DVD Necromongers. If they cannot convert you, they will kill you. In normal times this evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, it should be fought by another kind of evil. And that evil is anti-hero Riddick.
Details
Five years have passed since Riddick and a handful of survivors escaped from the remote and inhospitable planet which claimed so many lives in Pitch Black. Hero or not, Riddick still has a hefty bounty on his head. With every bounty hunter in the galaxy looking for him, he has gone from one planetary extreme to another, living in exile on the barren and frozen planet UV6. When a Merc ship finally tracks him down it does not take long for Riddick to demonstrate his highly skilled fighting techniques, relieve them of their ship and acquire information on the source of the bounty. His destination: Helion Prime and the city of New Mecca, where he plans to confront Imam, the only man alive who might have betrayed his confidence.
During Riddick's exile he has remained unaware of the deadly force sweeping across the galaxy and laying waste to countless planets. Under the command of the ruthless Lord Marshal, the Necromongers are a fanatical race of warriors searching for their prophesied Underverse, a strange realm where heaven and hell co-exist. Believing that death is only the beginning, they slaughter millions in their conquest. With an armada capable of destroying entire planets, they offer their victims a simple choice: Convert or Die. Resistance rarely lasts long. With the fleet approaching Helion Prime, Imam has placed the bounty on Riddick's head in the hope of drawing him into the conflict.
Yet alongside the prophecy of the Underverse exists another legend - that of the Furyans, an extinct race and a single surviving warrior who may hold the power to defeat the Necromongers. After hearing of Riddick's exploits, Aereon begins to believe he may be that last Furyan. Riddick, unsurprisingly, has little interest in destiny. However, when reminded of Jack, now imprisoned on the fiery prison planet Crematoria, he embarks on a rescue mission. It does not take long for Riddick to rewrite the prison security manual before returning to Helion Prime for a battle he never intended to fight.
Picture & Sound
The picture transfer is quite superb. Apart from the prison scenes featuring some rather obvious CGI hell hounds, the visual effects are genuinely impressive and the transfer allows them to shine. Not since The Day After Tomorrow have effects looked this good on DVD, and with such a clean, detailed presentation it genuinely feels as though DVD reproduction has reached another level. With pictures like this, who needs high-definition DVD?
Colours are rich and vibrant with excellent levels of detail, from the warm textures of New Mecca to the icy blues of UV6 and the blazing inferno of Crematoria. The frozen chase sequence on UV6 is particularly striking, offering razor-sharp clarity with no signs of artefacting or outlining. Unless you go out of your way to find faults, you will struggle to find any. The lavish production design and sheer scale of the effects are on screen in every frame.
The 384 Kbps Dolby Digital soundtrack delivers an energetic and suitably aggressive mix. While a DTS option would have been welcome, there is still plentiful surround activity, thunderous LFE and solid front-channel steering. Dialogue remains clear, even when Vin Diesel's gravelly tones threaten to dissolve into a low rumble. For an action-heavy film, the audio holds its own very well.
Menu & Extras
The animated menu system is pleasantly designed and scored, offering viewers the choice to either Convert or Fight the Necromongers, resulting in two different themed menu layouts. Although both ultimately provide the same options, it is an imaginative touch. Whether any Easter eggs lurk within them remains to be seen.
The absence of a traditional audio commentary from either David Twohy or Vin Diesel is disappointing. Instead, the disc offers an on-screen trivia track displaying production facts and background information during playback. While occasionally visually intrusive, the information is detailed enough to satisfy film enthusiasts and does offer insight into the world-building behind the Necromongers.
Riddick's World is a brief three-minute guided tour of the sets presented by Vin Diesel. It feels frustratingly short and leaves you wanting more detail about the impressive construction work. The Interactive 360 Degree View allows exploration of the sets via remote control, though the novelty quickly wears thin.
The six-minute Visual Effects Revealed featurette offers a glimpse into the impressive planetary effects work, with visual effects supervisor Peter Chiang providing commentary. It is easily one of the more worthwhile extras, though again far too short. The disc is padded out with theatrical trailers for other Universal titles, though somewhat bizarrely omits the excellent theatrical trailer for The Chronicles of Riddick itself.
DVD-ROM content is also included, along with the opportunity for X-Box owners to sample Escape from Butcher Bay. PC functionality is handled via the Interactual player, though reliability may vary depending on your system configuration.
Overall the extras package feels underwhelming, particularly given that a Region 1 Director's Cut already exists with additional footage. The sense that a more substantial two-disc edition may eventually appear is difficult to shake.
Overall
The Chronicles of Riddick is a film that seems determined to be several different things at once. It veers between mythological epic, science fiction spectacle and prison break thriller with almost reckless enthusiasm. The narrative occasionally wanders, yet there is something undeniably compelling about the sheer audacity of its ambition.
It will not win awards for subtle performances, but neither is it the disaster some critics would have you believe. The production design is lavish, the visual effects frequently stunning and the action sequences are confidently staged. Vin Diesel carries the film with brute force charisma, while even Dame Judi Dench manages to lend a touch of gravitas to the intergalactic madness - even if her dialogue is just as cheesy as everyone else's.
So, the question is - should I purchase this disc? If you enjoyed Pitch Black then the answer is almost certainly yes. If you did not, a rental might be the safer option. Either way, few films display this level of sheer ambition and spectacle without apology.
