Riddick: Rule The Dark
Finding himself caught in a political struggle, Riddick (Vin Diesel) is left for dead on a desolate planet inhabited by vicious hyena-esque dogs and poisonous scorpion/cobra/reptile beasts. Of course Riddick, the man, the animal, the warrior is a survivalist skilled at adapting to his environment. But, when he activates an emergency beacon at a mercenary outpost he’ll have to be on his game double time, this as two space ships of bounty hunters come searching for him. Now, keeping his cool and keeping his head have a new meaning, especially in the face of Santana (Jordi Molla), Boss Johns (Matt Nable) and Dahl (Katee Sackhoff). Freedom is just a spaceship away, how to escape?
Following the footsteps of the previous two films of the franchise, Riddick: Rule The Dark functions fine as a standalone with decent back story explained, albeit the overall story isn’t exactly deep, so there’s that. Misogynistic, cocksure, and about as rich as any 13 year old’s fantasy, the screenplay does little to advance subtext or social discourse, but entertain and bamboozle the people well we’ve got you covered. A few gripping action sequences early on perform nicely, but maintaining the thrill seems to be a bit more of a challenge. Still, aliens are blown up and chopped up, Riddick is wise beyond his years and apparently indestructible, and everything seems to be about as mediocre as you’d expect. Then there’s the Katee Sackhoff moment, yup Battlestar fans who’ve been pining to see her topless will finally have reason to go berserk, in a totally nonsequitorial and gratuitous moment there’s a boob. Again, not that I’m complaining; but, far from Ridley Scott’s controversial sexualization of Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Director David Twohy seems more bent on giving the public cheap thrills, so much for high brow sci-fi, but who am I kidding this is Riddick. So, if you’re starved for sci-fi/action, sure, this might make the matinee list. Riddick: Rule The Dark is rated R.