Very suspenseful sci-fi action film is essentially "Assault on Precinct 13" in space, but while the story lacks originality, I'd consider it the most suspenseful sci-fi film film since "Alien" or "Aliens." From writer/director David Twohy (writer of "The Fugitive" and writer/director of "The Arrival" and the underrated WWII submarine ghost story "Below), the story involves a transport ships crash landing on a seemingly deserted planet. When they discover the planet has deadly creatures who only come out at night and that a month long eclipse is about to happen, our heroes are in for a lot of trouble. The heroes include a scrappy female pilot, the excellent Radha Mitchell, a bounty hunter, Cole Hauser, who is transporting an infamous killer, Richard B. Riddick, played by Vin Diesel in his star-making role. Diesel steals every scene and he deservedly became a star following this film's release, landing roles in "Fast and the Furious" and "xXx." Twohy's script has a number of unexpected twists I don't want to spoil, but the film has a bit of an Agatha Christie "And Then There Were None" vibe with a rogues gallery of characters that is a lot of fun. The most interesting of of the supporting characters is Keith David ("They Live" "The Thing" "Platoon") as a holy man. My main complaint about the film is the amount of time it takes to get to the dark (almost 60 minutes). I also didn't care for the harsh photography during the sunlit scenes, which were done to contrast to the later dark scenes, but I didn't care for the bleached blown-out look. However, those are fairly minor quibbles for what is otherwise a smart, suspenseful film that boasts a dynamite performance form Vin Diesel. A must see for sci-fi fans!
Review of Pitch Black
Pitch Black
(2000)
The film sci-fi/action flick that introduced the world to Vin Diesel
16 August 2021