Riddick might not have been the *best*-made movie this summer, but it was my favorite. It had more action than Spider-Man 2, and was darker than Harry Potter 3. I also think it had more interesting ideas and a greater visual flair than both of these films. Riddick was total escapist fun, with lots of funny one-liners and Vin Diesel playing his best character, Riddick.

 

Other great performances were given by Karl Urban (looking very anti-Eomer in his black mohawk) and especially, the bounty hunter Tooms (?).Sure, there were some plot holes, and some hammy acting (mostly Thandie Newton), but it was so refreshing to see an original "hero", one that wasn't a 100% pure teenage boy with magical powers. Sure, Harry Potter and Peter Parker may get tempted by evil, like all proper heroes, but audiences *know* they'll turn good again. Not so with Riddick; he lives in the dark side, making it actually surprising when he does something compassionate.

 

Also refreshing was a science fiction/fantasy story that didn't involve hobbits, computers, and massive swarms of CGI Agent Smith/orc armies. This movie was more like Dune, with an H.R. Giger edge. My only real complaint was that the movie was PG-13, when it should've been R, like "Pitch Black." And maybe that's why some of the violent scenes seemed choppy and confusing - to show enough to keep it PG-13. But the unrated DVD comes out in November.Also, the ending of this movie was awesome: just really funny and cool. It left me smiling for awhile afterward.