The Chronicles of Riddick

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The Chronicles of Riddick
Theatrical release one-sheet
Directed by	David Twohy
Produced by	Vin Diesel
Written by	David Twohy
Starring	Vin Diesel Judi Dench Thandie Newton Karl Urban Nick Chinlund Colm Feore
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	June 3, 2004
Running time	Theatrical Cut: 119 min. Director's Cut: 135 min.
Language	English
Budget	$110,000,000
Preceded by	Dark Fury
Followed by	The Chronicles of Riddick: Return to Furya
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction / fantasy / thriller film. It is the sequel to Pitch Black. It was directed by David Twohy and stars Vin Diesel, Karl Urban and Judi Dench, with Thandie Newton and Colm Feore.

"The Chronicles of Riddick" is the actual name of this film, though Universal has chosen to use it as an overall brand name for anything starring the character Riddick. Consequently, 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) and the video game prequel / spin off was called The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.

Tagline:

• All the power in the universe can't change destiny

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Critics and the box office 4 Sequels 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot

The Chronicles of Riddick centers around the character of Richard B. Riddick from the film Pitch Black. Riddick’s Chronicles opens with a high speed chase on the far-flung ice planet of UV 6. Following the events of Pitch Black, Riddick has been on the run for the last five years, in an attempt to keep his friends Imam and Jack (survivors from Pitch Black) safe. A Bounty hunter named Toombs finds Riddick in exile, and attempts to capture him for a large reward. This attempt ultimately fails, when Riddick steals Toombs’ ship and flies off towards the planet Helion Prime, in search of Imam. In some versions, during transit Riddick is plagued by visions from a character named Shira, who tells Riddick that he is the last of a warrior-race known as Furyans.

When Riddick finally does land on Helion Prime in the Islamic District of New Mecca, he confronts Imam - demanding to know why bounty hunters were sent after him, in addition to why Jack is missing. Imam concedes that Jack went looking for Riddick several years ago, and ended up in jail on the planet Crematoria. Imam goes on to introduce Aereon, an air elemental, who arranged for Riddick to be brought to Helion. Aereon explains to Riddick that he is in-fact part of a prophecy which states that a lone Furyan would one day challenge an unstoppable evil force and bring balance to the universe. Aereon reveals that a race known as the Necromongers is the army that the prophecy foretells of. Following this revelation, the Necromonger army attacks Helion Prime, and wipes out the planet’s defenses in one night. Imam is killed in the attack. Riddick later takes on Imam's killer - one of the best among the Necromonger warriors - and defeats him by utilising a knife lodged in the warrior's back. Due to the Necromonger philosophy of "you keep what you kill", the knife becomes Riddick's property. Riddick is later re-captured by the bounty hunter Toombs, and taken to Crematoria.

Riddick is reunited with Jack, who now goes by the name of Kyra. Kyra blames Riddick for leaving her and Imam in New Mecca - but eventually they reconcile. Riddick and Kyra devise a plan to escape the Crematoria prison, and put this plan into motion. By staying out of the light, (which is several hundred degrees in temperature) Riddick and Kyra manage to make it to the starship hangar. Here a Necromonger named Vaako attacks Riddick and ends up taking Kyra hostage. Riddick almost burns to death on the Crematoria surface, but is later saved by a Necromonger who reveals himself to be another Furyan. Riddick flies Toombs’ ship back to Helion Prime, where he intends to rescue Kyra. Riddick arrives too late, however, and Kyra has been converted / brainwashed into believing the Necromonger religion. Riddick attacks the Necromonger leader (the Lord Marshal) in revenge. Riddick is no match for the Marshal's unique Necromonger powers and is badly beaten, although he does surprise the Lord Marshal by managing to land a hit.

Kyra seizes the moment, and seriously wounds the Lord Marshal, suggesting that she was faking being brainwashed the whole time or that Riddick snapped her out of it. The Lord Marshal backhands Kyra into a spike on his throne, mortally wounding her. Vaako, sensing an opportunity to vanquish his superior and claim leadership of the Necromonger empire for himself, strikes out at the Lord Marshal, who barely manages to evade the killing blow, only to be positioned directly next to Riddick, who stabs him in the head with a knife (the same knife Riddick "won" from the Necromonger warrior earlier in the film), killing him. Riddick returns to Kyra who confirms that she had always been with him before succumbing to her wounds. As Riddick collapses onto the Necromonger throne, the Necromongers begin to kneel in front of Riddick. Repeating the Necromonger adage "You keep what you kill", Riddick realizes that by delivering the death strike to the Lord Marshal, he is the new leader of their empire.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
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
Christina Cox	Eve Logan

[edit] Critics and the box office

The Chronicles of Riddick received poor reviews from film critics, receiving a 28% Fresh rating with an average score of 4.6/10 on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes^[1] and an average 38/100 score on MetaCritic^[2]. The film performed poorly at the U.S. domestic box office ($57 million), though its total global box office take was $115 million. Total expenses for the film are estimated at $105 million. [1]

An Xbox game (The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, later ported to the PC) released simultaneously was very well received, as was the animated short film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury by Æon Flux director Peter Chung. These have effectively made the whole endeavor a financial win for Universal Studios.

The Unrated Director's Cut DVD (featuring scenes which were cut in order to obtain a PG-13 rating) 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. Vin Diesel has said that there are two sequels in development; the second film will involve a visit to the Underverse.

[edit] Sequels

In a March 8, 2006 article on Comingsoon.net, it was reported that Vin Diesel claimed that a sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick was in the works. According to him, he had already written a storyline that covered a trilogy which began with the Chronicles of Riddick. Another article on Comingsoon.net written on March 11, 2005 reports that Vin Diesel states that Chronicles 2 was to deal with The Underverse, while Chronicles 3 was to conclude the series with a return to Furya.

[edit] See also

• The Chronicles of Riddick (series)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• The Chronicles of Riddick at the Internet Movie Database
• The Chronicles of Riddick at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Chronicles of Riddick at Box Office Mojo
• Vin Diesel interview for The Chronicles Of Riddick

v • d • e The Chronicles of Riddick series
Films	Pitch Black | Dark Fury | The Chronicles of Riddick
Video games	Escape from Butcher Bay | Assault on Dark Athena