Rating: 
Summary: Fun with Vin
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: Pitch Black (2000)
Review: Director: David Twohy
Cast: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Claudia Black.
Running Time: 107 minutes.
Rated R for violence and language. Obviously, "Pitch Black" is a major rip-off of "Alien" or any other monster/alien/ghost film ever made. With that criticism set aside, this film, directed by David Twohy, is highly entertaining and devilishly dark at the same time. The film revolves around a group of space vessel inhabitants who stumble upon an unknown planet that has three suns. The amount of suns; however, is not the most unusual spectacle on the planet, for they are stalked by ravenous flying creatures that thrive on darkness. With the help from Vin Diesel as the creepy, blinded warrior, Riddick, the crew must figure out how to not only survive on this horrific planet, but somehow leave before a solar eclipse wipes out all light from the planet and allows the flesh-eating monsters to have more exposure. Excellent special effects and some interesting cinematography, but this action-packed science-fiction romp is hampered by sub-par acting peformances and a mediocre script. Certainly not the worst of its kind, but because they are so many of its kind, "Pitch Black" seems overdone, less original, and only moderately satisfying. The Unrated Version has a few minutes of extra footage that are very entertaining and add to the only mediocre story. It is a fine addition to the film and it would have been beneficial to have it in the theatrical release.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling, entertaining, slick film.
Review: Pitch Black features a fairly common sci/horror plot about a spaceship crash landing on an apparently desolate planet that happens to be inhabited by flesh-eating creatures. There's nothing unusual to this plot, and it offers basically no surprises. This would seemingly offer up a boring movie, or at least one that doesn't rise far above made-for-TV status. In fact, just the opposite is true of Pitch Black. It is exciting and thrilling, and occasionally even a little scary. The actors are all really, really good in their roles. And the screenplay is written to allow even minor characters a bit of fleshing-out. The visuals in this move are also very, very good with scary creatures that look like the old "Aliens" film and hunt like the raptors of "Jurassic Park", a character with strange but cool shiny eyes, and computer graphics that are light weight enough not to distract. The cinematography in this movie is awesome! With light shifts of red to blue, and back again, it gives the wonderful anticipatory thrill missing in many of today's sci/horror flicks that rely solely on explosions and blood drenching scences. The direction is also very good in this movie. Basically, what the makes of Pitch Black did was take an old story and clean it up with great acting, cinematography, direction, and writing. The total of their efforts brings us a movie which thrills, even though the plot is old news, because perhaps for the first time, it was done well enough that we could believe it. My only complaint about this movie is the vagueness of the Riddick character and what he is about. At the end, it is left unsure whether he really was an evil criminal that somehow 'became' good on this planet, or if he was a misunderstood character. Because of this unclearness, it leaves the viewer in doubt about his character even after the movie is over. It would have been nice to get more inside the head of this character at the end. I can only hope that the coming movies will give us a little more. DVD contains a typical, boring 'making of' and some interesting commentaries. Nothing spectacular or worth making a buying decision over.
Rating:
Summary: Very Effective Horror Sci-Fi Chiller - Stunning on DVD!
Review: I'm finally writing this review after having owned this film on DVD since December of 2000! (Wow, has it really been over 4 years already???) To be honest, I first saw PITCH BLACK (2000) in the theater after having been so intrigued by the teaser/trailer shown on TV--and I didn't like it back then. At the time, I found the visuals too muddy and the characters too broadly stroked and one-dimensional. I mentally rated the film two stars out of five (I never officially reviewed the theater version on here). Indeed, the only thing that saved this film from a one-star rating was the surprising, star-making performance of Vin Diesel as convicted murderer and prisoner Richard B. Riddick; he ended up being the only character that I had found interesting! Well, I had a change-of-heart when PITCH BLACK came out on DVD. The more I remembered the movie, the more aspects of it I liked; plus, I had a feeling that it would end up being like THE MATRIX, which looks much better on DVD that it ever did in the theater. I don't know why I thought so, but I had a strong feeling about that. My instincts were correct: I played the DVD soon after having received it for the holidays, and it just completely rocked! For some reason, everything that I found disjointed on the big screen just totally came together on the small screen. Plus, we had just bought and installed a Surround Sound system for the first time, and I believe that PITCH BLACK was the first DVD we played on it. Oh man, what an experience! This film is ten times creepier with Surround Sound--it's truly amazing. If you didn't already know by now, PITCH BLACK is a Sci-Fi Horror chiller dealing with a small band of military space travelers, who are looking for a new planet to colonize and on which to incarcerate the dangerous Riddick. Australian actress Radha Mitchell (this film was shot in the Australian desert) plays Carolyn Fry, who becomes commander when an unfortunate accident kills the previous leader and causes the spacecraft to crash-land on this seemingly barren planet. Having been content playing second-fiddle for a long time and being clearly uncomfortable with her new role, Fry must learn how to lead this ragtag band, which includes, among others, William J. Johns as the macho, Rambo-like, self-proclaimed hero (Cole Hauser), a devoted Muslim (Keith David) and his two young sons, a scrappy teenage tomboy (Rhianna Griffith) and the aforementioned Riddick. As Fry sets out to seek life on this sun-scorched desert planet, with Johns challenging her every step of the way, the enigmatic and unpredictable Riddick escapes. Just as they begin to discover the truth about this ultra-bright planet served by three suns, things suddenly take a dark turn for the worse as the natural order of things begins to change--in the form of an extremely rare triple-solar eclipse. It is then that this group find the danger lurking within the planet--the hard way. This film is very sharply shot (and looks really incredible on an HDTV screen), with alternately red and blue camera filters which make us feel the extreme differences in conditions faced by these characters. This DVD offers some really tasty extras including commentary tracks by director David Twohy and stars Diesel & Hauser; however, the four-and-a-half minute "Making Of" featurette is disappointingly short. All-in-all, PITCH BLACK, with its plot holes & all, is an extremely entertaining movie that is best watched in the type of conditions described by the title, and--of course--it certainly helps to have Surround Sound and to turn it up! RECOMMENDED
(HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR HORROR/SCIFI FANS!)
