Pitch Black
Last night, Bridget and I screened Pitch Black. I’d seen Chronicles of Riddick and, to my surprise, I really liked it. So, I was dying to see the first movie.
Not that I was disappointed, but it is a completely different type of movie. About all the two have in common is Riddick, Jack, and the Imam. Pitch Black is more of a horror movie, whereas Chronicles was a sci-fi, drama movie. Chronicles had all kinds of subplots and things going on in the background, Pitch Black was missing that. It was more in the genre of the Alien series.
Spoiler Alert!
Don’t read any further if you don’t want to know what happens!
The basic plot is that a ship with a bunch of people on it goes off course and crash-lands on a deserted planet. They can’t find any of the inhabitants and quickly find carnivorous and appropriately fanged aliens living underground (surprise, surprise). They feel safe, as the planet is in constant daylight and the aliens must stay in the dark. Until the eclipse. With the planet bathed in darkness the nasty creatures have complete freedom.
Riddick is pretty much the same Riddick as he was in Chronicles. He is cool, calm, collected, and quiet in the face of certain death. Of course he performs amazing feats of strength and agility in order to lead the survivors to safety. He gets some great lines. He is a paradox, alternating between cooly watching the aliens tear people apart and braving danger himself to save the others. In a few places his facade does crack, and we see (in Bridget’s words) a fuck-you-gun-in-your-face Riddick. This seemed like a complete departure to me. It was totally out of character. These fits of anger were always directed at the cop chasing him, Johns, so maybe there was something going on there that just pushed Riddick over the edge. Perhaps if that had been explained better, Riddick’s unseemly show of emotion would have sat better with me.
Conclusion (Okay, you can read now)
I liked this movie, though not as much as I liked Chronicles. It’s a great movie when you are craving a good horror flick. It doesn’t have the complexity of Chronicles, though, so don’t expect a whole lot from it. The acting in some parts is kinda forced, but I thought on the whole it was good. These two movies are the only ones I’ve ever seen Vin Diesel in and I think the guy has talent. He’s perfectly suited to this role, in particular.
Overall, I liked this movie. I’m not sure that I would watch it again, only because now I know what happens, so the excitement is gone. However, Riddick’s character itself might be enough to draw me back in.