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Pitch Black (Widescreen Unrated Director's Cut) Customer Reviews (55 - 57 of 69 Reviews)

Keep an open mind
I'm a little weary from reading these other reviews. I didn't love this movie but I didn't hate it either. I liked it because the special effects were decent, particularly the eclipse scene, and the opening scene is pretty cool too. I thought Frye was pretty cute and the australian actors were a nice touch. There are some definite tense moments as well as a couple of "what the hell are they doing?" moments. The direction is very fast and stylish. There's one moment where I wanted to just smack the director because of just a bit too much flash but it was only once and fairly early in the movie. Cole Hauser who also played in Dazed and Confused was pretty cool. The aliens were a little too easily discernable as computer generated but frightening nonetheless. And there was an interesting twist at the end that left me a little disappointed but what are ya gonna do? Ultimately, I'd recommend this to rent for sci-fi fans but don't buy it until you've seen it. I'll probably buy it because it has some nice scary moments. Not scary to me but scary to most of the women I would watch this with. (:

Fun with Vin
After watching the trailler for "The Riddick chronicles" and finding out that it was a kind of a sequel, I went after the first movie in the Riddick series. I usualy like science fiction movies, but I don't expect them all to be great movies. So, in this way, "Pitch Black" was a very good surprise. The only other science fiction movie that surprised me as much as this one (I was expecting little and got more than I thought I would) is "Event horizon".

The plot is not original: a spaceship transporting a group of people crashes in a seemingly deserted planet. Soon, they discover that the planet had been previously reached by human beings, but now they're all gone. What happened? When they find a model showing them that the planet is immersed in a total eclypse every twenty-two years (and the cycle will be closing very soon again) they start to worry.

Right, there are many incoherent situations and plot holes in "Pitch black", but there are three things that make this movie good: 1. Most of the characters are well-developed, each with his or her own singularities; when they start to die (as they will obviously do) and the troubles begin, the viewer cares for them. 2. Director David Twohy knows how to build the tension on screen, using the lights/no-lights situations; also, the visual effects of the "natural inhabitants" of the planets are very effeective to the audience. 3. Vin Diesel surprised me once again as an actor full of resources, even if always basing his characters on a macho figure; for an example, Caparzo (from "Saving Private Ryan"), Varik (from "Boiler Room") and Riddick may look alike, but if you think well, you'll find out that each has its own personality: Caparzo as the bearlish friend you can always count with, Varik as a tough but gentle guy, and Riddick as a mean, cool and violent outlaw.

So, that is to say that "Pitch black" was a nice surprise, and now I want to watch "The Riddick chronicles". "Pitch black" was deservedly nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 2000 (lost to "The matrix").

Grade 8.2/10

a little lean, but better than expected
'Pitch Black' is a stark, surprisingly well-developed and thought out variation on the outer-space, Sci-Fi action thriller. Special effects are suprisingly good for a low-budget film, and the acting and character development are what set it apart from so many, many bad past films of the same genre.

Vin Diesel is a star in the making. This is not where you first heard it, but it's only a matter of time before his star explodes into a SuperNova. His charisma and intensity are palpable, and he has more muscles than any leading man since Arnold. Catch him in the movie, 'Boiler Room' for a look at him in a suit, with nothing to else to rely on except his great acting ability. Most of all, his very unique features, baritone voice, and ambiguous ethnic backgound make him a very memorable, unique hero/antihero and an actor to watch.

Other characters were less compelling, especially David Keith's very formulaic role as a muslim holy-man. Where have I seen that character before? Somewhere, I'm sure.

Radha Mitchell also turns in a pretty good performance as the group leader and seat of their moral angst. Once again, pretty good character development on the ambiguity of good/evil. Although not of fashion model dimensions or strikingness, Ms. Mitchell's character and features tend to grow on you. Within the first ten minutes of the film, one begins to realize that she is one very, very attractive young woman! She is a fine actor, too, and I was more than a little surprised to find out that she is actually an Australian, and NOT an American, as portrayed in the film. If she can do a passably good American accent, why can't Mel Gibson??

There is a big enough plot twist in the end to keep you satisfied *after* the movie is over. Coupled with the unique, interesting characters, better-than-average character development, better-than-average SFX, and some eye-candy in Diesel and Mitchell, this is a movie that you will remember some time after seeing it. How many other formulaic space-monster Sci-Fi thrillers in recent memory can you say that about?

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