Movie Reviews for Pitch Black
This is a fantastic science fiction movie that served as a template to launch a new action star in Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan, something about his voice reminds me of an engine).
He stars as Richard B. Riddick, a no-nonsense convict, who is being transported by an equally rugged bounty hunter William J. Johns played by Cole Hauser (Too Fast Too Furious). The rest of the crew headed by the captain Carolyn Fry, played by the lovely Radha Mitchell (Phone Booth), are all told to steer clear of Riddick as he is considered extremely dangerous, hence the very large bounty on his head, and are told Riddick would sooner take the ship and leave every one stranded if he could, in order to save his skin.
They crash land on an apparently desert planet, with supplies running low, and the crew of the ship made up of an Imam, Abu Al Walid played by Keith David (Crash) and his disciples searching for New Mecca. In a desperate search for water, they happen to come across what looks like trees from a distance but on closer inspection it seems it is the skull of a dead animal almost like a dinosaur. It soon becomes obvious to the rest of crew that there is life on this planet, and eerily, this particular night, an eclipse will occur which would mean the nightlife will come out in search of food, seeking out fresh victims in the crew.
The captain makes a decision that they must all work together if they are to successfully get out of this planet, and that involves freeing Riddick, while Riddick’s bounty hunter William keeps a close guard, weapon at the ready in case Riddick tries anything.
Riddick seems to have gotten a fan in the midst of the crew, which could end up ominously for all involved.
In the midst of all this Riddick does have a little advantage over all the other members of the crew, his eyesight is superb in the dark, however he is extremely sensitive to light not unlike the creatures on the planet, and he has to wear some made to order goggles to protect his eyesight. Since Riddick is the only one able to navigate at night when the creatures on the planet are hunting, he is the only one best equipped to gather the equipment needed to fix the ship, so they can all fly out of this dangerous planet, but Riddick seems to only look out for himself, unless Fry can convince him to show some humanity, which is not one of his strong traits.
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Posted By Blogger to Movie reviews on 11/25/2009 06:49:00 AM
Filed under: movie reviews