Riddick is the true successor to the surprise hit Pitch Black that propelled Vin Diesel into being an action hero. Chronicles is the Highlander 2 Electric Boogalo in the Riddick franchise. Thankfully the people behind making this decided to return to what many call hard Science Fiction back to the story instead of continuing the goofy Space Opera the character was thrust into.
The story opens with Riddick explaining how he ended being stranded on a inhospitable planet, he grew bored with being Lord Marshall of the Necromongers from Chronicles. Despite his injuries and the planet being inhabited by vicious desert animals, Riddick manages because the character is in his element.
Weeks pass, Riddick settles in as this lousy planet (in his words, “Not Furya”) will probably be his home for an indefinite amount of time. It improves when the jackal-like creature he domesticated finds a human outpost; snacks! Then an encroaching danger forces Riddick to activate the rescue beacon which identifies him. Within days, two bands of mercenaries arrive and each plan to capture the anti-hero. The first group are a rag-tag bunch led by the murderous Santana. The other are more professional looking under the command of Boss Johns.
This is when the movie really takes off. Riddick is more than just an action character picking off the villains a la Commando, Die Hard or Rambo, he’s more along the lines of a frightening monster. Riddick gives the mercenaries a strong reason to be afraid, especially after they think he compromised a key locker protected by an explosive device.
Anything else? Before watching this, I would recommend re-watching Pitch Black due to it being important to the plot in Riddick. In the spirit of Joe Bob Briggs, I have placed the Drive-In Totals on another page to prevent them from being a spoiler.
Alamo Extras: We arrived rather late thanks to my inability to navigate the Spanish toll roads. I only recall seeing some of the Riddick cartoon getting spliced over to the Iron Giant for a joke and an old Fred Williamson movie called Blind Rage.