonas	...	Merc

Also Known As:

Pitch Black 2 (USA) (working title)
Pitch Black 2: Chronicles of Riddick (USA) (working title)
Riddick (USA) (working title)
The Chronicles of Riddick: The Director's Cut (USA) (director's cut)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some language. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

119 min | USA:134 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18SG | New Zealand:M (director's cut) | South Korea:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (original rating) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (director's cut) | New Zealand:R13 (original rating) | Germany:16 (director's cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating) (certificate #39510) | USA:R (original rating) | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

All of the sets seen in the final film were built and/or were CGI/green screen.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When approaching Crematoria, a close up of the 'Course Plotted' display shows -295F and +702F. A crew member then reads the display stating "700 degrees on the day side; 300 below on the night side". Later, you see someone incinerated on the day side in seconds. Actual cremation takes place at around 1400F to 1800F and takes over two hours, so cremation in seconds at just 700F is not possible. It is explained in the DVD special features that the scale should be in Celsius. However, this is theoretically impossible since -300C is below absolute zero.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Aereon: They are an army unlike any other... crusading across the stars toward a place called UnderVerse, their promised land - a constellation of dark new worlds. Necromongers, they're called. And if they cannot convert you, they will kill you. Leading them, the Lord Marshal. He alone has made a pilgrimage to the gates of the UnderVerse...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 5ive Days to Midnight (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Getting Away With Murder

Good action, great visuals, good story depth

I only saw the directors cut, but apparently that makes all the difference, and so i think the 6.1 rating may not be representative. I never felt like i was lost or something could be better explained.

I was surprised at the depth of the story line, almost inspiring me to go read the books (except I don't have the time :) Sure, some of the one-liners were corny, but Vin Diesels usually similar style actually fits the role of Riddick quite well.

One caveat, I went in with low expectations which may have boosted my overall impression. And while there are a few references to Pitch Black, I wouldn't call it required viewing to see this movie. They carried over a few relationships but at least gave a bit of background.