Nice Shine Job

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2006)

There were outer-space ghoul stories before "Alien" ("Space: 1999" had a few) and since ("Event Horizon"). Most of them are pretty bad and "Pitch Black," which is utterly unoriginal, could easily have been, too. Instead it's a cool, character-driven yet action-packed, dark thriller. An interplanetary space transport crashes on a desert planet with 3 suns and apparently perpetual daylight. Like "Alien," the film begins by exploring the handful of survivors. Like "Lifeboat," it gradually divulges that some of them have things to hide. Not Riddick (Diesel), an escaped murderer being returned to prison by bounty hunter Johns (Hauser, effectively icy & sleazy). When perpetual day suddenly turns to perpetual night, the creepy-crawlies come out to kill, rend & chow down on Fresh Human. To survive, the others must accept Riddick, who is tougher than all of them and has had a prison "shine job" on his eyes that lets him see in the dark. But Riddick must also overcome the hatred he has for all of his own kind, a rage that he covers under a cool, wry facade of independence. Will Riddick eventually sacrifice the others to ensure his own survival, or maybe even just for one universal up-yours to the human race? Diesel has a star-making role, making a repugnant character sympathetic, giving us fleeting glimpses of Riddick's sadness & loneliness while never, ever detracting from his granite-souled strength. Several other actors have more work to do in this film than most action flicks, but they are all up to the task. The guilt-ridden pilot Fry (Mitchell), a dark, refreshing break from the butt-kicking babe stereotype begun with "Charlie's Angels," holds the others together while Riddick comes & goes. Mitchell has a steeliness & style that belies her blonde cuteness and holds up well opposite both the brawny, in-your-face Diesel & the taut, cool Hauser. David, as a Muslim space pilgrim, brings religious faith ("Because you do not believe in God, does not mean God does not believe in you") to counter the others' anger, despair or wry selfishness ("Look to thine own ass first"). The dark, percussion-heavy score is perfect for "Pitch Black's" visual effects, which are somewhat less spectacular than recent "Star Wars" but more effective, a background rather than a replacement for the action. "Pitch Black" is as entertaining as any old Saturday matinÃ©e, much better suited to our know-it-all times, without the condescension & stereotyping to which Hollywood is usually so devoted.