Journey to a remote, hostile planet with a group of marooned passengers who learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear in Pitch Black. Then, see him battle ruthless soldiers of fortune and vicious creatures in renowned animator Peter Chung's The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. And finally, Riddick finds himself humanity's unlikely champion in the special effects-fueled The Chronicles of Riddick. Join Riddick in three times the action, three times the adrenaline and three times the adventure as the Riddick Trilogy makes complete one of the greatest sci-fi epics of all time!
Pitch Black Owing a major debt to Alien and its cinematic spawn, Pitch Black is a guilty pleasure that surpasses expectations. As he did with The Arrival, director David Twohy revitalizes a derivative story, allowing you to forgive its flaws and submit to its visceral thrills. Under casual scrutiny, the plot's logic crumbles like a stale cookie, but it's definitely fun while it lasts.
A spaceship crashes on a desert planet scorched under three suns. The mostly doomed survivors include a resourceful captain (Radha Mitchell), a drug-addled cop (Cole Hauser), and a deadly prisoner (Vin Diesel) who quickly escapes. These clashing personalities discover that the planet is plunging into the darkness of an extended eclipse, and it's populated by hordes of ravenous, razor-fanged beasties that only come out at night. The body count rises, and Pitch Black settles into familiar sci-fi territory.
What sets the movie apart is Twohy's developing visual style, suggesting that this veteran of B-movie schlock may advance to the big leagues. Like the makers of The Blair Witch Project, Twohy understands the frightening power of suggestion; his hungry monsters are better heard than seen (although once seen, they're chillingly effective), and Pitch Black gets full value from moments of genuine panic. Best of all, Twohy's got a well-matched cast, with Mitchell (so memorable with Ally Sheedy in High Art) and Diesel (Pvt. Caparzo from Saving Private Ryan) being the standouts. The latter makes the most of his muscle-man role, and his character's development is one more reason this movie works better than it should. --Jeff Shannon
Dark Fury - The Chronicles of Riddick (Animated) Taking a page from The Animatrix, Dark Fury is part of a new trend of bridging theatrical sequels. As an official product of a franchise, the 35-minute anime benefits from having the original actors voice the characters, including Vin Diesel as Riddick. This story opens with the new action hero and the two other survivors of Pitch Black already caught by a giant spaceship filled with dread. The sinewy leader has a unique--and creepy--jail for master villains and she has her sights set on Riddick. The film--indeed the series--is indebted to animator Peter Chung, who brings his techno style from his Aeon Flux series. His smooth animation for Riddick doesn't reinvent the character as much as give him a new, appealing fluidity. As anime goes, there's nothing really new here--plenty of action, cool killers, and dramatic spurts of blood--but it's a building block for how this genre might enliven movie series and sequels in the future. --Doug Thomas
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Chronicles of Riddick Theatrical vs Directors cut:
For those who want the bottom line first, the Directors cut has a good amount of extra footage and some actual changes to the movie dialogue, some are good, some I don't like. Overall I prefer the theatrical version. Note the Trilogy does NOT include the theatrical version of the movie. Side note: The 30 min or so animated movie in the trilogy is kind of cool but you won't be missing anything if you don't see it. Spoilers below. Don't read if you want to be surprised when you watch the movie.... more info
Riddick:
the story of Riddick from pitch black to where he becomes the leader of the Necromongers. including the bridge from when the left the unknown planet to where he was hiding on the other planet.
NOT WHAT I EXPECTED - BUT GREAT!!!:
First, I must say that, as with another reviewer, I found the "packaging" misleading. There is no "trilogy". There are two movies and a cartoon. Having said that, the two movies are EXCEPTIONAL. And these are the "director's cut" version of the movies - which is great. Vin is very powerful in these roles and I actually prefer Pitch Black because it was done on a small budget and it was much more character driven. Pitch Black was like watching Vin on a small stage, verus the large budget Hollywood screen.... more info
Van Diesel:
For whatever reason, Van Diesel does it for me in the two film flicks. I am not a fan of animations but the price was right for all three.