sorry, folks, but it's distinctly mediocre sci-fi

Rating: 4/10 (24 May 2007)

I love "B" science fiction...but I don't love "Pitch Black." The first half of the film is turgid junk, and the second half - while exciting - feels like a sub-sub-sub-standard version of "Jaws 2." In other words, you've seen this kind of scary movie a million times before, and it was done better 900,007 of those times.
I must confess that Vin Diesel is an arresting screen presence, and Radha Mitchell is as lovely and compelling as ever. They often carry the movie when the expletive-ridden script falls completely flat.
Aside from their performances, though, there's not too much to recommend this movie. The villainous creatures look like exactly what they are - modest special effects - and fail to generate sufficient tension.
Really, the most intriguing aspect of the film (to me) is that it features several religious Muslim characters, which is practically unheard of for Hollywood. But, as you can tell, I'm really stretching to find points of interest if I'm reduced to remarking on that.
Amazingly, this bog-standard movie was followed by two sequels - one animated, and the other a shiny CGI spectacle. Together, they form the so-called "Riddick Trilogy" - which will, unless I miss my guess, never become the "Riddick Tetralogy." We must be thankful for small mercies.