Film

Riddick

Name: Riddick
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Thriller
Released: 2013
Cast: Vin Diesel, Nolan Gerard Funk, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Jordi Mollà

Action
Space opera
Relentless

Riddick's third solo outing strips away the grandeur of Chronicles to return him to survival basics: stranded on a hostile planet, hunted by bounty killers, plotting vengeance. It's pulpy, visceral, sometimes clumsy action-sci-fi that lets Diesel play a character genuinely alien in his thinking. For fans of the franchise and anyone who wants their violence straightforward and their heroes amoral.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy lean, pulpy space survival stories where a lone antihero outwits a crowd of hired killers, and you don't mind a gravelly, slightly silly swagger in the lead.

Skip it if you want the tight world-building of its predecessor or a grounded plot, since this one drifts into a second act that feels more like a survival sketch than a story.

What it asks of you: It runs about two hours and spends long stretches alone with its hero in harsh, dim landscapes, so patience with quiet, wordless passages helps before the action arrives.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Predator1987

The template for lone warrior versus overwhelming odds in hostile terrain. Schwarzenegger's physical presence and the film's commitment to raw survival create the same primal appeal that makes Riddick work—no dialogue can save you, only cunning and brutality.

But Shot in grainy 80s video quality and the pace is deliberate where modern action is frantic. Some will find it slow.

The Chronicles of Riddick2004

The previous Riddick film, bigger in scope and ambition, with Colm Feore as a genuinely menacing antagonist. If you want to understand Riddick's arc and the Furyan mythology, this is essential context delivered with style.

But It's visibly lower-budget than the Hollywood blockbusters it aspires to. Some action sequences feel cramped and the plotting can be clumsy.

Pitch Black2000

The original Riddick film that started everything. Lean, claustrophobic, genuinely tense. It's a B-movie that earns its thrills through smart design rather than spectacle, and Diesel's charisma is already magnetic.

But Made for a fraction of modern budgets and it shows. The alien creatures are practical effects that don't always hold up, and some dialogue is stiff.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Riddick

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Outland1981

Both films trust that a competent protagonist solving problems through cunning and violence is enough—no world-saving stakes needed. Both are small-scale survival stories dressed in sci-fi clothing.

High Noon in space: a lone lawman against overwhelming odds on an off-world mining colony. Sean Connery versus systemic corruption and alien threat. Slow-burn tension that builds to explosive violence. Authentic sci-fi that refuses to apologize for its pulp roots.

But It's meditative and deliberate in ways that contradict modern action pacing. Some scenes are dialogue-heavy problem-solving rather than combat. Patience required.

Aliens1986

Cameron's masterwork of action escalation: a squad equipped for war against an organism that makes them obsolete. The same sense that your weapons and training might not matter, that survival depends on improvisation and will.

But It's a sequel that assumes you've seen the original. At 137 minutes, it's a commitment. Some find the colonial marines' banter dated.

Enemy Mine1985

Forgotten gem about a human pilot and alien enemy forced to work together for survival on a wasteland planet. Scrappy, sincere, and deeply committed to the idea that morality matters less than staying alive.

But The practical effects are dated. The emotional beats are earnest in ways that might feel heavy-handed if you're not in the mood for sincerity.

Doom2005

A soldier protagonist, underground alien combat, the exact same DNA of 'lone warrior against the horde.' It leans into the videogame logic that Riddick also enjoys—if you're skilled enough, you can take them all.

But It's aggressively silly. Karl Urban's gravitas can't quite anchor the camp, and some scenes veer into unintentional comedy.

Escape from New York1981

Carpenter's lean action-thriller has the same rough energy: a resourceful antihero in a hostile zone, using cunning over firepower. Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken is Riddick's spiritual ancestor—cynical, competent, entirely self-interested.

But Deliberately paced. The action isn't constant and some sequences are deliberately theatrical rather than grounded. Not for viewers wanting relentless momentum.

Lockout2012

A direct descendant of this film's sensibility: Guy Pearce as a wisecracking convict tasked with an impossible rescue in space. It knows exactly what it is and commits to the sarcasm. Fast, fun, and undemanding.

But It's aggressively lightweight. If you want real stakes or character depth, this will feel thin.

Oblivion2013

Released the same year as Riddick, it offers a more cerebral take on 'lone survivor on a hostile world.' Tom Cruise confronting his own nature in a stripped-down landscape. Gorgeous to watch and genuinely mysterious.

But The plot twist doesn't land for everyone. Some find the philosophical ambitions undercut by the action padding, and it's more melancholy than thrilling.

Dredd2012

Both protagonists are creatures of pure function in hostile environments, their moral code replaced entirely with survival logic. Both strip away plot in favor of watching a predator move through space designed to kill them.

Karl Urban in a helmet that never comes off, in a vertically-stacked building, delivering brutal justice against overwhelming odds. Shot in stunning 3D practical violence. A character film about someone fundamentally amoral operating in their own code.

But It's violent in ways that go beyond action—it's genuinely nasty. The story is paper-thin and entirely in service of spectacle. Some find that objectionable rather than liberating.