Pitch Black - A Film Review
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hausen, Keith David
Produced: 2000
Analysis: In the future, a merchant starship transporting valuable cargo and passengers suddenly falls prey to a severe failure, and is forced down onto a hostile, arid desert world, surrounded by three suns. The surviving passengers try to rally together to repiar a transport vessel which could get them off the planet, when they run into severe trouble. One of the prisoners is a vicious serial killer being transported to prison, and who has escaped his shackles and is roaming the wilderness. Hesitantly, the survivors set out to find him, and when they do, they discover a major problem- the planet is inhabited by thousands of nocturnal, flesh-eating aliens. At the eve of a total luna eclipse, the group must work together, keeping the prisoner, Riddick (Diesel), alive in order to help them. However, allowing Riddick to live is met with some uneasiness from the other crew members, including the pilot, Fry(Mitchell), holy man Imam(David), and Riddick's sociopathic minder, lawman Johns(Hausen). And when the suns go down, and the creatures emerge, it is singlehandedly up to Riddick to save the others. The question is: will he? That's the premise for "Pitch Black", the science fiction film from Universal Pictures and director David Twohey. The film is enjoyable, though a little muddled: scenes which could have gone on longer in order to offer some explanation are missing, and some of the performances look a litle affected from the heat(ie. stiff). Still, it is a great movie, and one which I enjoyed thoroughly. The star of the film truly is Vin Diesel, as Riddick- the actor fits the character like a glove, giving a performance that makes you cheer for him even though he's supposed to be the bad guy. Impressive visual effects, coupled with a couple of good twists toward the end, make this film a nonetheless enjoyable experience.
Produced: 2000
Analysis: In the future, a merchant starship transporting valuable cargo and passengers suddenly falls prey to a severe failure, and is forced down onto a hostile, arid desert world, surrounded by three suns. The surviving passengers try to rally together to repiar a transport vessel which could get them off the planet, when they run into severe trouble. One of the prisoners is a vicious serial killer being transported to prison, and who has escaped his shackles and is roaming the wilderness. Hesitantly, the survivors set out to find him, and when they do, they discover a major problem- the planet is inhabited by thousands of nocturnal, flesh-eating aliens. At the eve of a total luna eclipse, the group must work together, keeping the prisoner, Riddick (Diesel), alive in order to help them. However, allowing Riddick to live is met with some uneasiness from the other crew members, including the pilot, Fry(Mitchell), holy man Imam(David), and Riddick's sociopathic minder, lawman Johns(Hausen). And when the suns go down, and the creatures emerge, it is singlehandedly up to Riddick to save the others. The question is: will he? That's the premise for "Pitch Black", the science fiction film from Universal Pictures and director David Twohey. The film is enjoyable, though a little muddled: scenes which could have gone on longer in order to offer some explanation are missing, and some of the performances look a litle affected from the heat(ie. stiff). Still, it is a great movie, and one which I enjoyed thoroughly. The star of the film truly is Vin Diesel, as Riddick- the actor fits the character like a glove, giving a performance that makes you cheer for him even though he's supposed to be the bad guy. Impressive visual effects, coupled with a couple of good twists toward the end, make this film a nonetheless enjoyable experience.
