With Vin Diesel returning to the title role, 2013's Riddick caught up with the shiny-eyed, super-powered criminal as he braved the barren wastes of a planet and fought bounty hunters. The film further explored the fascinating universe of the franchise, and also built upon the character while delivering the same excitement the franchise has consistently delivered. Though the critical response was mixed, the box office told another story and the movie grossed nearly $100 million (via Box Office Mojo).
In Riddick, protagonist Richard B. Riddick had grown from a shadowy villain to a legitimate anti-hero with clear motivations that were dictated by his own sense of morality. Even if Riddick was different from the previous film, it still managed to move the plot forward and push the title character further on his journey home. Riddick's full powers and abilities were put on display during the movie, but the plot offered enough challenge that it kept things fresh. The true power of Riddick was that it paid homage to the franchise's best film Pitch Black while still staying true to what had been set up in The Chronicles of Riddick.
How Did Johns Know About Riddick?
The most interesting dynamic in the film by far was the relationship between Riddick and the mercenary Colonel "Boss" Johns who was hot on his tail. Unlike Santana's men who simply wanted to kill Riddick and collect the sizable reward, Johns obviously wanted something else from the man, and that involved keeping Riddick alive. The film eventually revealed that Johns wanted information about his son, William J. Johns, who was featured in Pitch Black, and he was willing to face death at the hands of Riddick to get it. The only thing that the film didn't make explicitly clear was how exactly the elder Johns knew about Riddick at all.
The movie established that Johns knew about the Hunter-Gratzner from Pitch Black, and he even knew that the ship crashed as shown in the film, but he didn't know the fate of his son or even that there were other engers on the ship. Johns knew Riddick was on the ship because he was a notorious criminal, and it could be assumed that the wreck of a ship containing such a dangerous man would be newsworthy. Considering how obsessed Johns was about finding Riddick, it could also be assumed that he did a lot of research about the crash that wasn't shown on screen.
Why Didn't Riddick Just Steal The Ships?
The bulk of the conflict between Riddick and the bounty hunters was the negotiations over the ships and Riddick's hiding of the power nodes which made up the film's third act. While the trilogy established that Riddick was an unstoppable killing machine, he chose not to simply steal the ships and instead allowed for negotiations which put everyone at risk from the demons. That choice illustrated a change within Riddick, and it showcased his sense of morality when it came to doing what he thought was right. He knew that stealing a ship would leave the mercenaries at risk, and he tried to create a solution that would benefit all.
How Long Was Riddick On The Planet?
One of the most unclear elements of Riddick was its use of time. The opening narration explained how long after the events of The Chronicles of Riddick that the film took place, but the actual timeline of the film had obvious jumps forward. In the beginning, Riddick was shown with a broken leg which he gruesomely set between two rocks. For a human being, the healing time would be weeks or even months for a break as severe as Riddick's, but it could be assumed that Riddick's Furyan powers gave him the ability to heal much quicker.
Even so, Riddick then raised one of the planet's jackal-like creatures from a pup, and if that animal had the lifespan of a normal Earth mammal, that could have ed for at least a year or two. One of the other jumps in the film's timeline occurred after Riddick activated the beacon and revealed his location. The editing of the film made it seem as if the bounty hunters arrived almost immediately, but some time must have ed. Overall, the events of Riddick most likely ed for at least a year's worth of time.
Why Didn't The Demons Attack Sooner?
Like the creatures from Pitch Black, Riddick featured its own frightening alien monsters in the form of the vile Mud Demons which were first seen towards the beginning of the film vexing Riddick. They returned during the ending of the film, adding tension and excitement, but their reason for not arriving sooner was somewhat vague. The first Mud Demon that Riddick encountered was living in a massive puddle among the rocks, and it was there that he realized that they had to live in moisture to survive. Amphibious in nature, the Mud Demons then returned when the rains did as well.
Further fleshing out Riddick's actual timeline on the planet, it was possible that he was left on the arid world in the period immediately following the rains. The massive puddle in the rocks hadn't been evaporated by the sun, and Riddick saw the vegetation in the distance which suggested there was once a wet period during the planet's yearly cycle. Riddick surmised that the Mud Demons would be reactivated when the rains came again because he saw the cave painting that depicted a massive horde of the venomous creatures.
What Happens In Riddick's Alternate Ending?
Though the theatrical cut of Riddick quickly left the events of The Chronicles of Riddick behind, an alternate ending that was included in the extended cut of the film continued the plot. Vaako betrayed Riddick at the beginning of the film and ordered Krone to have him killed, and after securing the ship from the bounty hunters, Riddick returned to Helion Prime to settle the score. Riddick found Krone and demanded to know Vaako's whereabouts, but the faithful lieutenant explained that Vaako had reached transcendence.
Transcendence meant that Vaako existed in a state between life and death, and had almost reached the level of a deity in the eyes of the Necromongers. Upon hearing the news, Riddick looked out into the cosmos and seemed small compared to the vastness of space. Not only did the alternate ending tie up the loose end regarding Vaako, but it also eliminated Riddick's chance of finding out where his home world of Furya was located. Though both the original and alternate endings set up Riddick's continued search for his home, the alternate ending set a downbeat tone for his quest.
The Real Meaning Of Riddick's Ending
The Riddick films haven't been known for their heady themes, and the third installment in the series was no exception. The movies toyed with the ideas of faith through characters like Imam in Pitch Black, and the Necromongers in The Chronicles of Riddick, but Riddick's off-hand references to Christianity served little to no purpose in the overall story. Instead, the ending of Riddick was essentially about continuation, and it illustrated growth within the character himself. Riddick's overt violence was somewhat toned down in the film, and his desire for a ship was meant to show that what he really wanted all along was to return home.
