So I just got down watching the Riddick Trilogy for the first real time in years. I had seen the third one, Riddick, in theaters when it first came out, and liked it enough but just kinda brushed it off as a generic sci-fi movie. It wasn't until a few years later when I watched Pitch Black and then Chronicles of Riddick, and started becoming a fan.
This most recent watch, I watched them all back-to-back including Riddick for the very second time. And I gotta say, I fucking love these movies. They're over the top, batshit, badass, and basically run on the rule of cool; but there was also a lot of thought put into the world the movies inhabit and the designs of the technology the characters use.
I liked the small feeling of Pitch Black, and the desperate plan from the survivors of the crash. The creatures were brutal and pretty scary even if they look like hammerhead sharks.
I really liked the setting and story of Chronicles, throwing Riddick and the audience into a much wider universe than the first one even let on. I love the Necromongers' heavy gothic designs and the effects used to show how their technology works with the almost ghostly energy when you see the ships fly. And their whole intro at the beginning of the movie is badass too, and how they show up in the comet that supposedly hails their coming. I'm a fan of that 40K-like mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements.
Riddick is also just as enjoyable as the first two imo, especially if you watch it while Chronicles is still fresh in your mind, or right after. It does basically become Pitch Black 2, but there's enough that's different about it.
I guess I just made this post to say that the movies are fun and you should watch them, if not for the story then for the action; and if not for that then watch them for the worldbuilding and the set and prop design, because there's a lot to enjoy onscreen.
Yeah I love them and the universe. Probably time for a re-watch.
It feels like a weird mix of 40K and Dune, and it totally works for what it is imo.
Edit: I also saw a comment that describes it as "Conan in Space" and I think that's a perfect description of the series, especially Chronicles.