There's lots of promise for this Twohy guy, assuming he gets hold of a more audacious story (maybe not his) next time around.
Pitch Black (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:56
Rotten:43
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: This sci-fi flick fails to deliver enough spills and chills.
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet... A spacecraft carrying an assortment of passengers including Riddick (Vin Diesel), a dangerous, shackled murderer between prisons, is forced to make a crash landing on a barren, triple-sunned planet after the craft suffers severe damage during a meteor shower. The ship is ripped into pieces, killing several crew members and leaving meek officer Fry (Radha Mitchell) in charge of the survivors. After two unfortunate deaths, the survivors discover that the only visible life form on the planet is a species of light-fearing, carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic aliens dwelling in caverns beneath the desert surface. Using a model of the planet and its suns in an abandoned research station, Fry deduces that she and her fellow travellers have unfortunately descended on the planet on the day of its first total eclipse in 22 years, giving them mere hours before they are bathed in total darkness. Only then is it safe for the hungry subterranean creatures to emerge, seeking to feed on the remaining survivors. However, the dangerous Riddick, through black market injections received in lock-up, is able to see in darkness- causing the surviving crew members to reluctantly remain dependent on the potentially harmful criminal. As the survivors are killed one by one by the hungry creatures, they realize that Riddick may be their only hope. [More]
Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David
Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, John Moore, Claudia Black, Simon Burke
Director: David Twohy
Director: David Twohy
Screenwriter: Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat, David Twohy
Producer: Tom Engelman
Composer: Graeme Revell
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Release:
Mar 31, 2009
Blu-ray Disc Features:
- Region [unknown]
Audio:
- DTS 5.1 Surround French, Spanish
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English
- Subtitles: English, SDH, French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary: Director David Twohy, Producer Tom Engelman and Visual Effects Supervisor Peter Chiag
Featurette:
- 1. An Introduction by David Twohy
- 2. The Game Is On
- 3. The Johns Chase Log
- 4. The Making of Pitch Black
- 5. Dark Fury: Advancing the Arc
- 6. The Chronicles of Riddick Visual Encyclopedia
- 7. A View into the Dark
- 8. Feature Commentary with Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser and Director David Twohy
Interactive Features:
- BD Live: Download Center - My Scenes Sharing
- U Control: Picture in Picture
- U Control: Pitch Black Raw
- U Control: Tutorial
Reviews for Pitch Black
It has no aspirations to be more than what it is, yet another ALIEN ripoff with a half-baked premise. It just wants to be a really good ALIEN ripoff with a half-baked premise.
Made to please those who can't get enough rote, cheesy sci-fi, Pitch Black promises to make us long for the glory days of Species 2 and Deepstar Six.
Even those who shun the gripping effect of horror films might find Pitch Black a challenge worth taking on.
Flawed and ambitious, Pitch Black's murky challenge to SF-action heroic conventions is its most redeeming feature.
This is filmmaking that's lean, mean and (in Diesel) boasts one hell of a fighting machine.
To say the movie could have been great is most accurate; unfortunately, neither the characters nor the story have anywhere to go once the nightfall has settled in.
It is easy to root for the aliens to possibly, against all odds for such formulaic films, pick off all the survivors of the spacecraft.
Vin Diesel's demeanor is refreshing and the combination of his voice and physical build make his character memorable.
Ferocious attacks by the planet’s monstrous creatures manage only partially to alleviate the tedium that defines the movie.
Despite its rip-offs (mostly of Alien), Pitch Black delivers not only on thrills and suspense, but on artistic direction and clever plotting.
It may not linger in the memory any longer than your last Nintendo session, but it's an exhilarating two hours.
Proving that low-budget genre-based entertainment can be just as easily ferociously inventive and character-driven as its big-budget competition can be lazy and boring.
The latest film from writer/ director David Twohy, a man whose career seems aimed at proving that low-budget genre-based entertainment can be just as inventive and character-driven as its big-budget competition can be lazy and boring.
This movie is so disposable and indistinctive that I don't want to review it -- I want to briefly mention it in a conversation about silly sci-fi and then forget it forever.
It's not an especially challenging part, but Diesel handles it with aplomb.
Latest News for Pitch Black
August 03, 2009:
David Twohy Talks Riddick Sequels ![]()
They're still at the idea stage, but David Twohy and Vin Diesel are committed to continuing "The Chronicles of Riddick" -- and in a new interview with Shock Till You Drop, Twohy... More...
March 10, 2009:
Vin Diesel Talks Next Riddick Game, Sequel ![]()
Vin Diesel is out promoting his next "Chronicles of Riddick" videogame, "Assault on Dark Athena," so now seems like a pretty ideal time for a chat with GameSpot about the future... More...
August 26, 2008:
Diesel Promises a Double Shot of Riddick ![]()
His latest movie, "Babylon A.D.," might be running at a woeful 0 percent on the Tomatometer, but Vin Diesel has bigger fish to fry; according to a recent interview with MTV, the... More...
November 20, 2007:
A Third Installment for The Chronicles of Riddick?
Despite the underwhelming reviews and receipts that greeted 2004's Pitch Black sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, writer/director David Twohy still hopes to film a third... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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