Eh, it could have been much better..

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2000)

I've seen sci-fi thrillers and I personally thought this one was at the bottom of my list. Yes the acting was great, the animation was great, but certain parts of the movie could have been different.
A quick summary: the crew of a huge ship suddenly awakes to find that their ship is going hay-wire. After trying their best to land the ship, the ship crash lands on a seemingly deserted planet. However, as the plot unfolds, they find that they're only real danger is the darkness which is like day time for the evil aliens that live on the planet.
My, it sounds like wonderful right? Not entierly true. As the plot unfolds more and more, you only learn about the escaped convict which they rely on to escape. Everyone else, it takes you almost half the movie to learn their name. Some of the characters I didn't even know until the credits rolled by. It gave you no background on the characters except for the "cop" and the "bad guy." Everyone else is hard to get attached to except for the main character, Fry.
Of course, the whole crew of the ship relies on the macho "bad guy" to get off the planet. He figures out everything, everyone else follows him almost without questioning him. The characters don't think for themselves except for the very beginning where they are forced to make a choice without him.
Well, "Scariest Sci-Fi Movie of the Year?" Not really. Although one part made me jump, others made me nervous, and the simply amazing music (no sarcasm there folks ; )) tries to tie it all together it simply doesn't seem to work. I think because of how short the movie seemed, they never had time to build you up as you went through the movie. Perhaps they could have made it so that it goes between night and day and the characters slowly get picked off rather than having a few hours of an eclipse every 22 years. They could have made this movie a lot better.
The ending, I hated, because of what the writer of the movie did to a certain main character. If you saw the movie you know what I'm talking about. I hated that part. When movies do that to me, they drop down a few points on my, "List of best movies" list.
Overall, it was a fine movie. It was not in the least scary. I am a four-teen year old and guess what. I could have fallen asleep if my care for what would happen to the characters did not keep me awake. Do not expect this movie to be a nail-biter. Do not expect that what you think the movie is about, that is what it is about. It isn't. Would I recommend it? Yes...but from there you have to tell me your opinion. 7 of 10 stars.