Written by: Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy
Sometimes, a good movie flies under the radar. Other times, a movie flies under the radar because it stinks. Unfortunately, "Pitch Black" is one of the latter.
A ship carrying a variety of passengers, including escaped convict Riddick (Diesel), crashes on a seemingly deserted planet. Soon, though, the stranded travelers realize that something terrible lurks in the shadows of the planet. And, just conveniently enough, they've crashed mere hours before an unusually long eclipse. Can they trust Riddick to help them get off the planet? Or will these light-sensitive beasts tear them apart before the sun emerges again?
Now, if only the actual script were as good as the summary I just wrote.
I remember when "Pitch Black" originally came out, and although I was intrigued at the time I never bothered to actually go see it. The rise and presence of Vin Diesel in the action film world had kept this film in the back of my mind for a long time. Finally, I broke and watched it.
And I regret it.
It's a real doozy of a stinker. For a movie which hinges on nasty beasts coming out of the darkness, the movie is obnoxiously bright (literally) for nearly half the running time. Then, when it finally does get dark, there's really nothing to see. We only get a few shots of the monsters, but they are revealed to be unimpressive. (The design of the beasts seems to have been culled from the reject pile of "Starship Troopers.")
Now, a movie lacking in action can be held up by interesting characters. Unfortunately, these characters are more flat than a can of soda left out for a week. Even the main character - Riddick - doesn't do much more than exist as a tough-guy. At one point, one of the young characters reveals that "he" is really a "she" - but that shocking fact really has no impact or implications for the story.
Aside from a couple of "jump" moments, this movie was an absolute waste of my time, and I regret wasting precious internet bandwidth watching it.
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