"You're not afraid of the dark...are you?" – Riddick

Although I didn’t go in a tailspin over "Pitch Black" as much as the masses, I did get hardcore “Disco Fever” off one element within the picture and that was Vin “The Machine” Diesel as anti-hero Riddick. Man, I adored that character to severed limbs, relished Diesel’s low-key, yet aggressive, show and have been yearning for him to return to the bloody screen ever since. Well, the wait is finally over. "The Chronicles of Riddick" was a “summer first” for this jerk, whereby I managed to wholeheartedly grin throughout a film even while sitting in a theater surrounded by mooks with ringing cell phones and skank-like girlfriends who never stopped yapping out loud. I was sucked into this tale faster than you can say “I want Diesel’s biceps, give me steroids now!"

The broad mythology of the narrative was the first chunk of sugar that I nibbled on fervently. It wasn’t too “mumbo jumbo” driven to lose me in its shuffle and it wasn’t overly simplistic either…it was just right. The themes of destiny, conquering in the name of religion and discovering one’s roots, all arose to rub me the right way....I was digging it! The rush continued through the many knee-slapping, “I want to get in there too” action set pieces. They didn’t pull any punches with the physical goodies and I dug on being assaulted by mammoth hand-to-hand fight sequences, various “we have to escape” scenarios and a “race against the sun” bit that had me punching the moron sitting next to me in joy (Yeah you, JoBlo!) Now that’s what I’m talking about! The panty-dropping look of the picture also contributed to my enjoyment. If it wasn’t the groovy “Gladiator”-inspired attire boomeranging me, it was the awe-inspiring sets, slick spacecrafts and various groovy planet settings whooping my skull into bread crumbs. I truly felt as if I had entered another world and taking into account that the planet I live on sucks baboon dong...I appreciated the much needed vacation.

To top it all off, the flick excelled with its characters and relationships too! Sexy and talented Alexa Davalos (Kyra), in particular, was a revelation as not only did her character’s emotional tie with Riddick give the flick heart, but seeing her Kung Fu some heads with panache had me yelping in approval. The girl had me at the first fly-kick! Having said that, amidst all of the chaos of visual effects and interstellar warfare, the highlight of this rousing adventure was, for me, once more...the one, the only Vin Diesel in his best role ever! Diesel owned the movie from frame one with his tough guy demeanor, hordes of groovy-kool one liners, underlying intensity and able carnage skills. In my opinion, Riddick has the potential to become an iconic character that will beat the test of time. The Terminator, Rambo, Dirty Harry…add Riddick to that list. Vin...great to have you back in tip-top shape, bro!

On the slight “bah” side of things, I did feel as though the middle section of this tale ignored the bigger picture too much in favor of showing us Riddick causing a ruckus in jail. Hey, don’t get wrong...it was still a hoot and a half, but it strayed a tad too much from the main storyline. I also didn’t fully get into that “fast motion” knife rumble where I hardly saw shite! I like to savor my violence! Don’t rush it, man! I’m in no hurry! My biggest peeve though was the overall lack of graphic brutality (yup, gore). COME ON! This movie should’ve had it! I mean, think about what "Total Recall" and "Robocop" might have been without the spilled plasma? Same thing with this movie. NOTE: The flick was initially rated-R but, the studio trimmed it down to get that oh-so coveted PG-13 rating. It remains to be seen if the R-version will give us the goods when it comes out on DVD. IT BETTER!

This is the first flick of a planned trilogy.

Vin Diesel revealed that the title of the second film may be "The Underverse".

Notice that Riddick's shaved head in the film was often a cause of continuity problems.

Vin Diesel is a great man.