Pitch Black is salvaged by some excellent ideas and Vin Diesel!

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2000)

I have just gotten back from my local multiplex and after seeing it all I can say is that before seeing it, recognize that what you are about to see is no sci-fi classic. That being said, it's also important to note that Pitch Black is still a very entertaining ride, even if you don't remember why you liked it after the film.
This film, directed by David Twohy (The Arrival), has a very good concept but it is executed in a way that makes the film fall below what it should have been. The film has an odd mix of trying to flesh out each and every one of the characters while trying to keep the momentum of the film going. Suffice it to say, that doesn't work to well, at least not in the context of this film.
Unfortunately I missed the first ten minutes of the movie, due to the fact that I was in line picking up a large soda, who knows those 10 minutes might affect my review, but I doubt it. When I got into the theatre, the main vessel carrying the cast of this film had just crash-landed onto a barren planet and the passengers were just noticing their surroundings. It appears that the ship was carrying passengers to the "New Civilization" in addition to carrying a maximum prison escapee Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel), but because of the crash, everything is messed up. The new captain, Fry (Radha Mitchell), is very unwilling to fulfil her newly appointed post, the officer that captured Riddick, Johns (Cole Hauser) is a hot-tempered morphine addict, and the aforementioned Riddick has escaped. Not soon after the crash, there is a huge twist. One of the crew members goes to explore a suspicous cave, and gets killed by something that isn't human. This begins to bring a whole new slant to things in the film and it introduces the nocturnal, carnivorous aliens. Even worse, to benefit the nocturnal aliens and to horrify the crew members, it has been 22 years since the last eclipse on the planet, and therefore, its about time for another one. From here on in everything goes crazy. The aliens appear on the surface, an allegience (or is it?) with Riddick must be made, and something has to be done to get off the planet before everyone gets killed.
I'll hand it to Twohy and Ken Wheat, the concept of the film is very good. On the other hand the direction of Twohy is very lopsided, the first 20 minutes are trying to flesh out characters and setup the rest of the flim, but it is a series of bizarre shots and milling around. From the first attack on, the film loses the look it had for the first twenty minutes and becomes a run of the mill action film, but with some very cool set pieces. The same could be said for Wheat's screenplay, which is lopsided throughout the whole film, giving some excellent lines to the truly menacing Vin Diesel, or giving cornball one-liners to the various others. The acting on the whole doesn't benefit the film either. Radha Mitchell, last seen in the great Ally Sheedy film High Art, gives a performance that could be comparble to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley from the "Alien" films. Cole Hauser, from Good Will Hunting, is the dark law official who gives the deepest performance of the film, but that isn't saying much. Far and away, the best performance in the film is Vin Diesel's. Well actually, it's really just the character that Vin plays that makes him standout, along with his gravelly voice and incredible strength. All in all, Diesel's Riddick is one of the most indelible sci-fi characters in quite a while,possibly since Schwarzeneggers Terminator.
My final say on this film is that it is recommended to someone who wants to be entertained by a movie that doesn't make one think that much, but to just witness explosions and violence. I would say to catch this film at a matinee bargain price, but it could be enjoyed just the same if you waited for it to hit DVD or VHS.
My Rating : 6/10