Riddick

From start to finish, this adventure is completely ridiculous (no pun intended), but Vin Diesel remains charismatic and fun to watch in his signature antihero role as the growling convict left for dead on a sun-scorched planet. After healing his broken body with rivets and taming a space hyena, his only means of escape is letting the intergalactic authorities know he's alive so he can hitch a rocket ride, but that also means alerting unscrupulous mercenaries to his presence. There's also a digital army of nasty alien predators to fight off in a set-up reminiscent of Pitch Black - and that's not the only link to the original film. It's far better than the first sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, with ferocious monsters, slasher-style gore and cheesy one-liners (Jordi Mollá's hilarious, macho head bounty hunter has the pick of them) and writer/director David Twohy - who has been at the helm of all three instalments - enhances the kinetic action with an impressive array of cosmic visuals. All this makes for an entertainingly pulpy and playful science-fiction ride.