Watch The Chronicles of Riddick

In the year 2000, Vin Diesel's Riddick character made his first appearance on the big screen in Pitch Black. The movies were produced in a slightly unusual order as the sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, didn't arrive until 2004. It reunites Diesel with director David Twohy, who wrote and directed the first movie. The Chronicles of Riddick is a science-fiction action film, with a runtime of 119 minutes. The movie features Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, and, surprisingly, Dame Judi Dench. It is set five years after the events of Pitch Black. Riddick is on the run, having evaded the bounty hunters after him at the end of the first movie. He learns that his homeworld of Furya has been destroyed by a necromonger army, led by the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore).

The movie opens with an epic battle between the necromongers and the planet Helion Prime, which the necromongers are trying to capture. The leader of Helion Prime, Aereon (Dame Judi Dench), recognizes that only Riddick can stop the necromongers from conquering other planets, and convinces him to come to Helion Prime.

The rest of the movie takes place largely on two different necromonger vessels. The first is the flagship of the Lord Marshal, where Riddick is imprisoned and subjected to various forms of torture. Riddick learns that the necromongers are not just an army, but a religion that demands total submission to the Lord Marshal. He is eventually rescued by a group of fellow prisoners who recognize him as the Furyan, a mythical being that is supposed to be the only one who can kill the Lord Marshal.

The second vessel is a prison ship where the necromongers deposit the people they capture from the planets they conquer. This ship is notable for its pimped-out inmates, including one played by Karl Urban in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him role.

Riddick teams up with a mercenary named Toombs (played by Nick Chinlund) to get to the necromonger homeland, a place called the Underverse. Toombs is hired by the Lord Marshal to bring Riddick to him alive, but it quickly becomes apparent that he's not much of a match for Riddick's fighting skills.

The Chronicles of Riddick has an epic feel to it, with large-scale battles and massive sets. The makeup design for the necromongers is especially impressive, with their bald heads and creepy prosthetic faces. Feore does a decent job as the Lord Marshal, playing him with a cold intensity that fits the character. Thandie Newton, as the Lord Marshal's second in command, is a little on-the-nose in her villainy, but she's certainly entertaining to watch.

Diesel carries the movie well, with his quiet intensity and brutal fighting skills. He's not much of a talker, but the few lines that do come out of his mouth are typically memorable. The addition of Judi Dench to the cast is certainly unexpected, but she brings a gravitas to the role of Aereon that the movie benefits from.

The movie is not without its flaws, however. The plot is somewhat convoluted, with a lot of exposition needed to explain the world of the necromongers. There are also several supporting characters who don't get much screen time, making it difficult to invest in their fates. The ending, while visually impressive, is a little too over-the-top to be entirely satisfying.

In conclusion, The Chronicles of Riddick is an entertaining sci-fi action movie that showcases Vin Diesel's talents as an action star. The world that Twohy creates is fascinating, with interesting characters and impressive visuals. While the movie has some flaws, it's still a lot of fun to watch. Fans of Pitch Black will find a lot to enjoy here, even if it's not quite as tightly plotted or focused.

The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 action movie. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.6 and a MetaScore of 38.