The vexed question which has to be addressed is, has the character of Richard B Riddick succumbed to the ravages of the Matrix Syndrome?

That's to say has a taut, inventive, modestly-budgeted template been inflated into a bloated cash cow, bursting at the seams with equal parts of ego and OTT SFX?

Well, a bit of both. The portentuously titled Chronicles is certainly bigger and noisier than its humbler forebear... but just about pulls it off thanks to a serviceable plot and slick action.

Mercifully, any Matrix-style philosophical noodling is limited to Dame Judi Dench's Aereon, a sort of pensionable Tinkerbell who flits in and out of the narrative dispensing pearls of wisdom.

When we meet uber-warrior Vin five years after his escape in Pitch Black, he's the last hope of peaceful empire Helion Prime, which is under threat from his old adversary, the Necromongers.

These are "half-dead, half-something else", according to Dame Judi, and they have a nasty, if accomplished, habit of killing or enslaving any planet in their path.

To be brutally honest, they actually have the look of Lord Of The Rings' Orcs, albeit after a word in the ear about personal grooming and a nice line in tailored armour.

In addition to all this, Vin must also keep a look over his shoulder for a gang of mercenaries who want to clean up with the bounty on his (bald) head.

There are echoes of Dune and countless other sci-fi thrillers in this - but it knows its strengths...and its strengths are the choreographed action setpieces.

The most impressive of these takes place in a dripping subterranean prison in the volcanic planet, the aptly-named Crematoria, where Vin reteams with his old Pitch Black pal-ette Jack (now reinvented as Kyra).

Aside from Vin and his cohorts, there are some characters who boast a little depth - Karl Urban's Necromonger commander Vaako and his fiercely ambitious wife Thandie Newton.

But actions speak louder than words - which is just as well because Vin's dialogue is really nothing more than a series of macho soundbites.

As far as the target audience is concerned, the main draw here is our anti-hero mouthing something butch while he totals a regiment of ne'er-do-wells and as such it's Riddick-ulously good fun.

Tim Evans