riddick

i'm not a huge fan of this character, but i rather enjoyed this movie.  the first riddick movie, 'pitch black', was a rather generic sci fi b-movie.  it was ok, but nothing special.  the second attempt to bring the character to the big screen, 'the chronicles of riddick', was really bad overblown lameness.  but this one was kind of fun.
the movie has a strange structure to it, basically combining three movies into one.  the first movie is about riddick trying to overcome the deadly challenges of this desolate world he has found himself on; he faces the scary creatures of the planet and adapts to its inhospitable environment.  the first third of the movie plays like a silent film where vin diesel is training and fighting the killer creatures to survive.  the second third of the movie finds riddick confronting two sets of bounty hunters trying to get him.  this section plays like 'the predator', except we see it from the perspective of riddick, the creature being hunted.  i really liked this part of the movie and felt it was the strongest portion.  the last third plays more like a jailbreak movie where everyone is just trying to get off the planet and overcome the beasties that are attacking.  over all, for such a small picture, it does a great job with the special effects, making believable creatures and environments.  the whole mish-mash of the three movie styles in one kind of works, it allows the movie cliches to be glossed over.  sure, its predictable, but it doesnt linger long enough on any one trope to get stale.  to be honest, i would welcome another film in the riddick series if its as fun as this one!