The Chronicles of Riddick: A Much-Improved Sequel That Almost Works (Special Edition Blu-ray)

The Film:

Back in 2000, David Twohy's sci-fi actioner "Pitch Black" was released to a rather scathing critical reception. It was somewhat understandable though, as the film had an overly-simplistic survive & escape plot that the filmmakers attempted to fill two hours with. However, it did introduce audiences to the character of Riddick, who became something of a fan favorite, so even though the film was hardly a box office hit, we were given the sequel "The Chronicles of Riddick" four years later, which attempted to do a little more than its predecessor had. In honor of its 20th anniversary, Arrow Films is unleashing a new 3-disc special edition, packed with new & archival material, so naturally it's time to revisit it and see not only if it was able to succeed where the first film had come up short, but also if it holds up two decades later.

The film opens with Riddick (Vin Diesel) evading a group of bounty hunters and making for the planet of Helion Prime, where the bounty on his head originated. He soon discovers that it was placed by Imam (Keith David), one of the two survivors Riddick had saved in the previous film. However, it turns out that Imam is part of a group led by Aereon (Judi Dench), an air elemental, who believes that Riddick is a warrior from an ancient race known as the Furyans, and that he may be able to help in the fight against a group of soldiers/religious fanatics ("The Necromongers") who are conquering their way across the stars and killing anyone who won't convert. Riddick initially declines, but soon finds himself entangled in the fight anyway, with his participation quite possibly having been foretold by ancient prophecy.

As mentioned, "Pitch Black" had been a rather simple story of Riddick helping a group of people to stay alive and get off a planet filled with creatures trying to kill them, which ultimately didn't make for a particularly engaging experience, so when it came to a sequel, many hoped that bigger and better things would follow. "The Chronicles of Riddick" does indeed have a bigger & more intriguing plot than its predecessor, with a more interesting collection of characters, a better group of adversaries, some great additions to the cast, and the fate of worlds hanging in the balance. It even tries to give us a little backstory & character development for Riddick and another familiar face he meets along the way, but is it enough to add up to a good sequel?

Well, it almost gets there. The story is definitely an improvement over the first film, but where "The Chronicles of Riddick" ends up fumbling a bit is in its reverting back to a similar scenario. The first act is mostly devoted to setting up the situation with The Necromongers and the inevitable fight to come, but then writer David Twohy makes a rather curious decision to devote a large chunk of the film to having Riddick taken to a prison planet where he once again finds himself trying to help a group of people survive (this time from the very deadly heat of the sun) & escape to a ship to get off said planet. The film does eventually circle around and get back to its actual plot, but having it get distracted for such a sizable chunk of its runtime just so that Riddick can meet up with a certain character certainly doesn't do it any favors.

It really is a bit of a shame because there are quite a few things that the sequel improves upon, and if Twohy had been able to keep the focus on the plot at hand instead of getting distracted, then this could have turned into a cheesy, but fun little sci-fi outing (one that somehow got graced by the marvelous Dame Judi Dench). However, as it is, it's only about two-thirds of the way there, with a bizarre middle portion that never should've been there in the first place, ultimately making for a sequel that may be much-improved, but is still bogged down just a little too much.

Video/Audio:

The set comes with three versions of the film: The Theatrical Cut (presented in 2.35:1), The Director's Cut (presented in 2.35:1), and The Theatrical Cut (presented in 1.78:1), all in 1080p High Definition. The new 4K restorations of both cuts, as approved by David Twohy, look fantastic and have the film looking nicely sharp & clear throughout. Likewise, the original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks (and remixed Dolby Atmos for the Theatrical Cut) are marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Arrow Films has done an outstanding job in both departments for this new special edition.

Special Features:

Disc 1 - Theatrical Cut

Ambition on Another Scale: Chronicling a Blockbuster Sequel (74 Minutes)

Realizing Riddick (14 Minutes)

Back to Black (11 Minutes)

Chronicles of a Cult Film Celebrity (10 Minutes)

Disc 2 - Director's Cut

Audio Commentary by David Twohy and Vin Diesel

Audio Commentary by Twohy and Co-Stars Karl Urban and Alexa Davelos

Archive Introduction by Twohy (1 Minute)

Creation of New Mecca (11 Minutes)

Riddick Rises (13 Minutes)

Keep What You Kill (17 Minutes)

Visual Effects Revealed (6 Minutes)

Interactive Production Calendar (25 Minutes)

Production Vignettes (34 Minutes)

Deleted Scenes (8 Minutes)

Virtual Guide to the Chronicles of Riddick (8 Minutes)

Toombs' Chase Log (10 Minutes)

Guided Set Tour with Vin Diesel (3 Minutes)

Riddick's Worlds (3 Minutes)

On-Set Interviews (22 Minutes)

Promotional Interviews (22 Minutes)

Disc 3 - Theatrical Cut (1.78:1)

Escape from Butcher Bay (34 Minutes)

The Lowdown (22 Minutes)

This 3-disc special edition Blu-ray set comes with an incredible selection of special features that totals up to nearly six hours of featurettes & behind the scenes material that explore pretty much every area of the film you could want to learn more about, including the creation of the character, the various worlds, the visual effects, and the making of the film in general (as chronicled in the feature-length making of documentary on Disc One). As if that wasn't enough, you also get two informative commentary tracks featuring writer/director David Twohy and some of the film's stars. There was certainly no skimping on these extras, which will undoubtedly please any fan of the film.

Conclusion:

"The Chronicles of Riddick" improves upon its predecessor in several ways, including having a bigger & more intriguing plot, more interesting characters & adversaries, and some great additions to the cast. However, it still gets bogged down a little too much by its heavily-distracted middle portion that basically reverts back to the original film's simplistic plot, ultimately making for a sequel that almost works as a cheesy sci-fi outing, but isn't quite able to get there.

Score: 3/5

Available on Special Edition Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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