1. Riddick's Humanity, Morality, and Mortality
Whether he's the universe's biggest badass or one of science fiction's most coveted warriors, Riddick isn't invincible, both physically and mentally. Throughout the course of
Riddick, we see him turn into this character that we only scarcely saw in the prior films. The death of Kyra at the end of
Chronicles was the first time we saw Riddick practically break down, and while he doesn't approach that level in
Riddick, he does suffer from physical and mental intrusions that show us he truly isn't invincible. In the beginning, he tries to avoid being eaten by ravenous predators. With no weapons, he defends himself out of desperation. He tries to mend his wounds from his encounter with the Necromonger escort, relocating his broken leg and walking it off, but still showing signs of utter defeat. Knowing he can die if he continues like this, he hides in a makeshift hole and buries himself inside, knowing that not only did his "softness" nearly get him killed by the Necromongers, but his vulnerability out in the open could do the same thing. Early on he also adopts one of the dingo predator's pups, nurturing it into adulthood and raising it as his own. This was the first true instance that really sold me on the humanity side of Riddick; knowing he has nowhere left to go, he needs support, both to keep him company mentally but also assist in helping his survivability. Normally Riddick wouldn't resort to this, but knowing he has his back up against a wall, he has no other choice. But the idea of raising a pup to a loyal companion is idealistic in how it portrays the path Riddick has taken to get there. Over the course of the series he witnessed friends (or the closest thing to friends) get killed due to his own actions. Imam, surviving the events of
Pitch Black, is killed in
Chronicles after the Nercomongers arrive, risking his life to allow Riddick an escape. And again in
Chronicles, Kyra (or Jack from
Pitch Black) is killed by Lord Marshal Zhylaw because she followed Riddick out of Crematoria against his will, knowing that she could get hurt or killed but allowing it anyways. So, in all matters, Riddick is a bit unstable, even if he doesn't want to admit it. The drive to find a new companion sells us on Riddick's humanity early on, where he basically opens up to this pup as a proud owner of a labrador might often do. The entire first quarter of the film is all about Riddick trying to survive, and it works so well with the one of the themes of the film; sometimes working alone isn't enough, but sometimes it's the only option you have. Later on during the fight with the main predators of the planet, Riddick becomes wounded to near collapse. The only way he could possibly survive is to cauterize the wound and pray for the best. But how could Riddick, one of the universe's biggest badasses, leave himself so open to where a simple stab could end him in a heart beat? While it's not really explained how we easily got hurt, it does explore the venue of mortality. There are several instances where Riddick is a hair's breath away from death's doorstep, and none are more persistent than Riddick's final stand up on the rocky hilltop where he mercilessly and hopelessly defends himself against a never-ending horde of predators, with a cauterized wound keeping him from doing major damage and no weapons in his inventory. There's no doubt that desperation kicked in and Riddick could have slipped up at a moment's notice.
Riddick really did sell the fans something convincing enough to show them there's still life left in the series, and that a future is
possible later on down the road. The creative process of re-plunging into the vast universe that is the Riddick universe harkens back the claim of science fiction taking the gold for creativity with characters, open-ended worlds, and the special use of visual effects to tell its story. However, there is an element in
Riddick that needs pointing out. Although the majority of the film is exceptional and worthy of a grand science fiction epic, there is one negative aspect that sticks out. That is.....