Vin Diesel is known for a number of things, including his trademark gravelly voice, shaved head, and high-adrenaline, low-payoff action romps. That last one may dominate much of the public conception of the man, but it’s also somewhat misleading. Between dramatic roles in both Saving Private Ryan and Boiler Room and a stellar lead voice-acting credit in Steven Spielberg’s The Iron Giant, Vin has more than proven himself as a flexible performer in the film world. The Chronicles of Riddick, which is about to receive a trio of DVD releases (both a widescreen and fullscreen version of the theatrical cut, as well as a widescreen version of the unrated director’s cut), may at first seem to draw more comparisons with the sub-par James-Bond-meets-extreme-sports spectacle xXx than it does with the thinking man’s sci-fi/horror flick Pitch Black (upon which Riddick is based). For those with an open mind to sweeping epics with a low initial payoff, The Chronicles of Riddick is definitely worth another look.

The story picks up five years after the events of Pitch Black. As the film opens, Richard B. Riddick (Diesel, as an intergalactic serial killer) is still on the run from mercenaries and still a cold-blooded killer whenever they get too close. A near-capture brings Riddick to New Mecca, capital of the planet Helion Prime. He seeks out Imam (Keith David), a survivor of the events of the previous film, for posting an enormously high bounty on his head. The series of events that unfold place Riddick squarely in the sights of the Necromongers, a fanatical religious group who lay waste to entire planets after converting their population. The Necromongers believe that Riddick is the key to their eventual demise, due to his Furyan (a lost race) ancestry.

The above synopsis may seem confusing, but that’s because Diesel (along with director David Twohy) has created a completely new reality to play this tale out in, not unlike the work of Frank Herbert (the Dune series). The story is densely layered with fleshed out details, though the overall presentation never feels overwhelming thanks to expository voiceovers from Judi Dench (who also plays the role of Aereon in the film). The unrated director’s cut DVD further strengthens the story with the addition of a new character (Shirah, played by Kristin Lehman) who provides further insight into Riddick’s Furyan background. Those who walked out of the theatrical release at the beginning of the summer wishing there were more story are in for a treat with this new version.

Diesel is the clear-cut star of the film, and he earns it. Riddick, as in the first film, is the quintessential antihero, always out to help himself but always making concessions to help those in need (as long as their needs fall into line with his own, that is). The overall story sheds a little light on where this streak of a conscience may come from. Riddick is also able to show his more human side when he meets up with Jack, another survivor from Pitch Black (now known as Kyra and played by Alexa Davalos), and finds out just how much their previous encounter influenced the path of the young woman. Vin’s performance is bolstered by some strong supporting players (beyond David, Dench, and Davalos), including Colm Feore as Lord Marshal of the Necromongers, as well as Karl Urban (Vaako) and Linus Roache (Purifier), whose characters both serve under the Lord Marshal.

Unfortunately, The Chronicles of Riddick is not without its flaws. The director’s cut cleans up some of the more glaring problems with the depth of the story, but there are certain fundamental issues which additional scenes will not fix. The most disruptive element comes from the sometimes silly dialogue and awful names assigned to various aspects of the Riddick universe. Terms such as ‘Necromonger,’ ‘Underverse,’ and ‘Crematoria’ (which is a planet whose daylight surface is too hot for any kind of human existence) populate the story and often give the film a kitschy, pulp sci-fi feel, which seems unintentional given the otherwise serious approach to the tale. Further, The Chronicles of Riddick is written as a trilogy, so those looking for a strong payoff are likely to be disappointed. There’s a lot to be said for designing a multi-tiered story, but the serial nature of the film doesn’t come off very clearly in this first effort. Finally, Thandie Newton’s performance as Dame Vaako is dreadful to the point of being distracting. There’s not a moment of screen time for her that isn’t hackneyed and unconvincing. Thankfully her role is fairly small, and there’s even something amusing about the contrasts in her one-on-one scene with Judi Dench. If you can get past these small issues, there’s definitely a fun movie and an interesting story to be found here.

The director’s cut DVD of The Chronicles of Riddick comes packed with a wide array of bonus materials as well. The usual suspects are all here, including a commentary (with writer/director David Twohy and actors Karl Urban and Alexa Davalos – Diesel is notably absent), a ‘Riddick Insider’ feature (which has pop-up factoids as the movie plays), and an assortment of deleted scenes. The deleted scenes are interesting, especially when bolstered by the director’s commentary, in which Twohy explains what’s going on in each scene and why it was cut. There’s also a short feature on the visual effects work that went into making the film as well as a guided tour of the sets hosted by Vin himself. Additionally, there is ‘Toombs’ Chase Log’ and ‘Virtual Guide to The Chronicle of Riddick,’ both of which provide more information about the less essential components of the story. Finally, for xbox owners there’s a demo of the video game spin-off, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. The game was designed by Vin’s own Tigon Studios and is actually one of the better movie tie-ins on the market right now. On top of the fine gameplay elements, the storyline follows the events (including how he came to have those eyes) that lead up to Riddick’s crash landing on the planet featured in Pitch Black. Definitely a must-play for serious fans of the Riddick universe, and the demo included here gives gamers an idea of what to expect.

All told, The Chronicles of Riddick: Unrated Director’s Cut DVD is a worthy addition to any fan of sci-fi cinema. The film is not without its flaws, but the level of detail and overall engaging story allow those problems to be more easily overlooked. The addition of a wide range of interesting special features makes this whole package well worth the price of admission. Fans will obviously be running out to pick this one up, though the uninitiated may want to check out Pitch Black first to get a taste for what the universe and the Riddick character have to offer.

DVD Film Score (unrated cut): B+
DVD Special Features Score: B
Overall Score: B+