|
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film sequel to Pitch Black directed by David Twohy and starring Vin Diesel and Judi Dench, with Thandie Newton, Karl Urban and Colm Feore.
Generally "The Chronicles of Riddick" is used to refer to the film, though Universal has chosen to use it as an overall brand name for anything starring the character Riddick (for instance, the 2004 re-release of Pitch Black was retitled The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black on the case, though the on-screen title remained the same).
Premise
Five years after the events of Pitch Black, a group of bounty hunters lead by Toombs (Nick Chinlund) are on the trail of Diesel's character, Riddick, a fugitive on the frozen planet U.V.6. Riddick takes Toombs' ship to go after the only person who could have betrayed him: Imam, whom he saved long ago.
Imam, working with Aereon (Dame Judi Dench) -- an ambassador from the mysterious and rarefied race known as the Elementals -- reveals his reasons for seeking Riddick: to help in the fight against the Necromongers, who are poised to attack Imam's planet Helion Prime, so trapping him in the middle of an intergalactic war called "The 10th Crusade". The Necromongers are a patriarchal warlike race seeking to convert, violently if necessary, the universe to their wicked faith on a journey to the Underverse, a constellation of Dark new worlds.
The Necromongers take on more than they can handle when they try to convert Richard B. Riddick who is later revealed to be the last of a warrior race known as Furians who can stop the Necromongers.
Thematic elements
Much of The Chronicles of Riddick deals with the internal conflict of Vin Diesel's title character between selfishness and empathy. Billed as an anti-hero in the popular press, Riddick is closer to a reluctant hero driven by the essential human needs of self-preservation and, ultimately, revenge.
Critics and the box office
Fairly or unfairly, Riddick received poor treatment from the critics and mediocre performance at the U.S. domestic box office (US$57 million), though its total global box office take of US$109 million resulted in rentals (the amount of money the studio recieves from theater owners) of US$65 million. When expenses on the film (estimated at US$130 million) are factored in, the film lost 65 million dollars in theaters. An Xbox game (Escape from Butcher Bay, later also ported to the PC) released simultaneously was very well received, as was the anime short film Dark Fury by Aeon Flux director Peter Chung, and may have made the whole endeavor a financial win for Universal Studios.
The Unrated Director's Cut DVD was released on November 16, 2004, and sold 1.5 million copies on the first day alone. Director David Twohy has said that sequel plans depend in large part on the commercial success of the DVD.
See also: Furians
External links
| 
