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Chronicles of Riddick, The
Universal Pictures


7.3

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 114 votes
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FILM:

GAMES:

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Xbox)

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some language

Starring Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos, Linus Roache, and Yorick van Wageningen

Vin Diesel reprises his star-making Pitch Black role of enigmatic anti-hero Richard B. Riddick in this science fiction action-adventure epic. (Universal Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Adventure \| Sci-fi \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	David Twohy Jim Wheat (characters) Ken Wheat (characters)
DIRECTED BY:	David Twohy
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 16, 2004 Video: November 16, 2004 Theatrical: June 11, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	115 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Newsweek Devin Gordon

Twohy knows how to shoot tense, bare-knuckle action, and his towering, gunmetal gray world is a fun sandbox to play in for two hours.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

The pleasure of The Chronicles of Riddick comes mostly from the fascinating and outlandishly detailed production design, which sprawls across the screen in nearly every shot, with the Necromonger’s gigantic starships looking similar to those strange stone heads on Easter Island.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Too often, it simply makes no sense.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Isn't going to win over the art house crowd, but you could do a lot worse for summer entertainment.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

With his latest, the sci-fi–action–adventure The Chronicles of Riddick, Vin Diesel has established himself as the new face of morally ambiguous anti-heroes.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

It's fun stuff, but nowhere near as cool as it should be.

Chicago Reader Staff (Not credited)

The story is mechanical, but Twohy paces it well enough to showcase the spectacular costumes (by Ellen Mirojnick and Michael Dennison) and production design (by Holger Gross).

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Chronicles of Riddick is half cheesy, brawny adventure and half … something else. That something else involves a lot of leather, bondage, studded armor and heavy machinery.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Chronicles doesn't pause for much character development, and is in such a hurry that even the fight scenes are abbreviated chop-chop sessions.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

The script is terrible - a confounding mish-mash of action-thriller chases, sci-fi travelogue and phony political intrigue.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Amazing-looking sequel to cult fave "Pitch Black"; unfortunately, the film's wrecked by a surprisingly weak, goofy script.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Thoroughly enjoyable, but not because it's any good.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Threatens to become a serious movie, but they're quickly overwhelmed by another indecipherable rampage or outsize visual effect.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

Despite being positioned as a mold-breaker, Riddick now blends in with a sizable crowd of reluctant loner cinematic heroes, just as the movie fails to convince that it's going where no movie has gone before.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

At two hours, The Chronicles of Riddick is way too long for ridiculous.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Like everything in this humorless new genre, "Chronicles" comes with its own snap-together mythology.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

This is a movie so devoted to metal that it couldn't care less about the flesh it destroys.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Where "Pitch Black" relied on shadowy threats and sharply drawn relationships between a small group of stranded victims-to-be, Twohy's bloated space opera is an eye-popping three-ring circus of fabulously freaky costumes, over-ripe declaiming and computer-generated spectacle.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The action is so frenetic that the ominous mood isn't allowed to penetrate, and this time the human factor is all but erased.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Unfortunately, Twohy has tried to turn the Riddick enterprise into a sprawling, Tolkien-powered epic, jamming the screen with too many historical parallels and a confusion of new characters.

Empire Ian Nathan

It's no "Battlefield Earth," but it's no "Dune" either. And, no, before you ask, it's not destined to be a cult classic.

Village Voice Benjamin Strong

Riddick is a preening outer-space costume drama staged as a backdrop for its leading man's muscles.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

As bloated and ponderous as its predecessor was lean and focused, Chronicles ups the stakes along with the budget while jettisoning just about everything that made "Pitch Black" stand out from other thrillers about weary humans battling nefarious space beasties.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Like so many sequels, The Chronicles of Riddick demonstrates Hollywood's law of diminishing returns: Its quality is inversely proportional to its budget.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Has a riddick-ulous sci-fi plot, overblown and numbing video game-style special effects and a going-through-the-motions lead performance by Vin Diesel.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

An overblown hodgepodge of volcano-baked desertscapes, Egyptoid-gone-baroque architecture, and gladiator-geared storm troopers with goofy headpieces, The Chronicles of Riddick bears no resemblance to the movie that spawned its namesake.

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

Not since John Travolta sprouted a head of dreadlocks and strapped on platform boots for "Battlefield Earth" has cinematic science fiction been such good-bad fun as in The Chronicles of Riddick.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The muddy, convoluted story revolves around the star's cool-guy poses and one-liners.

LA Weekly Robert Abele

Notable actors such as Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Keith David and Colm Feore are little more than stiff-necked toy figures jostled around to accommodate Twohy's Wagnerian spacescapes, crappy dialogue and CGI-dependent action.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Just about everything in The Chronicles of Riddick is impenetrable, from the convoluted story to the dark and baroque art direction. It's an inane film rendered sometimes laughable by an atmosphere of dead-serious reverence.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Riddick-ulous.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

There's nothing here you haven't seen before, especially if you own a PlayStation.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The special effects are extra special. The screenplay is idiotic, though, and Diesel speaks his dialogue like a Sylvester Stallone clone who never finished third grade.

Variety David Rooney

May not quite gain entry to the hallowed pantheon of interstellar cheese of a "Battlefield Earth," but it's not far behind.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 114 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Eonfge D gave it a4:
The only thing that saves the movie from getting a lower score, is Riddick.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Not sure why the critics hated this movie. When me and my wife actually agree on a movie I figure everyone has to like it. Great sci-fi piece, but also just a great good v. evil story line and vin diesel is such a good bad-ass in the movie it is hard not to be entertained. Visually great too.

Adam A gave it a9:
This is actually a fairly well rounded sci-fi/action flick. It has its "over-the-top" moments, but they're pulled off well. I do not credit Vin Diesel as a great actor, so it's a good thing he naturally fits the role.

Jeff C. gave it a10:
It's actually not perfect, but though I can see why people dissed it a bit, they're just uptight. This movie is colorful, fun, and vin's character is a blast to watch.

Fred B. gave it a7:
Like I said about the other film. Riddick is the best ever. But the film had its dull spots.

J B gave it a3:
This film is hilarious! It's too bad they didn't bill it as a comedy. Riddick suffers from poor acting, an unbelievable story, bad set and costume design, uninspiring music and, it would seem, even bad directing. Ignore the Variety quote ... this film is worse than Battlefield Earth in every way except special effects.

Phil Y. gave it a9:
This is by far one of the better action/sci-fi movies to date. Vin Diesel plays the perfect Riddick, and the campy one liners work perfectly with pave of the movie. The set design is amazing and the visuals are astounding. Loved every second.

Chronicles of Riddick, The Universal Pictures

Chronicles of Riddick, The
Universal Pictures