One of the most memorable lines of the Sept. 6 premiere of “Riddick” was, “…so this-this ain’t nothing new…” and it was not.
With 18.7 million sales estimated at the weekend box office, “Riddick” has had marginal success, coming in 23 percent shy of the 2004 “The Chronicles of Riddick” which made 24.3 million at its weekend box office.
“Riddick” was produced by the star of “The Fast and the Furious,” Vin Diesel and directed by David Twony, the director of “A Perfect Getaway” and “The Fugitive.”
The 2013 American thriller was lackluster and conveyed repetitive themes from the prior Vin Diesel thrillers in the series.
Vin Diesel’s character Riddick frequently states lines like “yet again” and alludes to the déjà vu feeling that many audience members must have been feeling.
Though on the repetitive side, “Riddick” did not fall short of delivering the action the cinema goers have come to expect. The death-defying Riddick once again overcomes the odds in suspenseful battle scenes. The thriller gives fans an hour and 59 minutes with their favorite character.
In the movie, Riddick finds himself on an uninhabited planet where he must brave the elements in his pursuit to find food and water. But that is not all. Riddick must fight for his life as he comes into contact with science fictional serpent-like creatures on this new planet.
Riddick also has to get off of the planet in order to revenge himself. After all, he is a man of his word and does not take anything lying down.
There is hope for another sequel in the series as “Riddick” still leaves some questions unanswered. Will Riddick ever get to see his home planet Fury? Will he see Johns again? Will Riddick come into contact with the Necromongers once more? Perhaps a new “Riddick” movie will tie up the loose ends left in this movie.
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ljohn1@ramapo.edu
