The film Ridick

     This film is mix of many different scenarios that could each have easily been a film unto itself. Riddick's survival on a hostile planet. His fight against mercenaries bounty-hunters out to kill him. The life or death struggle against venomous creatures along with the mercenaries.


      The introduction has Riddick living the high life as the new leader of the Necromongers whose leader he had killed in the previous film The Chronicles of Riddick. Instead of feeling satisfied, he expresses an irresistible longing to go home but doesn't know how to get there. Strange how an adult native of a planet would not know where his own planet was located during a space-faring age doesn't nor how to navigate his way home.

      After all, the planet had neither been destroyed nor physically relocated.  Neither had  Riddick been an infant when he was transferred from it into prison. So its location should have been common knowledge to survivors. Furthermore, ages had not transpired in the interim to make the planet's location unknown.

      I also find it extremely far-fetched that someone as intensely suspicious as Riddick would allow himself to be deceived by those whose very culture revolved around deceit and murder. His inability to tell that wasn't his homeworld until he landed is also hard to believe. Surely he would have been able to recognize his own homeworld from space just as even children from Earth easily recognize the Earth. 

     Then there is Riddick's choice of residence. Why would someone flee from a pack of wild doglike creatures only to set up house a few feet away from predatory venomous creatures living in the water a few feet away? That's like deciding to flee Lava by jumping into the volcano itself.

    Also how did doglike creatures survive the constant awakening of these other ravenous underground beasts? All other living things should have disappeared as in the original film Pitch Black where such overabundant creatures finally had to turn on each other for food.



      The introduction of Spacefaring Bounty Hunting Latinos was unique. However, it was quickly followed by the introduction of Afro and Anglo American bounty hunters whose primary concern seemed to be to put the Latinos in their subservient place. One female called Dahl is assigned the role of beating up the Latino leader while an Afro American looks on smugly satisfied and uttering sarcastic remarks. The rest of his crew smiles with knowing satisfaction.

      As a Latino, I found the whole thing distractingly offensive and totally unnecessary.  It felt as if racist directors were deriving some personal delight in venting their negative unspoken racist opinions.


      Riddick's killing of the Latino leader by kicking a machete and sending it flying into his neck while sitting handcuffed to a chair is just plain incredible. Especially since the Latino had plenty of time to evade since Riddick was forced to carefully balance it on the top of his foot before the kick.  


       The scene of the self-proclaimed Lesbian bounty hunter suddenly getting the hots for Ridick seems very tacky and forced.


     The creatures were convincing, the landscape was OK, and there were moments of humor that were priceless.  The acting was excellent and very convincing.  I found the Spanish accent and the Latino behavior in contrast to the Afro/Anglo counterpart very humorous.