2000’s Pitch Black was a tightly-focused horror movie set in a science fictional universe. Much like the Alien franchise before it, Pitch Black’s sequel sought to take the seed of the original idea—namely Vin Diesel being a murderous badass—and expand upon it. Only things went horribly, terribly, and hilariously awry. Suffering from the worst kind of sequel-itis, The Chronicles of Riddick broadens the scope of the original movie so hugely the only thing it has in common with its predecessor is Vin Diesel’s goggles.
And yet... there’s still something pretty over-the-top great about an SF/fantasy universe as conceived by unabashed nerd Vin Diesel and director David Twohy. Vin Diesel (you really have to type out his full name every time) is just so earnest when talking about Riddick and his journey, it’s hard not to fall in love with what the movie was trying for. Maybe after putting on goggles—possibly the beer kind—of your own.
[When was the last time you smelled beautiful?]