The Riddick franchise is going to return to its Pitch Black roots? I’m all in. Or so I thought.

The promise of getting rid of all the bloat that was added in Chronicles of Riddick, and going back to the simplicity and raw visceral quality of the first movie seemed like the right way to go, and from the trailers it looked like that Vin Diesel and his crew had achieved just that.

But alas, it was all a marketing ruse. Aside from a few sequences of bad-ass action, most of the movie felt very ho-hum. I found myself glancing at the clock more than once, wondering why I had paid to see this movie.

It is hard to find a redeeming quality about the film. The acting was sub-par with some really shocking dialogue that will definitely cause some eye-rolling. There’s is not much chemistry between the leads, and frankly most of them seemed to be in it for the pay-check. While the CGI was serviceable, that is pretty much expected in this day and age.

I wouldn’t waste my time with this movie and I give it a 3 out of 10.