Vin Diesel reprises his trademark role of the murderous orphan of a barbarian people who has had his eyes altered for nocturnal operations. In the light he needs to wear goggles. I have seen Pitch Black and the Chronicles of Riddick. This flick takes many of the best elements from both and it works.

The movie is gritty, physical and primal. I have to think that it was partially inspired by Howard’s Conan. A brutally interesting ecology is exposed from the point of view of the next meal. The story itself reminds me of the Howard book Almuric, a fantasy about a man marooned on a barbaric planet. I’m not a Diesel fan, but he is perfect for this role. His performance is essentially silent, so he narrates it with a voice over which really works. Here are a few of his thoughts as he learns to survive by his wits again after a fall from power.

“Death is what they do for a living.”

"The question ain’t what happens. The question is what happened to me.”

“You keep what you kill.”

“The worst crime of all—I got civilized.”

Check it out, you will love the wild hyena-like leaping ‘dingo-dogs’.