Rating: 
Summary: What is all the hype about?
Review: I bought the movie, also because of the positive reviews and was disappointed. In my opinion this movie is a nicely made SciFi movie but horror??? The so called 'raptors' are somehow cute - not frightening at all and I am talking about the unrated movie. I didn't see anything in the movie which I did not see in other movies - except for the raptor design. The raptors live underground during the daylight period of the planet and come to the surface, when the eclipse takes place. Well, they are no threat if you have a 'torch' and they have. Then also the abandoned station stuff with 'science went wrong' etc. also like Mission to Mars - abandoned outpost, what went wrong, dark secret and so on. This movie reminds me of 'Alien' but only slightly - which was scary imo. The crash landing at the beginning has some very nice visuals but that's it. The horror of Van Diesel is also - well - lame as a serial killer and not scary at all. My conclusion: A movie worth to see it but not to collect it. I am from Germany and I think it was never shown in theatres in Germany which tells me something...
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Perfection
Review: This is not only a perfect horror movie, it is character development of the highest caliber. The two main people are an escaped killer being returned to prison (Vin Diesel) and a spunky officer who becomes captain only because she is the highest ranking officer left alive (Radha Mitchell). The unique qualities that make them both heroes is revealed as the power of humanity. Imagine sleeping in a stasis chamber, similar to being in a coma, except the body doesn't age. You are there for a long voyage -- as if you were sleeping on the Titanic in a cargo hold. The spaceship is pummeled by asteroid fragments that kill most of the crew and passengers as they batter the ship. Fortunately alarms are set to awaken the crew who immediately begin trying to save the vessel. One of the options for the very skillful pilot is to jettison the sleeping pods; if the load is lightened they might be able to save themselves. After crash landing, Mitchell's decision haunts her as she and a small group of survivors try to find a way off a strange and deadly world. Consider yourself to be on an arid desert with three suns and very little water ... in a region where there is no darkness to shade the sunlight ... a place where a science expedition landed years before, but no one is left alive ... a small planet that experiences a total eclipse of all three suns once every twenty-two years. It is nearly time for the eclipse, and it is in the Pitch Black that the horror emerges -- creatures who live and breed in the darkness. How long does a total eclipse last when three suns are blocked by shadows? In the best tradition of suspense, the secrets are slowly revealed. When you do learn what is killing the survivors one by one and causing them to battle among themselves, you may find yourself turning on a few more lights. The development of the characters that is finally revealed at the end is stunning. The phrase that comes to my mind is: ...in order to save your life, you have to lose it ... Five stars all the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Best since Aliens
Review: There's been a dearth of good dark sci-fi horror since the Aliens series petered out (and that happened long before "Resurrection." It's good to see some quality entries into the genre of late, and thanks to the genius of David Twohy, this movie more than fits the bill. Vin Diesel makes a tremendous leading man, with more bravado than Arnie could possibly muster at this point in his career. Radha Mitchell as the guilt-ridden pilot manages very little in the way of character development - all we know is that she's moody. The rest of the cast tends to be forgettable fodder for the indescribably cool beasties that cover the planet they're stranded on. If you like unique views of the future, this is right up there with "The Fifth Element" and any of the Weaver features.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally Good!
Review: I rarely give anything 5 stars but this film deserves it. Why? Because it surpassed my expectations. I went to see this film at the theatre, expecting a few hours of mindless diversion. I was treated to a film of great depth and suspense, loaded with great performances and it had a decent ending. I highly recommend this film.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, tense, thrilling, scary, and suspenseful.
Review: All those words above describe Pitch Black, last year's biggest surprise. It's a film that moves at a lightning pace and boasts a great setting and great special effects. This is the sort of film that will be featured on the sci-fi channel constantly and will gain the recognition it deserves as a new sci-fi/horror classic. The storyline is nothing original but will defintely pique any sci-fi fan's interest. It begins with the shot of a large spacecraft slowly moving through outer space. It's quiet, but foreboding and ominous. All of a sudden, micrometeroids puncture the ship's hull, killing the captain immediately and sending the entire craft crashing onto a seemingly desolate planet. There are only 11 survivors, which include Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell), the pilot; Richard Riddick (Vin Diesel), a convicted murderer; Johns, the cop who has captured him; and a group of Muslims, a antiquities dealer, a child, and two free settlers. The system they're in has 3 suns, thus night never comes. That is, until they discover that there will be an eclipse and these voractious beasts who are phobic of light will come out of hiding to feed. First, huge credit must go to the two lead performances from the sexy and beautiful Radha Mitchell and Vin Diesel. Though Diesel probably has the more commanding presence, this is Mitchell's film. She's the most likeable and we empathize with her the most. I have never actually seen in her another film before and looking up her credits list, she's been in maybe just a bit over half-a-dozen films, and that's a surprise considering the amount of talent she has. Diesel is equally great, creating a compelling anti-hero, one who is also surprisingly likeable and easy to sympathize. I am quite certain these two will be familiar faces and names in the near future. The rest of the cast is also fine, with solid support from Cole Hauser, Keith David, and Lewis Fitzgerald. The action sets in during the second half, when it all turns dark. That is when Pitch Black is at its most thrilling. Each alien encounter is tense and director David Twohy proves himself proficient at handling action scenes. He also knows that it's scarier when you can't see what is attacking you, thus for a good bit of the film we hear the creatures rather than outright seeing them. The creature effects are very good, and the design is actually a very inspired one. Let's just say the creatures resemble the ones from the Alien series, along with a hammerhead shark, a bat, and a lizard all rolled up in one to make a terrifying beastie. If you're the least bit intrigued by the story, then this is more than worth the rental. I would watch the unrated version, which only adds 3 minutes, but it's 3 extra minutes of good character develoment.
