Sep 13, 2013 By Lou Gaul calkins Media Film Critic 2 min read

With “Riddick,” newly minted superstar Vin Diesel learns a lesson about being careful what you wish for.

For Diesel, who has enjoyed huge international success with the installments of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, bringing his outer-space character back to the screen was almost a point of honor to him. The muscular 46-year-old actor introduced the brawny and brainy character in “Pitch Black” (2000), which quickly became a cult favorite, and then played him in “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004). “Chronicles” was an expensive misfire that many, including Diesel, blamed on studio chiefs insisting that the film be softened from a hard-hitting R-rating to a softer teen-oriented PG-13.

It then tanked at the box office.

Thanks to the wildly popular “Fast and Furious” titles, Diesel had the opportunity to make any film that caught his eye. He decided to work again with David Twohy, who directed and co-wrote the first two installments, and was anxious to complete the trilogy with “Riddick,” anchored by a muscular warrior-race character who can deliver lightning-fast moves and is a highly skilled predator.

For Diesel’s hard-core fans, “Riddick” may prove an end-of-the-summer jolt as the actor throws numerous jabs, including some directed toward the funny bone, as he goes through physical feats that have his convict character surviving when 11 bounty hunters and enemies find him on a blazing-hot planet and most focus on tracking him down.

The title character, who can see in the dark, has a dog-like pet that resembles Marmaduke on steroids. He also trades some sex-fueled zingers with scene-stealing Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”). Sharp-eyed fans should look for appearances of characters from the first two installments.

Some audience members may not just sit back and be quiet for the length of the film. During an extended (and tiring) dialogue exchange involving Riddick, a viewer at the showing I attended shouted out, “Who wrote this!”

But let’s face it: the star never promised that “Riddick” would be a great adventure, but he did do his true fans a favor by using Diesel fuel to finish what he started and they enjoyed.

Postscript: “Riddick” is being shown in regular versions and Imax. This review is based on an Imax screening where the image was sometime so detailed the digital visuals attracted too much attention.