Classic characters.... Story gets the job done.

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2000)

For a genre so littered with cliche garbage like Event Horizon and Starship Troopers, Pitch Black stands as one of the top in its class.
See the film, if for nothing other than the lead character, Riddick, a real gem of science fiction anti-heroes. His voice over sets the tone early on in the film, and distinguishes him as the major player.
"They say your mind shuts down during cryo-sleep.... All but the primitive side, the animal side.... I guess that's why I'm still awake."
Pitch Black is more about the development of a few of its characters as they learn more about themselves and others, than it is about surviving an alien assault.
Sure, the story is pretty stock, but it's driven by believable people, people I could identify with, people faced with fear, distrust, prejudice, and an army of creatures that forces them to open their eyes to each other, lest they be devoured from without and within.
Impressive special effects, little things like sepia toned lighting on the desert planet that shifts hues as the world's three suns rise and fall. Similar insect-like alien feel to the creatures of Aliens and Starship Troopers, but again, this film isn't really about the creatures. It's about characters, and that's why it works so well. It succeeds where so many movies of its kind fail.