Rating:
Summary: * * * 1/2
Review: Another Sci-Fi special effects movie. Though this movie looks like it will have exceptinally good special effects on the preview. But it doesn't explain anything about the plot on the preview. Surprisingly this sci-fi film has more plot then special effects. Mostly beacuse you see all of the special effects on the preview, which kind of ruins part of the movie, since there is no real surprise to the special effects, which is greatly disapointing. Pitch Black is about a crashed vessel (man has that been done before). On which is a convicted felo A.K.A. a murderer. Well they stumble on a camp were some body had also crashed and iventially find out that there will be a total eclipse within a couple of days, an that is when all the monsters come out. It takes it's own time to get to the eclipse, when it finally does happen almost half of the movie it over. And then the monsters come out, but they tgry a Blair Witch approach by mostly only sencing the monsters and not seeing them, after all the monsters are afraid of light, in fact it kills them. Even though Pitch Black has a neat idea and a savvy cast, it is still way to predictable, I knew when the monsters would strike and I was not scared when they did. The special Effects are good when you see them. It is kind of like The Relic, which also had good special effects, but they were sparce, and now they aren't considered that good. I geuss the main reason I liked it was because it had a good plot and a nice setting, even though it has been done before. The truth is, some really wild special effects, which isnow a couple years old is Straship Troopers. Even though Pitch Black is about the same in terms of liking, Starship Troopers get the award for Best special Effects.
Rating:
Summary: The Scariest Sci-Fi Film since "Alien"
Review: "Pitch Black" kicks off the new century of science fiction films with a bang. A smart psychological thriller, this film effectively combines two major plotlines withing the overall story. The main plot sees the passengers and crew of a crashed spaceship face thousands of deadly creatures who only come out in the darkness. The secondary plot follows the conflict between a deadly convict (played by "Saving Private Ryan"'s Vin Dieshl) and the rest of the crew. Genuine thrills, great special effects, and a dark and forboding atmosphere make this one of the best Sci-Fi horror films ever. By the way, science fiction fans: be on the lookout for a familiar face. The character of Shazza is played by Australian actress Claudia Black, who is best known for her role as Aeryn Sun on the hit Sci-Fi TV series "Farscape".
Rating:
Summary: Worthy effort.
Review: This movie isn't the wrost movie on earth, but it was fun to watch. The story is very thrilling-a crew's ship crashes on an uncharted planet, with animals who come out in the dark-and their only hope is a convicted criminal who can only see in the dark. It may seem a little off-I mean, how many people in this world can only see in the dark? That's what good about it-the story is very different and very well told. The sound and vision is really cool. I escpecially like the way space looked-really cool. It's a "unique" theme movie. I'm sure many will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A Stunning Film
Review: Director Twohy must be truly congratulated on this film. What could have been a throw-away piece of science fiction schlock about people on a deserted planet being chased by aliens turns into a visually stunning masterpiece of filmmaking. The camera shots, use of light and exposure, and overall "look" of the film are amazing, even more so on DVD. Vin Diesel is the standout performer as the pseudo-possibly-villain. He plays the part well, and makes the viewer consistently unsure of the characters thoughts and motivations. He adds a dark edge to the character that is perfect for the role. The plot itself is nothing truly extraordinary, with the standard chased-by-space-monsters-trying-to-escape-death theme. Something akin to one of the "Alien" movies perhaps. Certainly Twohy watched some Ridley Scott to direct this well. Diesel likewise should have a bright future ahead if he can pull off the quiet madness of roles like this in future.
Rating: 
Summary: Pitch Black
Review: The special effects were cool, especially with the sky and the planets. Riddick's eyes were cool. The acting was average/poor. The events were too convinient to be taken seriously. For example, they just HAPPENED to crash on the planet when it was going to get dark. And that happened once every 20-some years? It was also convinient that one of the characters could see in the dark. This movie had some good parts. I especially liked how Riddick did that shoulder-out-of-joint trick to get free of that pole. But overall this movie was a waste of time. I recommend this movie to anyone lacking a better imagination.
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