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Pitch Black (Widescreen Unrated Director's Cut) Customer Reviews (46 - 48 of 69 Reviews)

A Cut Above The Norm For Sci-Fi Thrillers!
Looking at the premise alone, Pitch Black is basically Alien in the desert. However, the execution is surprisingly solid. The characterization is usually two-dimensional in pictures like this, but just about everyone in this movie has an ample supply of virtues and flaws. The heroes certainly aren't perfect (one makes a decision to save herself that nearly kills everyone else, while another is a drug addict), and neither is the villain. Diesel's Riddick turns out to have a certain amount of nobility to him, while staying true to his own evil nature. The darker side of the characters' human nature contributes just as much to the tension in the film as the albino monsters flying over their heads, which goes a long way toward making this more enjoyable than expected.

As far as the DVD extras are concerned, the 3 minutes of footage added to the unrated version will probably go unnoticed by anyone who watched the movie in the theater (I only figured out what they were by listening to the Twohy/Diesel commentary). The "Pitch Black" premier dance party footage is a waste of both time and space, but the "making of" documentary is fairly good, and it includes the movie trailers, which I always like to see in a DVD.

There's Only One Rule: Stay in the Light.
Set in the distant future, a spaceship carrying some 40 people, mostly ones wanting to settle on other planets from their own, hits a meteor shower and crash lands on a distant planet killing all but about a dozen of them. The survivors, led by the second-in-command Carolyn Fry, find themselves on a hot and humid landscape with constant sunlight from three orbiting suns. The marooned passengers soon learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear. Every 22 years, the planet's three suns go into a total eclips and cause a 'lasting darkness' where the darkness brings out the planet's real inhabitants; Deadly creatures that lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark. It is the 22nd year and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclips. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced to turn to Riddick with his special eyes to guid them through the darkness to safety. With time running out, there's only one rule: Stay in the light.

Surpasses expectations! Interesting characters and story
"Pitch Black" starts out like dozens of other movies; a small group of humans survives a crash landing on a seemingly deserted planet and discovers the remains of a human settlement. Then some nasty aliens show up. Luckily this movie quickly gets past the clichés. Sunlight is lethal to the aliens and this planet has three suns. The discovery that there's a total eclipse every 22 years and the next one is on the horizon gives the movie its jolt.

The main surprises in "Pitch Black" are the characters. Instead of the typical cast of hero, agitator and victims, the writers did a great job of making each distinct and memorable. The meatiest role is the one of Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, a killer with the strength and personality of an alien monster himself. Riddick has a wonderfully ominous voice, the best lines in the film, a great presence, and coincidentally he's got surgically enhanced eyes that allow him to see in the dark. There are some other conveniences like that and a few inconsistencies but the film stays on target well.

I'm growing tired of seeing computer generated effects but I enjoyed them here, particularly the way these aliens move in mass. It's like watching an enormous flock of birds or swarm of insects--more realistic than the animation in "The Mummy Returns" but not as good as "Jurassic Park". The best shot in the film is one of the monsters lit up for a split second while closing in on a guy who ends up being dinner. There are some beautiful horizon shots of the eclipsing planet's rings which take a great deal of photographic liberty. (Two planets couldn't possibly be that close without one of them suffering real damage and you don't have to know much science to know that.)

Despite the problems, "Pitch Black" is a better film than you'd expect it to be and could easily become cult favorite. Fans of Vin Diesel or science fiction films like the original "Alien" will enjoy watching this one more than once.

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