Riddick 2013

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: Imagine Alien, only told from the perspective of the alien, and he's played by a movie star, and at heart he's an okay dude. A cute idea, perhaps, but kind of a wash when it comes to narrative tension. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The dust churns, the clouds gather, the bullets fly, the men fall. The Diesel rises. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The movie jogs along nicely without ever getting a case of the stupids; far from being a bloated "John Carter," it's just a pared-down yarn of survival: "Die Hard" on a planet. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: As a creature feature, Riddick isn't half bad, though it's far from truly good. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: An improbable but very enjoyable sequel that recaptures much of the stripped-down intensity of Diesel and director David Twohy's franchise starter "Pitch Black." Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: In an era of high-falutin' tentpole sci-fi, there's something to be said for a filmmaker still devoted to crafting plain old genre pleasures. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: Riddick's at his most fun when the pressure's on, and he retreats to plan something special for his new visitors. All the build-up pays off with tense showdowns in the dark, thrilling restraint and ominous suggestion giving way to slasher gore. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: ''Sloppy'' is a kind word, actually, for the ridiculously clumsy dialogue in ''Riddick,'' the third and latest installment of the sci-fi saga. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The movie's cheap but has a sense of humor, and it's smart enough to let Riddick just get back to being a badass. Read more

Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader: A vibrant stylistic mishmash that works brilliantly in chunks but is ultimately too scattered to sustain any cohesion. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: This is not one of those Johnny-come-lately sequels preoccupied with getting a new audience up to speed on where the story was. It's about living in the moment, in the now, and killing in the now. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: Twohy is trying to do something with his original character. It's just not clear what that something is anymore. Maybe it's time this franchise fades to black for good. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The lack of imagination in Riddick, the third installment in director/writer David Twohy's increasingly forgettable sci-fi franchise, is so stunning that it's almost like a special effect in itself. Read more

Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: Twohy succeeds in staging moments both tense and funny, but they're fewer and farther between than one would hope, and the dialogue is served up with a heaping helping of cheese, especially when delivered in Diesel's low-frequency growl. Read more

Matt Patches, Film.com: A hybrid of D&D adventuring, ;Pitch Black'-style close quarters mayhem, and a dash of 'Heavy Metal' for spice. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: He's spent the bulk of his career hiding in franchises, hypermasculinizing himself. We can live with this. But this new movie makes you wonder whether Diesel can. Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: Faithful to the template if not the spirit of previous installments, this flabby second sequel barely manages to advance Riddick's considerable personal mythology. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: We must pan for scraps of pleasure -- a scene where Diesel poses naked on a cliff like a truck stop coyote, the way half of his attacks look like rhythmic gymnastics Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: A modestly budgeted bone Universal Pictures threw at Diesel so he would keep starring in "Fast and Furious" pictures. Those movies are bank; "Riddick" is rank. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: It's B-grade cinema made with A-level intelligence and imagination -- skillfully directed, surprisingly well acted and gratifyingly preposterous. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: David Twohy's film is scarcely original, but the sheer survivalist grind of our hero, against comical odds, becomes appealingly mad ... Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The dark palette and extreme close-ups turn every fight into a muddy blur; the staging, which should feel claustrophobic, is too often set in vast (and unconvincing) landscapes. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: There's no expiration date for movie characters. But there are certainly some who, if they went missing, we'd never even notice. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: The first (and one hopes the last) film to borrow heavily from both Alien and Old Yeller. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Much of the film is over-the-top, but that won't be a surprise to those who saw the previous two installments. Diesel is in fine form, growling his lines and being the most menacing person on screen even when he's in chains. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Riddick, an alternately kick-ass and clumsy piece of sci-fi claptrap that puts its empty head down and gets the job done. Read more

Bruce Ingram, Chicago Sun-Times: Fans of lean, mean, testosterone-steeped sci-fi action are likely to find Riddick kind of a blast, however -- even though it offers few surprises. Read more

Adam Nayman, Globe and Mail: In lieu of blockbuster spectacle, Twohy spins wittily choreographed scenes of small-scale carnage, most of it initiated by Riddick himself. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: The CGI-created landscape is impressively rendered and detailed, there are loads of cool gadgetry and, of course, plenty of action and "ghosting" - i.e. killing. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: If you were to make a comedy about an actor who makes cheesy sci-fi action movies, and you needed a hilarious clip of his work that underscored the awfulness of his output, just about any 30-second segment of Riddick would do the trick. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: It's flavourless: the aliens are unscary and easily despatched, Vin's too silent to be interesting, and the other characters are either dull or offensive. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Watching this see-in-the-dark muscleman brooding against gorgeous otherworldly vistas, all while crafting pointy homemade weapons and befriending a scene-stealing CGI canine (no joke), is a sci-fi aficionado's delight. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Move along, there's nothing to see and no one to root for in this murky franchise reboot. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: "Riddick" can be cheesy and silly, not to mention excessively violent, but it's also fun. Read more