The Good, The Bad, and The Reasons You Should See This.

Rating: 8/10 (27 February 2000)

Pitch Black isn't without its plot kinks and deficiencies, but the good definitely outweighs the bad. Those who are not sci-fi fans may not appreciate it enough to be impressed, but fans of the genre will be overjoyed to see a decent movie in their arena for god knows how long.
The Good: The opening of the movie features the crash-landing of a cargo ship which is nail-biting and extremely well done. The actors and their dialogue are all competent, with Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan) almost single-handedly elevating the film to greatness as an escaped convict being transported by the authorities (His character, Riddick, is one of the most memorable bad guys I can think of). The movie also ends in an unexpected way that manages to humanize some of the characters without seeming overly cheesy.
The Bad: No matter how sound of a plot this film has, it all boils down to a group of isolated humans being stalked by carnivorous monsters, just like in a thousand other movies. Some of the sets (The prospector villages and the 'skiff') are pretty flimsy looking. Some of the technical details (How did the ship crash in the first place? How do the creatures survive by just eating each other? Why did they grow from being bat-sized to elephant-size all of a sudden? What kind of a dumbass drinks whiskey in a desert underneath 3 suns?) might irritate plot dissectors like me.
All in all, I like sci-fi and hate movies that give it a bad name. This one is definitely worth seeing.