Riddick - I Am Riddick

It's hard to carry a movie all by yourself.  Will Smith did it in I Am Legend, but can Vin Diesel do it?   What do you think?  Ok, so Vin Diesel (I can't just call him Vin.  It's weird to me for some reason.) reprises his best role as Riddick.  I love the character of Riddick.  Yes he's vicious, murderous, solitary, and mostly uncaring, but there's something about his strength and athleticism that is mesmerizing.  Does that mean I want to see him solely on the big screen for about 45 minutes?  What do you think?

Riddick is the third major motion picture for this character.  In Pitch Black, he had to get off a planet while fighting killer beings, containing a merc (bounty hunter) from trying to kill him, and take some people along with him.  In The Chronicles of Riddick (my fav), Riddick has to not only take down the Necromongers, he also has to get off a super hot planet to do it before he's turned into ashes.  In Riddick, he has to once again, get off a planet, fight off mercs, and do so while fighting off murderous creatures.  Way to be original David Towhy.

Vin Diesel isn't a great actor which is why his dialogue is always limited.  I guess they thought he's so terrible now and out of shape that we won't give him anyone to talk to except an evolutionized dog for the first third of the movie.  Look, I did like watching Riddick prove how strong and resilient he is and make friends with a dog which was very I Am Legend like too, but the truth is, we came to watch him slice and dice folks.  You need people to do that.  Right?  I didn't appreciate having to wait so long for that to happen, almost two-thirds of the movie.  I, also, didn't appreciate the repetitiveness of the story.  I will say that when Riddick does get down to it, he does it like no other.  Those action scenes were great and gory, but again it wasn't anything we haven't already seen him do.

The Chronicles of Riddick had such a complex storyline, and think they were trying to go for that again, but it didn't work.  This movie wasn't a fail, it just wasn't a pass. SPOILER ALERT BUT NOT REALLY: In over two hours, Riddick only kills about 6 people, and it ends pretty much the way the others do.  I'm just hoping this was the last we'll see of Riddick.  I hope he finally makes it to Furya, and has several seats while he's there.