‘The Chronicles of Riddick: Limited Edition’ 4K Ultra HD movie review

Filmmaker David Twohy continued the adventures of a galactic criminal bound for greatness back in 2004 with a sweeping, over-indulgent sci-fi fantasy film that now debuts in the 4K disc format in The Chronicles of Riddick: Limited Edition (Arrow Video, not rated, 119 minutes, 2.39:1 and 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $49.95).

Vin Diesel returned as Richard B. Riddick, one of the last survivors of the powerful Furyan race and on the run from mercenaries and bounty hunters.

Five years after escaping the planet M6-117 (reference “Pitch Black”), he encounters old friends including Abu “Imam” al-Walid (Keith David) and Kyra (Alexa Davalos) as well as a new an unstoppable enemy, the Necromongers, warriors who are part of an evil religious empire that seeks to convert humans to their evil ways or kill those who refuse.

His primary nemesis is now the holy half-dead Lord Marshal (Colm Feore) of the Necromongers who is told by a mysterious elemental that he will die by the hands of a Furyan.

A final confrontation of the pair might happen if Riddick can get out of a prison that’s buried in a moon called the Crematoria.

The long-winded epic complete with a straightforward storyline bowled over by visual effects is redeemable for some of the close quarters combat, action sequences and lavish otherworld design reminiscent of David Lynch’s “Dune” if he teamed up with H.R. Giger.

Mr. Diesel, at the time in the upward trajectory of his career, offered another minimalist, understated, one-liner-filled performance usually letting his fists and weapons do the talking.

Pop cuture cinephiles will quickly recognize Karl Urban (“Star Trek” and “The Boys”) as the lead Necromonger commander Vakku, and legendary Dame Judi Dench as a pesky, foreboding and ghostly air elemental.

Viewers get three versions of the film in the ultra-high definition format — the PG-13, theatrical cut, a director’s cut with roughly 15 minutes added and a screen-filling version of the theatrical cut presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

4K in action: The live-action film relies on computer-generated imagery, detailed matte paintings and large sets that all look pretty sharp thanks to a director-approved full restoration by Arrow that used the original Super 35 camera negative scanned in 4K 16-bit at NBC Universal and additional 2K master files sourced for sections in the director’s cut.

The results are a smorgasbord of detail especially when examining the ornate metallic armor, helmets, weapons, spaceships and statuary of the Necromongers.

Slick moments from the two-decade old movie abound in the format such as viewing the night world through a neon blue and purple tint of Riddick’s enhanced light-sensitive eyes, watching a living body slowly disintegrate in a whirlwind of flame, a firefight in an ash storm and Riddick jumping over a building with a space battle occurring above him.

Details to stop and study include the spiky-scaled hell hounds that eat prisoners on Crematoria, Riddick’s bald head streaked by dirt, glowing imprints on human chests, a three-dimensional planetary map built from liquid orbs and a reflection in an eyeball showing a purplish volcanic eruption.

Best extras: As taking a cue from the movie, Arrow goes indulgently above and beyond to offer a treasure chest of digital goodies, production segments and memories for fans smitten with “Chronicles of Riddick” in this three 4K disc set.

Leading the way is a brand new 75-minute retrospective documentary featuring writer and director David Twohy, actors Keith David and Linus Roache, storyboard artist Brian Murray, miniature effects artist Ian Hunter, lead matte painter Dylan Cole and conceptual artist Matt Codd.

The satisfying segment starts with an exploration of the first film “Pitch Black” and continues with a walk through the characters, theme, crew involvement, working with Judi Dench, building digital creatures and miniatures, character motivations, production design on the enormous practical sets, cinematography and detailed explanations on incorporating matte paintings into visual effects.

More new separate interviews follow including 14 minutes with the well-spoken director as he touches on budgets, dealing with the studio, shooting the trio of films, the video game and various Riddick media.

Also, available are another 11 minutes with Mr. Murray on the art design and 10 minutes with Mr. David focused on his character and career.

A worthy companion while watching the movie is thirteen short, animated segments (averaging under a minute each) exploring key characters and worlds in the film narrated by some of the actors and including looks at Crematoria, Lord Marshal, Necropolis and Quasi-Deads.

The second disc first offers a pair of legacy optional commentary tracks tied to the director’s cut with the most important being a sporadic discussion between Mr. Twohy and Mr. Diesel.

Recorded in 2009 for the original Blu-ray release, Mr. Twohy dominates the track with plenty of production notes also pointing out how the director’s cut differs, but the star also offers plenty of opinions and information when discussing his character, interactions and mythology as well as asking the director to expound on his points.

That disc also overwhelms with more than three hours of legacy production featurettes and segments culled from various releases since 2004 including a daily production diary; 14 on-set and promotional videos; eight panoramic views of key locations in the film such as Crematoria’s main hangar and Helion fountain square; and a short personal video journal of bounty hunter Toombs using multiple cameras that highlight over 90 days on the trail to capture Riddick.

The all-encompassing extras even included 33 minutes of cut scenes from the critically acclaimed 2004, first-person action video game “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay” with voice-over work from Mr. Diesel, Cole Hauser, Kristen Lehman, Ron Perlman and Michael Rooker.

The third disc’s content concludes with a 22-minute Sci-Fi channel special from 2004 promoting the movie.

The package includes a 44-page full-color booklet with a new essay by film critic Walter Chaw, original production notes from 2204 and a very helpful, 6-page “Chronicles Compendium” offering short explanations of the movie’s mythology, technology, characters and planets.

After digesting all of these deconstructive extras and armed with all of that passionate production information, I highly suggest going back and watching the director’s cut of the film again as, I am betting, viewers will find the experience actually pretty pleasurable now. The unwieldy plot will certainly make more sense.