For those of you with some kid left in you, (if you are one of the lucky ones, it starts to grow back as you age), I recommend the last (2013) Riddick film, just “Riddick”. To set it up you should watch the first in the series, “Pitch Black” (2000). It was excellent and got good reviews with Vin Diesel in the role of Riddick. In the distant future (400-500 years) Riddick is an escaped convict being transported to a prison planet. They crash land on a desert planet that is cruel in its extended daylight hours but becomes horrendous during it’s monthly period of darkness

You can skip the second, “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004). It was okay for a die hard like me but it nearly killed the franchise. Skipping it will not disrupt the story line. In this one Riddick meets the Necromonger cult who traverse the galaxy conquering everything they stumble on.

The recent release is a total delight to me. Riddick is abandoned on another unpopulated desert planet with lots of great alien species including a dog like creature that Riddick domesticates and another species that is a close second to the creatures of “Alien”. Eventually bounty hunters come to get him and the fun begins. There are lots of things to criticize from a terrible deux ex machina to cultural stereotypes that seem unlikely this far in the future. Just ignore them and let yourself be caught up with the hard men, a good looking babe (Katee Sackoff), and plenty of futuristic tech and weapons.

I enjoyed it so much I will probably get the trilogy on blu-ray and I am not usually a collector.