Pitch Black (2000)

Owing a major debt to Alien and its cinematic spawn, Pitch Black is a guilty pleasure that surpasses expectations. As he did with The Arrival, director David Twohy revitalizes a derivative story, allowing you to forgive its flaws and submit to its visceral thrills. Under casual scrutiny, the plot's logic crumbles like a stale cookie, but it's definitely fun while it lasts.

A spaceship crashes on a desert planet scorched under three suns. The mostly doomed survivors include a resourceful captain (Radha Mitchell), a drug-addled cop (Cole Hauser), and a deadly prisoner (Vin Diesel) who quickly escapes. These clashing personalities discover that the planet is plunging into the darkness of an extended eclipse, and it's populated by hordes of ravenous, razor-fanged beasties that only come out at night. The body count rises, and Pitch Black settles into familiar sci-fi territory.

What sets the movie apart is Twohy's developing visual style, suggesting that this veteran of B-movie schlock may advance to the big leagues. Like the makers of The Blair Witch Project, Twohy understands the frightening power of suggestion; his hungry monsters are better heard than seen (although once seen, they're chillingly effective), and Pitch Black gets full value from moments of genuine panic. Best of all, Twohy's got a well-matched cast, with Mitchell (so memorable with Ally Sheedy in High Art) and Diesel (Pvt. Caparzo from Saving Private Ryan) being the standouts. The latter makes the most of his muscle-man role, and his character's development is one more reason this movie works better than it should. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

First Riddick Movie

Got the three Riddick movies as a gift and watched all three over the weekend. I can't believe I liked them so well. This first movie has beautiful but very bleak desert scenery. The characters are likeable and interesting, especially the Riddick character. Much of the movie takes place in the dark, as the title describes. It is suspenseful and I enjoyed watching it very much. I was sad that most of the characters didn't make it, but overall I found this to be very well done as far as science fiction. I liked it every bit as much as the old alien movies, maybe more.

July 15, 2008

Pitch Black Theology

Pitch Black is an exciting sci-fi thriller of a space travelers being marooned on a planet faced with attack by indigenous nocturnal creatures. It smacks of many movies in the history of cinema, Aliens being the first which comes to mind, but the movie is very unique in several points. One is Vin Diesel's charismatic performance as the anti-hero Riddick. Physically impressive with his baritone voice Diesel's presence controls the film from beginning to end. But for me there are some unique portrayals of religion that are rarely seen in movies that deserve to be mentioned. This is done through the character of Imam played by Keith David, which is contrasted and challenged by Riddick during the movie. I believe the screenwriters wisely chose the image of a Muslim religious leader rather than the traditional Christian clergyman. It was wise in the sense of how Hollywood has often portrayed Christian ministers in the past as being hypocritical, indecisive, insipid, close-minded and so gentle to even appear effeminate. Hollywood is yet to commonly portray Muslim leaders in this way and this is what provides credibility for the audience regarding Imam's character. This is not to say there are not strong Christians, but cinema has influenced the culture to an extent that portraying such an image would be difficult to believe by an American audience. It is through the Imam that the issue of faith is brought up.

Spoiler alert
Imam is contrasted with Riddick who brazenly confesses that he does believe in God, but states that He is apathetic at least and sadistic at worst. However, Imam's belief does not waver despite Riddick's mocking of his faith even when a turn of natural events puts the survivors in jeopardy. In the end though it is Riddick's character, which changes due to the sacrifice of the Captain, Carolyn Fry who refuses to abandon anyone on the planet even Riddick. Fry ends up going back for a wounded Riddick and dies in the process. Riddick is shocked that anyone would sacrifice his life for him; especially this woman who knows that Riddick was willing to leave stranded the remaining survivors to save himself. Riddick is floored physically and emotionally with disbelief that anyone would give their life away for him as he sees Fry's body being taken away. Such an act of self-sacrifice is Christ-like in nature and resonates Jesus' Crucifixion. This sacrifice is what produces an inward change in him expressed when after they escape from the planet he states that Riddick died back on the planet.

