The Chronicles of Riddick

Template:Infobox Movie The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film sequel to Pitch Black directed by David Twohy and starring Vin Diesel and Judi Dench, with Thandie Newton, Karl Urban and Colm Feore.

Generally "The Chronicles of Riddick" is used to refer to the film, though Universal has chosen to use it as an overall brand name for anything starring the character Riddick (for instance, the 2004 re-release of Pitch Black was retitled The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black on the case, though the on-screen title remained the same).

Contents

1 Cast 2 Plot 3 Thematic elements 4 Critics and the box office 5 See also 6 External links

Cast

Actor	Role
Vin Diesel	Riddick
Colm Feore	Lord Marshal
Thandie Newton	Dame Vaako
Judi Dench	Aereon
Karl Urban	Vaako
Alexa Davalos	Kyra
Linus Roache	Purifier
Yorick van Wageningen	The Guv
Nick Chinlund	Toombs
Keith David	Imam

Plot

The plot to Chronicles of Riddick follows up on some of the plot lines from Pitch Black.

Five years after the events of Pitch Black, a 4-person group of bounty hunters, lead by Toombs, are on the trail of Riddick on the frozen planet of U.V.6. After boarding the ship, Riddick tells Toombs he made three mistakes:

1. He took the job
2. He came light: a 4-man crew is insulting
3. Having an empty gun rack

Riddick discovers that Toombs was paid 1.5 million by a private party from Helion Prime. Riddick throws Toombs out of the ship and heads to Helion Prime, and there's only one person who could have betrayed him: Imam, whom he saved long ago.

Imam, working with Aereon — an ambassador from the mysterious and rarefied race known as the Elementals — reveals his reasons for seeking Riddick. The Necromongers (aka "World Enders") are poised to attack Imam's planet, Helion Prime (aka "New Mecca"). The bounty was put on him to draw him back to Helion Prime and fight for them. Aereon believes that Riddick, a Furyan, can rebalance the universe against the Necromongers.

It is from Imam that Riddick learns where Jack (aka Kyra) can be found: Crematoria. While, presumably, leaving to seek Kyra, Helion Prime is attacked by Necromongers.

The Necromongers are a patriarchal warlike race seeking to convert, violently if necessary, the universe to their faith while on a journey to the Underverse, a constellation of Dark new worlds. They see life as antagonistic to the "natural state" — human life is spontaneous outbreak; an unguided mistake — to which they seek to correct by converting others to the Necromonger faith. The Purifier tries to convince the people of Helion Prime of this, but most are unwilling to convert, that is until the Lord Marshal pulls out one man's soul.

Riddick shows up to the gathering to seek the Necromonger that killed Imam. It is after the fight that Riddick and Lord Marshal meet, though it seems as if it were not the first time, and takes Riddick to the Quasi-Deads. Before the Quasi-Deads, Lord Marshal (and others including the Purifier) learn that Riddick is a Furyan: a warrior race massacred by none other than the Necromongers. During Riddick's escape from their ship, he is caught by Toombs, but this time with a 5-man crew (one of whom is a woman). Riddick craftily steers Toombs to Crematoria to seek bounty payment.

After landing at the underground hanger, they travel by an underground rail cart 29.4 kilometres to the actual prison. Shortly after being put into the prison, Riddick and Kyra are reunited (where they recite familiar lines from Pitch Black). During Toombs' second negotiation for the price of Riddick, an all-out-brawl ensues when they learned the Necromongers trailed Toombs' ship to Crematoria.

Back on Helion Prime, Dame Vaako seeks answers from Aereon about Riddick. She learns that Lord Marshal learned 30+ years ago that a male child on Furya would be born who would cause him his downfall. Lord Marshal attacks Furya and kills all males to prevent the foretelling from coming true. While Dame Vaako is telling Vaako (who is now hunting Riddick) of this story, the Purifier overhears the conversation.

The remaining guards on Crematoria escape down the rail cart passage (though without the cart because it was destroyed during the brawl) on foot. Riddick, Kyra, and three prisoners leave the prison, not underground, but aboveground because the doors to the passage are non-operable. On the surface, they race against the upcoming sunrise where the temperature rises to 700 degrees. Upon reaching the hanger, they learn the Necromongers have beaten them there. After the Necromongers defeat the guards that ran underground, they fight it out with Riddick where he is left for dead and Kyra jumps on the Necromonger ship.

When the Necromongers leave, the Purifier is found to have stayed in the hanger and pulls Riddick into the hanger and is spared from the immense heat of the sunrise. It is then that Riddick learns he is not the only Furyan. The Purifier reveals to Riddick that he is a Furyan living and killing for a religion he never wanted, and walks out into the raging sunrise to kill himself.

Taking Toombs' ship again, Riddick flies after the Necromongers back to Helion Prime. Riddick boards the lead Necromonger ship and plans to kill Lord Marshal. After his surprise attack, which Lord Marshal foiled, he learns that Kyra was converted and is now a Necromonger. Riddick, now enraged that Lord Marshal has taken everything he's loved, battles it out with him. Secretly with Dame Vaako, Vaako plans to kill Lord Marshal when he's at his weakest to claim the Necromonger throne.

However, it is Riddick that deals the killing blow to Lord Marshal and Riddick claims the throne after recalling the words Lord Marshal told him: "you keep what you kill."

Thematic elements

Much of The Chronicles of Riddick deals with the internal conflict of Vin Diesel's title character between selfishness and empathy. Billed as an anti-hero in the popular press, Riddick is closer to a reluctant hero driven by the essential human needs of self-preservation and, ultimately, revenge.

Critics and the box office

Fairly or unfairly, Riddick received poor treatment from the critics and mediocre performance at the U.S. domestic box office (US$57 million), though its total global box office take of US$109 million resulted in rentals (the amount of money the studio receives from theater owners) of US$65 million. When expenses on the film (estimated at US$130 million) are factored in, the film lost 65 million dollars in theaters. An Xbox game (The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, later also ported to the PC) released simultaneously was very well received, as was the anime short film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury by Aeon Flux director Peter Chung, and may have made the whole endeavor a financial win for Universal Studios.

The Unrated Director's Cut DVD was released on November 16, 2004 and sold 1.5 million copies on the first day alone. Director David Twohy has said that sequel plans depend in large part on the commercial success of the DVD.

See also

• Pitch Black
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury animated film
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay video game

External links

• Official website (http://www.thechroniclesofriddick.com/)
• Template:Imdb titlefr:Les Chroniques de Riddick

ja:リディック