A visually stunning piece of work, with one flaw too many. ** out of ****.

Rating: 5/10 (9 March 2000)

PITCH BLACK / (2000) **
Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, and Simon Burke Directed By David N. Twohy. Written by Jim and Ken Wheat. Running time: 108 minutes. Rated R (for violence and language).
By Blake French:
"Pitch Black" probably combines over a dozen horror clinches and surprisingly ends up providing us with a premise that is somewhat original. The only reason it fails is because, of all the recycling this film attempts, it forgets to include message, moral, and depth. The concepts are too simplified. This requires the audience to park their brains at the theater entrance before they will be able to thoroughly enjoy the production. Whenever a story requires no logic or thought, the writers, Jim and Ken Wheat, show sings of laziness. If they cared about the film's overall theme they would have further developed certain conflicts, characters, and notions in a method that relates to the story. That would demand hard work and long hours, however, and that is something the "Pitch Black" filmmakers would rather replace with special effects and computer animated visuals.
"Pitch Black" takes place in the future as a high tech space ship blasts through the outermost layers of the galaxy. This space vessel is carrying an assortment of passengers. Most of these characters have one syllable names that are easy to shout out loud. They include Fry (Radha Mitchell), a determined woman and unwilling leader after the captain is killed, Johns (Cole Hauser), a morphine addicted bounty hunter, Imam (Keith David), a Muslim who coexists with three youthful pilgrims, Paris (Lewis Fitz-Gerald), an antique merchant, Shazza (Claudia Black), a geologist, Jack (Rhianna Griffith) an influential teenager, and Riddick (Vin Diesel), a muscular convicted killer who has night vision.
As the movie opens, the space craft crashes on an obsolete planet where there appears to be no food or water. (We never really learn what made the vessel plummet to an uncharted land mass, or receive much character development.) The survivors then learn that Riddick, whose intentions may be murderous, has escaped from concealed captivity. The crew then discovers the remains of a desolate assortment of people who may have crash landed here around twenty years ago. Without further ado, an unknown creature mutilates a crew member. They later learn that aliens inhabit the planet but are afraid of the light. So, no problem, right. How can carnivorous invertebrate that are terrified of bright substances cause a threat in a world with three suns? The filmmakers place the characters in a time era in which a solar eclipse is prone to occur. Their only hope: racing across the planet to find several fuel cells that belong to a spacecraft that will take them out of their horrible experiences.
Isn't it kind of coincidental that the luminous body in which the band collapses contains oxygen; the only mistrusting character is able to see in the dark as a solar eclipse befalls; an eclipse just happens to transpire at the worst time? I also question the aliens' presence. They are frightening and well crafted. However, why do they kill the astronauts? Do they feast upon their physical existence? If so, what did the creatures eat for twenty years after the last victimized crew crash landed. The selected planet contains no vegetation, recourses, other animals, or even water. It is a deserted desert-like landscape. So how do they manage to survive--especially being afraid of light on a planet with three suns? Why do they fear the light? Perhaps they chow on each other? There is a sequence in the film where the aliens attach and kill one another--but why? Nothing here is answered or clarified.

The characters in "Pitch Black" are your usual monster movie characters, some lacking personality and interest, and others who have no construction of shape, all whose instincts are instantly obvious. The picture does have enough intelligence to become fearless in its victimizing. It's not alarmed to pick off any of the characters--even some of the big starring roles are killed. I am impressed to witness some decent and well-cast performances here. Although the filmmakers do not take advantage of Vin Diesel's physical composition, he handles the role of a secondary villain with endurance and strength. The rest of the cast also performs with appropriate character traits.
There is a sequence in "Pitch Black" where a mesmerizing collage of spellbinding visual effects makes a solar eclipse. This visually arousing sequence combines of the best technology of special effects I have ever witnessed. The movie is smart with the construction of the aliens, and we are able to induce our imagination a little with those creatures. In a movie of such piercing optical stimulation, however, it should have not wasted time in developing a human conflict, although it interacts with the character twists and adds a nice touch, but evolved more on the interesting alien beings. But "Pitch Black" does not take advantage of either component.

Brought to you by Gramercy Pictures.