Altogether this was an interesting film, which raised philosophical and theological issues. Although the issue of God and human suffering are not given a thorough presentation in the movie it is expressed enough to make one think. One thing I have realized about this film is that it was released before the terrorist attack of 9/11, and I wonder how receptive the American audiences would be to having a Muslim being portrayed favorably in the movie, and what would the reaction be if released a year and half later than it actually was. Having watched this film recently, I appreciated seeing a character who is religious in nature and not being portrayed as fanatical, hypocritical, or banal. The screenwriters created some worthwhile characters, and I await to see further adventures of Riddick after the Chronciles.
June 29, 2008

Some suspenseful moments. It's worth watching once.

There are some suspenseful moments. The action scenes are OK. The plot is so so.

It's worth watching once. June 8, 2008

Phat Movie

Vin Diesel is the good guy, and the bad guy.
I was a phat movie, but I didn't like my man Vin as a bad guy. June 7, 2008

Fear captured in a bottle and exposed to the light...

Before Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell and Cole Hauser became household names (well, maybe Diesel is the only `household' name, but the others are at least bigger stars now) they all starred together in `Pitch Black', another title in the vast sea of science fiction action horror films. What sets `Pitch Black' apart from the rest of the pack though is the way director David Twohy is able to create a true sense of dread and misery, a feat much like Scott created with `Alien'. Instead of just randomly giving the audience high amounts of gore Twohy instead builds a slow yet steady dissention into genuine fear.

`Pitch Black' finds a group of space traveler's crash landing on a deserted planet that is scorching hot thanks to the presence of three suns. Amongst these travelers is a very dangerous criminal known as Riddick who is being transported by drug addict cop William J. Johns. When Riddick escapes custody shortly after their crash landing, the crew believes they are in grave danger. They are right; danger lurks right around the corner, but that danger is far graver than Riddick alone. The crew soon realizes that this lifeless planet is on the verge of a total eclipse, and the creatures that are waiting to come out upon nightfall are ravenous and looking to feast.

I remember when I first saw `Pitch Black' is was put off. I was expecting a high octane action film with large amounts of gore and special effects. `Pitch Black' is not like that though. The film is more along the lines of `Alien' than `Jurassic Park'. This is a film about fear and suspense as apposed to bloodshed and over stylized creatures. Don't get me wrong, there is a high body count and there are some very interesting and effective looking aliens but they are not the focus. In fact, you don't even get a good look at the aliens until halfway through the movie, and the actual `action' sequences of the film don't hit until the film is about the end, but the constant feeling of dread follows you from the opening of the film until the credits begin to roll; and then some.

There is a scene when the group is traveling across the barren planet in the dense darkness with just a dim light guiding them and keeping them safe from the imposing creatures. In that scene we can see the aliens crowding at the outskirts of that light, keeping just far enough away for not be bothered yet close enough to make their presence known. That scene defines well the overall feel of this film. As the audience we know that death is right around the corner, just beyond our line of vision.

The acting is actually very well done here. Vin Diesel is obviously built for action films, but he demonstrates a decent understanding of character development, allowing his rough exterior to give way to a nicely crafted criminal who is understandable and believable. I think that Cole Hauser has a decent chance at becoming a great movie star. I see that potential in him, although I am let down by his consistently mediocre selection of film projects. Here he is outstanding as the drug-riddled cop Johns and delivers my favorite performance in the film. Radha Mitchell has turned into the best actor of the bunch. Her performance here as ship captain Carolyn Fry is strong and respectable, but what she's done with her career since is even more commendable. Her strong performances in `Finding Neverland', `Man on Fire' and most notably Woody Allen's `Melinda and Melinda' have proven her to be a very reliable actress who is moments from `household name' status.

In the end I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoy `Pitch Black'. While I was turned off upon my initial viewing (I was young and naïve and expecting something different) upon subsequent viewings `Pitch Black' surpasses what one could hope for and becomes a above average sci-fi film that is effectively horrifying and memorably satisfying. April 24, 2008

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