Diesel's Big Breakout

Rating: Null/10 (21 March 2002)

I have seen Pitch Black two times and am still not sure that I completely understand everything that happened within it. I saw this movie thinking that it was in the same vein of classics like Alien and Aliens. However, it is a very intense sci-fi movie that is a lot more than it seems. Many of the main characters seem like they may have a certain agenda, but they have underlying ulterior motives for their actions, which made it very interesting to see how they progressed throughout the film on the remote planet.
Radha Mitchell did a great job in the film as the crew's reluctant captain who at first wants to pitch the civilians in the spaceship in order to save herself and then learns to accept the leadership of the others that she has come to take charge of. The other minor characters were good as innocent civilians placed in a dire situation to deal with. But the film belongs to Vin Diesel as convict Richard B. Riddick, who manages to be menacing to the ship's passengers for the first half hour without even uttering a word. While this film does not showcase all of Diesel's talents, it proves that he is a rising star within Hollywood.
While I did enjoy this movie, there were a few plot holes that I couldn't seem to overlook. How does Riddick know so much about these aliens on the planet? How plausible is it that the spaceship would crash land on the planet on the very same day that an eclipse that happens once every 22 years occurs? How in the world is Riddick able to stare down one of the aliens when any other character's heads would have been snapped off immediately? Why is it that these characters that need to stick together in such a dire circumstance always seem to be losing each other, always asking "Where's so and so"? And did you notice how quickly the sun(s) seemed to set in the movie?
Overall, entertaining, but a few minor plot holes.
7/10