The Best Brain Out Sci-Fi For Decades

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2000)

Occasionally along comes a film which is not hyped to the maximum and generally comes recommended by a friend, my favourite Sci-Fi film of all time came to me this way, that film was The Hidden. Now it has been surpassed by Pitch Black, received the US DVD last week and so far watched it 5 or 6 times and the film just gets better and better.
So where to begin, the start is excellent full of action not the usual eerie pan around the spaceship interior. The bodycount also starts pretty quickly. This leads into a very fast pace for the whole film all the way to the end.
The sound (on DVD) is excellent and the visuals (although not scientifically accurate) are a wonder to behold, with lots of freeze framing going on. Characters are well in two camps ( those who survive most of the time and those who don't ), Riddick, Fry, Jack, Imam, Johns and to a lesser degree Paris all have some development throughout the film and add some interesting plots.
The acting on the whole is very good and Vin Diesel deserves to increase his Hollywood profile following this film. The DVD offers a lot of information with the commentaries sections and would recommend checking these out. I look forward to 10th November when Pitch Black is in UK cinemas ( yes that is 9 months since the US release and some one should face criminal charges of cruelty for that ) as it will be a visceral feast to enjoy on the big screen.
If you liked Predator, Aliens, The Hidden, Independence Day, The Thing or any other leave your brain at home and enjoy the ride movie then you MUST see Pitch Black.