This movie is seven years old, so why do I bother wasting precious calories on writing about it? Well, I should probably ask myself why I’m wasting precious calories on writing anything at all, but that’s a question for another day. The reason why I sat down to write a review of The Chronicles of Riddick is that, even though it was released way back in 2004, I didn’t actually see it until a few days ago. I did buy a Riddick Xbox game back in the days (not worth the money), but the movie slipped past me.

Since it happened to me, it might be that it happened to you as well: You never did see The Chronicles of Riddick. If that is the case, you’ve missed out on a hidden sci-fi-action-adventure-gem.

The Chronicles of Riddick is the story about Richard B. Riddick, who is trying to elude capture by mercenaries and eventually Necromongers, a race of conquerors traveling across space toward the so-called Underverse, a dark mirror of the normal universe where death has no meaning. Their leader, the Lord Marshal, commands his troops to overrun worlds and convert their inhabitants into Necromongers; those who oppose conversion are killed. Yes, that’s a pretty nice backdrop for what could potentially be a killer sci-fi-action-adventure right there.

I absolutely love the visual design in The Chronicles of Riddick. The attack on Helion Prime is spectacular, both visually and aurally, and every aspect of the Necromonger race is designed in great detail. Vin Diesel does an excellent job portraying Riddick, not through acting, but through being a huge pile of muscle who beats up everyone along the way. Even though Vin Diesel is without doubt the star of this movie, you’ll find a cast of familiar and not-so-familar actors and actresses who do all contribute to making The Chronicles of Riddick a movie you should see if you generally enjoy movies of the genre. The prequel, Pitch Black, might also be of interest, and there are rumors going around of the possibility of a third movie about Riddick.

There’s a vast universe being outlined in The Chronicles of Riddick. The movie, together with Pitch Black, spun off a book, a few computer games and an animated short film, but I can’t help but feel that we’ve only seen very little of the potential for creating an absolutely huge and very exciting universe based on not Riddick himself, but everything else in Chronicles. Let’s lock the guys who designed the Necromongers in a room for a few weeks and see what they can come up with!