I'd like a surgical shine job, please! (Pitch Black (DVD))

Member Name: goalmachine

Product:	Pitch Black (DVD)
Date:	11/04/02 (681 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great film, brilliant main character, very original.

Disadvantages: A bit gory for a 15 cert

I waited a long time to see Pitch Black. A looooooooooong time. You see, it was originally slated for a cinematic release in April of 2000. Then it was put back to May. Then July. When it finally came out in (I think) September, I was beginning to wonder if it would actually be worth the wait. Well, it definitely was. And when I went out and bought the video release a few weeks back, I was reminded of just how good a film it is.

PLOT:
PB is one of the most original sci-fi / horror films of the last ten years - even though it "borrows" plot devices from many other films (more on that later), it brings them together in a masterful piece of cinema. The space transport vessel Hunter - Gratzner (named after the firm who took care of the film's special effects, so I'm told) is transporting 40 people to a distant mining colony, when it passes through the tail of a rogue comet. The ship then crashes (in the best crash sequence I have EVER seen in ANY movie) on the surface of a seemingly unpopulated desert planet, and the survivors set about the task of finding water on the surface. You see, the planet has 3 suns which revolve around it, meaning there is perpetual daylight on the surface. Oh yeah, and there's another problem - an escaped convict, violent psychopath Richard B. Riddick, who may or may not be stalking them, and who can also (rather conveniently for later on) see in the dark. Anyway, the survivors find an abandoned settlement nearby, and discover that not all is as it seems here; there is an indigenous lifeform on the planet after all - and it likes to eat humans. Fortunately for our heroes, these beasties can't come out in the daylight, so they should be safe. UNfortunately, however, there's about to be a total eclipse of all 3 suns. A LONG total eclipse. And so the killing begins........

CAST AND CHARACTERS:
One of the best things about PB is that (at the time it was released) it had no major stars wh
atsoever - this is not a vehicle for some Hollywood big gun's ego. Instead, because there's no-one famous, you have absolutely no idea who's going to survive, and who's beastie food. Some of the cast are fairly recognisable, however - Claudia Black (Shazza) is known better as Officer Aeryn Sun in sc-fi series Farscape, Radha Mitchell (Fry) has been in a few movies, including the acclaimed independent film "High Art", and then, of course, you come to Vin Diesel. Diesel has most recently appeared in the excellent "The Fast And The Furious" which was his first role as the main star of a film - but it was Pitch Black that made him a star. Here he plays the murderer Riddick, and his famous gravel voice just sets off the character perfectly. Diesel brings exactly the right level of understated menace and cold steel to the role of the bad guy. Although Riddick becomes the hero of the piece, this is no criminal with a heart of gold - he IS a murderer, he IS a psychopath, and you are left in no doubt about this.
Although Diesel is by far and away the best on show here, no-one is poor. Particular standouts for me are Claudia Black (basically reprising her Farscape role verbatim) as the tough prospector Shazza, Cole Hauser as Lawman Johns (Riddick's jailer), and Lewis Fitz-Gerald as the foppish antiquities dealer, Paris P. Ogilvie.
One more thing about the characters in this film - very few of them are exactly what they seem to be. A lot of the plot and tension of this film hinges on hidden secrets that some or all of the survivors have. It's a risky plot device to use, and could well have failed miserably, but here it works superbly, and adds to the enjoyment of the film.

SETS AND DIRECTION:
The desert locations for this film were shot in Australia, in the same locations as the Mad Max series. Although it's meant to be burning hot in the film, it was actually freezing when the film was shot, so the disco
mfort you see from the actors was real, just not for the reason you might think! Director David Twohy makes good use of lens filters during the daylight sequences - two of the suns are yellow, the other blue, so depending on which sun is "up", you get a blue or yellow tint to the action. What Twohy does particularly well, however, is use the sets to convey menace and danger during the early sequence when the crash survivors search for RIddick. You can occasionally see him hiding in the background, just out of focus and just out of reach. This kind of tension-building has not been as good as this since the original "Alien" was released in 1979. Also, once darkness sets in, the pace picks up even further, and there are a couple of genuinely scary shots of the creatures just out of sight of our heroes, waiting to pounce. Twohy co-wrote the screenplay for PB along with Ken and Jim Wheat, who devised the actual story. As I stated earlier, it is a very original film, even though it draws on other movies for inspiration: "Alien" for the use of backgrounds, and for the actual idea of humans trying to fight off a hostile lifeform: various vampire movies for the idea of malevolent forces that are allergic to daylight: "Lifeboat" for the idea of stranded humans trying to survive in hostile territory: and an old film whose name escapes me, but featured soldiers having to transport old, wet dynamite through a jungle to safety - the "powercell" premise is lifted straight out of it.

EFFECTS:
The effects in this movie are truly exceptional. Beginning with the crash of the Hunter - Gratzner, the effects are top notch throughout. The creatures, designed by Patrick Tatopoulos, are completely CGI, but it is absolutely seamless. The shots of Riddick's "view" from his surgically shined eyeballs is an excellent eye-opener (pun intended), and the whole look of the film is completely entrhralling - you really do
believe that they are on another world.

EXTRAS:
in the special edition video I bought (from Tesco at £11.99), there is a small booklet which details some of the trivia and production problems in the movie, along with some character background. There is also a 20 minute "trailer" after the film on the tape. This is actually a short story in itself, telling about how Riddick escaped from prison, and letting you know a bit more about the survivors of the Hunter - Gratzner crash. It's a great insight into Riddick's world, and this particular future.

PLUSSES:
After watching this film, you will believe that Diesel is God. His acting is superb, and the character of Riddick one of the most intriguing Hollywood has produced in years. The dialogue between the characters is brilliant, too. My favourite exchange goes something like this.....

Ogilvie runs to collect a bottle he's dropped, and finds himself staring at the feet of Riddick. Looking up, he offers a hand -
OGILVIE: "Paris P Ogilvie. Antiquities dealer. Entrepreneur."
RIDDICK (Shaking Ogilvie's hand): "Richard B Riddick. Convicted prisoner. Murderer."

Brilliant.

MINUSES:
This film doesn't have any weaknesses as far as I can make out. My only complaint is that it should really be a Cert 18, not a 15, as it's very gory in places, and is genuinely frightening.

OVERALL:
If you like high-concept sci-fi with a bit of horror thrown in, then this is for you. A brilliant stroy that is both well shot and well acted, Pitch Black is the best sci-fi film I 've seen since Star Trek First Contact - and that had the Borg in it to help it along! A sequel is already in pre-production, but I won't tell you it's title, as you'll know who survives! If you haven't seen this film already, go rent it out or buy it.

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Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for
some of the info I used in this op, along with the aforementioned "Extras booklet"

http://www.imdb.com

Also, Pitch Black is now available on DVD for the rather cheap sum of £14.99 (inc P&P) from play247:

http://www.play.com

Summary: