- (P) Positives
- (N) Negatives
- (?) Other points/Neither positive or negative
- (P) The story follows directly on from the events of 'The Chronicles Of Riddick', but it shares a lot more in common with the predecessor to 'Chronicles', 'Pitch Black' - due to it focusing on a smaller group of people on a single planet rather than spanning multiple planets. The plot centers around two groups of mercs arriving at a beautiful but dangerous planet filled with vicious creatures after receiving a distress call from an emergency beacon down on the planet's surface - a beacon which indicates that the notorious criminal, Richard B. Riddick, activated it.
- (P) Combining the best of the previous films - that being the action from 'The Chronicles Of Riddick' and the suspense and tension of 'Pitch Black'.
- (P) Much like the first film, despite much of 'Riddick' being a slow burn, it never feels sluggish or poorly paced.
- (P) Most of the characters were highly enjoyable, with Santana, the leader of the first group of mercs to arrive, being unstable and quick-to-anger; Diaz, played by Dave Bautista, whose dialogue is one of the only attempts at humour that actually work in this film (unlike most of the jokes involving Riddick's pet dog); and 'Boss', the leader of the second group who is later revealed to be William J. Johns' father (a character whose importance is not lost on those who have seen the first film) - he is searching for Riddick to find out what happened to his son.
- (P) Elaborate detail in the sets, props, and visual effects draw you into the world which the other two films did not accomplish as proficiently, which helps to further build the world (even if the CGI can be distractingly bad at times, particularly on the younger version of Riddick's adopted pet dog).
- (P) The cinematography is probably the best it's ever been in the series or at least a very close second to 'Pitch Black'; helps to make the colour and lighting 'pop', further showcasing and bringing to life the hostile alien world the film takes place on.
- (P) Action choreography was well done (or at the very least, was much better than 'Chronicles'), with a few creative kills dotted about. My favourite was Santana being killed by his own machete with Riddick still tied up - Riddick kicks the machete into the air, kicks Santana back into the wall, balances the knife on his foot before flicking it up and kicking the machete directly into Santana's head, slicing it clean off (As Keanu Reeves might say, "Woah").
- (P) Excellent and/or funny dialogue going back and forth between Johns' and Santana's teams; in particular, the scene which reveals that 'Boss' is William J. Johns' (from 'Pitch Black') father is very well done and stands out for how well it sets up said reveal.
- (P) The blood messages left by Riddick on the door and cabinet draw your attention thanks to the cinematography, and also demonstrate how he uses his mythical and legendary status as a ghostly killer to put all of the mercs on edge.
- (P) "Morphine's always one of the first things to go" - Dahl, one of Boss Johns' mercs --> Nice throwback to 'Pitch Black''s William J. Johns' morphine addiction as well as helping to 'tie' the universe together, connecting Boss Johns to his son.
- (P) Boss Johns learning from his son's mistakes by "having a strong spine" (i.e. coming back to save Riddick rather than abandoning him) which was an effective if somewhat simplistic character arc of letting go of his demons, and his hatred of Riddick - and trying to be 'the better man'.
- (?) Vaako's crone is actually called "Krone". Wut. Seems a bit too obvious a name for a henchman; but whatever, I guess.
- (N) It seems that when bringing elements from the first two films into this one, the amount of plot contrivances was also included in that transference. Here are just a few that I noticed: "Why would you leave the cabinet with your ships' cells wide open, the things you absolutely 100% need to get off the planet? Makes it even easier for someone like Riddick to remove them noiselessly and escape. Also, leaving that skylight that's right above or at least very close to the cabinet open seems like a poor decision or oversight on Boss Johns' part..."; "Why did Cyclops, the robot whose specific use is to track and pick up lifeforms or other structures at long range and in tough conditions, only just pick up those weird snake-scorpion-things when they were right on top of the mercs? Seems like this sudden limitation in Cyclops' abilities was included at this point only to add urgency to the situation at hand..."; "Santana, even in his unhinged state, should be smart enough to know that his attempted attack on Riddick, even in chains, was extremely telegraphed - an infant would have seen it coming a mile away. Why not attack him from behind? He at least has a better chance of killing them (although, it must be said that this does end up leading to one of the more creative kills of the film..."; "Why did Diaz keep firing his handgun after he was mortally wounded by Riddick's bone axe, which destroys the engine of the hoverbike - their only real form of transport? Did he do it on purpose? Seems convenient for the plot if Johns and Riddick can't easily make their way back to the ships..."
- (N) Santana's female prisoner is introduced, released and killed in the exact same scene by Santana; perhaps just to show us how evil he is? Seems the film could have gone about it another way other than having a scene with a character that ends up getting killed in said scene, making it seem like pointless padding.
- (N) The vast majority of jokes or moments featuring Riddick's new pet dog (throwing the knife/metallic object at the beginning hoping that the alien dog is like an earth dog that plays Fetch...and it actually does; relieving himself on a packet of dog food reserve etc).
Overall: 7/10 - maybe a mid to high 6 or a very low 8.