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Done as an anime tie-in for The Chronicles of Riddick, for many Rhiana fans this is the only redemption to the film, and we wonder if it might even be something of an apology for the casting debacle that occurred. It's almost unheard-of for a different actress (especially the original actress) to play the same character in a tie-in to the movie being promoted, as it generally undermines the legitimacy of the movie's replacement actress, and the announcement that Rhiana would be playing Jack in Dark Fury actually got many fans' hopes up that the questionable Kyra character wouldn't be Jack after all.

Set almost immediately after the events of Pitch Black, the story opens with Jack's remark at the end of the film:

"Lot of questions, whoever we run into; could even be a merc ship..."

...coming true. The skiff is captured by the Kubla Khan and brought on board. This is no ordinary merc ship but an enormous bounty-hunting factory, with thousands of mercs in cryo waiting to come out and work. Led by Junner, they capture Riddick, but not for the enormous price on his head.

The owner of the ship, Antonia Chillingsworth, has made a bizarre "art" gallery featuring the worst criminals of the galaxy, held in tortured poses in a suspended animation that keeps them aware and tormented. Riddick, in her opinion, is the crowning jewel to her collection, and she's perfectly willing to use his attachment to Imam and Jack in her attempt to control him.

The only possible complaints about Dark Fury are how short it is (35 minutes), the lack of any Rhiana materials in the bonus area (something we were all truly hoping for), and the unfortunate trivialization, both in the anime and the movie it attempts to promote, of Carolyn Fry's epiphany-inducing sacrifice in Pitch Black. Although Riddick does demonstrate a greater level of socialization in this short than in the film, which might be a mark of her impact upon him, the injuries that he sustained -- and that had forced her to come to his aid -- are just missing, to the point where even his clothes have been magically mended.

On the whole, though, Dark Fury proves to be a more faithful and satisfying sequel than The Chronicles of Riddick itself, especially if you are (as we are) a big Rhiana/Jack fan who found the butchery of her character in TCOR -- not to mention the bizarre recasting that turned Jack into Hollywood Cheesecake -- disappointing and upsetting. The Jack you knew and loved from Pitch Black is gloriously intact in this anime, making the DVD more than worth its price and a superior option to the live-action movie it's intended to promote.

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