The Correct Order To Watch The Riddick Movies
Vin Diesel's Riddick movies are an unusual franchise, driven by Diesel's love for the character and a desire to explore his world with series director David Twohy. Each entry is wildly different from the others, spanning different genres and even mediums, with a short detour into animation for "Riddick: Dark Fury." Riddick himself is a fun sci-fi creation, the last surviving member of an alien warrior race called Furyans, with reflective eyes that see in the dark. But where should newcomers to the franchise start, and what order should they watch the "Riddick" flicks in?
Thankfully the answer is fairly simple, dear reader, though which entries work best might vary from viewer to viewer. "Pitch Black" seems to be fairly universally beloved, but the other "Riddick" entries received more mixed receptions yet have their own cult followings. The movies are possible to enjoy on their own but might be a little confusing, so here's your guide to checking out the "Riddick" franchise. Just don't try anything weird to give yourself those cool Furyan mirror eyes, okay?
The correct order to watch the Riddick movies
In this instance, the folks behind the franchise have made things extremely easy for audiences, as the storytelling in the three films and animated side-quest all happen in the same chronological order as when they were released. "Pitch Black," released in 2000, takes place five years before "The Chronicles of Riddick," released in 2004. The animated "The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury," directed by "Aeon Flux" creator Peter Chung, takes place between them, shortly after the events of "Pitch Black." "Riddick," released in 2013, takes place five years after "Chronicles."
"Pitch Black" is a clever sci-fi thriller where Riddick is being transported to prison and the ship crashes on a planet where alien creatures who can see in the dark try to kill everyone who survived the crash, and it's a lot of fun. Featuring several great genre performers like Radha Mitchell ("Silent Hill") and Keith David ("The Thing"), "Pitch Black" understandably made people curious about the character of Riddick, the mysterious felon who's something like Max from "Mad Max," but in outer space. The only problem is that in creating "The Chronicles of Riddick," Twohy and Diesel seemed to forget all of the things that made people love "Pitch Black."
Chronicles of Riddick is slightly more controversial
"The Chronicles of Riddick" is a sprawling sci-fi fantasy epic that follows Riddick after he discovers the existence of an evil group called the Necromongers (who intend to take over the galaxy), and it's wildly different from "Pitch Black." The PG-13 movie lacks the violent punch of its predecessor, plus it gets bogged down in trying to introduce a few too many concepts at once and becomes a little bloated. Despite this, some fans (myself included) absolutely love "The Chronicles of Riddick" for what it is, on its own merits apart from "Pitch Black." I mean, who can really be upset at a movie that stars goth Thandiwe Newton and Karl Urban as the most metal version of Lady Macbeth and her man? Judi Dench also plays an elemental who can float on air, and Riddick kills someone with a teacup, so it's really not without its charms.
After the box office failure of "Chronicles," the studios weren't interested in throwing a ton of money at another Riddick project, so "Riddick" was a tough film to get made that ended up doing better than its predecessor despite serious production challenges. "Riddick" returns to the R-rated action violence of "Pitch Black," with a somewhat similar premise: this time Riddick is stranded alone on a deadly planet, and he calls in mercenaries trying to hunt his bounty to rescue him, in a roundabout way. "Riddick" is pretty fun and "Battlestar Galactica" alum Katee Sackhoff is a perfect addition to the franchise. But what about "Dark Fury," and is there a future for more Riddick movies?
What else is in the Riddick-verse?
"The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury" follows Riddick shortly after the events of "Pitch Black," and while it provides some additional insight into the character, it's also pretty skippable unless you're a die-hard fan of the franchise. There's are also two video games: "The Chronicles of Riddick: Attack on Butcher Bay" for the Xbox and "The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. They both serve as prequels to the franchise, taking place before the events of "Pitch Black," and they give additional context and can be a lot of fun for fans.
There's also the promise of more Riddick to come, as Diesel and Twohy want to return for a fourth feature film, tentatively titled "Riddick: Furya." The film would purportedly see Riddick finally return to his fabled homeworld of Furya, where the last surviving Furyans are fighting back against the Necromonger invasion. Tying together the action-horror elements of "Pitch Black" and "Riddick" to the fantasy space opera elements of "The Chronicles of Riddick" could make for one seriously cool film, so here's hoping they manage to get it made!