Rating: 
Summary: WHAJT
Review: I dont understand how people could think this movie was great, it was so boring. Subpar acting by Vin Diesel as always, ok plot a plus, except for the fact of why there were so many civilians, the thing that ticked me off the most was the ending, it made no sense; did i miss something, or was vin diesel not a con. they should have ended the movie with everyone dying except vin diesel, if they wanted to make a sequal so badly.
Rating:
Summary: A suprising Hybrid of a movie!
Review: This is the first movie that actually made me like Vin Diesel. It is more of a character study with some alien horror thrown in. The main focus of the story is the Triangle between Riddick (Vin Diesel), Fry (Radha Mitchell) and Johns (Cole Hauser). After a frightening crash landing on a deserted planet, Navigator Fry is torn by guilt of almost sacrificing the passengers to save herself. It is a weakness that both ex-con Riddick and cop Johns can smell. Both of them are drawn to her guilt mixed with a shaky authority over the rest of the survivors. It is an authority they both wish to take from her. It was great seeing a film with a complex female character. Mitchell does a great job with a role that could have just been eye candy. At first, Fry feels safe with Johns because he leads her to believe that he can protect her from the violent Riddick. Hauser is good as the manipulative Johns who is trying to figure out a way to replace Fry as the leader. Her admission about the crash specifics gives him his answer. While Johns is repelled by Fry's story, Riddick (who was spying on the couple) is intrigued and aroused by it. After being caught (rather intentionally not by accident) Riddick seeks out Fry whenever possible. Diesel is fantastic as Riddick. You can actually see him struggle during his conversations with Mitchell. His character has probably never had romantic feelings towards any woman and his attraction to her fascinates him. Of course Johns has secrets of his own and Riddick's desire to get close to Fry is not a good thing. It was an interesting twist that the supposed good guy Johns is the one who attacks Fry and it is Riddick who repeatedly protects her. When the aliens appear, Fry takes a chance on Riddick's help. It is this act that allows Riddick to change and allow himself to care for someone else. Fry's eventual demise is very disturbing and disappointing. And also, no, Riddick did not sacrifice her to save himself. Listen to their conversation before they save the rest of the group. Riddick is upset that she put herself in danger to save him. There is a sequel coming up and it looks like a big effects driven extravaganza. Also it is focused solely on Diesel which is great but I was hoping that they would find a way to bring back Radha Mitchell's wonderful Fry. Afterall she was the one who saved him and gave him back his dignity. The rest of the cast is great and the aliens are not that corny. It is a rather nice Sci-Fi movie.
Rating:
Summary: Very Surprising
Review: This movie is a serious success. Low budget sets, low budget actors (Vin Diesel was not the XXX he is now), and a mediocre premise. It rises far above and beyond its constraints and delivers major kick-ass sci-fi monster movie thrills. This movie was much better than many movies that had more to work with (like the Species series, Mimic, etc). It is no "Aliens", but is nearly as convincing. PLEASE NOTE: A movie trailer was released today called "The Chronicles of Riddick". Riddick is the same character as in Pitch Black. No word yet as to whether this movie is a prequel or a sequel...
Rating:
Summary: True suspense!
Review: A great movie featuriing good acting, directing, and use of lighting to tell a story of creepy inhabitants of another planet. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good idea, badly excuted
Review: I have one word for this movie: LAME. Only good part was the ship crashing down on the planet. THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT -ALIEN-
Rating:
Summary: scifi with a little Diesel fuel
Review: gotta love the Diesel man, he sparks and shines in this role and Riddick. nice special effects make this one enjoyable and the supporting cast is great to. David Twohy the director is also a hollywood screenwriter
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