| Title | The worst thing you'll see all week: Pitch Black |
| Author | Tom Chick |
| Posted in | Movie reviews |
| When | December 26, 2011 |
I honestly can't tell you how I ended up watching Pitch Black on Netflix. It's one of those things that just happened, not unlike waking up in Bangkok with a tattoo on your face or a shaved head..
Read the full articleThe only think I can really agree with in this post is that the production design is cheap. My wife and I love this movie.
Yeah I really like Pitch Black too. It launched Vin's career and deservedly so. Great atmosphere with little budget, great concept, and Riddick is a genuine bad ass. Too bad the Chronicles sucked.
At least games were great though.
Wow. I cannot imagine anyone hating this movie. I actually disliked Vin Diesel before I saw this film back in the day, and nearly didn't see it because he was in it. But I wound up greatly enjoying both the movie, and his acting (and everyone else's acting as well). Pure escapist sci-fi, but I was greatly impressed with how much they achieved with so little. And the DVD commentary track was vastly interesting. Possibly I'd be less thrilled if I saw it again today, but at the time, I was riveted to the screen through several viewings.
I'm surprised you hadn't seen this yet. This movie was kind of a big deal, at least at its home release. I had a few friends that really enjoyed it. I wasn't entirely put off by the movie, but I did feel it was overrated considering how much they hyped it.
Really, Tom, this reads like something I'd expect from Alex Litel.
Oh, I'd seen Pitch Black before, EHX. I saw it when it came out. And I think we can all agree with Brian Rucker pointing out that it's better than the movie sequel, in which someone decided the Pitch Black universe deserved it's own Dune style treatment. Ugh. At least Pitch Black feels like a self-contained shipwreck yarn.
Maybe the bar is just so low for sci-fi, but I was really disappointed in all the jerking around with the "is-he-or-isn't-he-ruthless?" stuff. It seemed the movie tried to have it both ways without taking a stand. Some of the better Westerns do that sort of thing perfectly. To me, Pitch Black was just a muddled attempt at shades-of-gray morality that didn't have the courage to stay dark. And while I really like Vin Deisel, he's not fooling me. The guy's a dopey good-natured jock and he simply can't hide it. :)
By the way, does anyone know if Outland, the sci-fi High Noon with Sean Connery and Peter Boyle, holds up?
I'm not saying Pitch Black is great, but its a hell of a lot better then most sci-fi we see, especially in the "Alien" inspired crowd. I'm not sure how someone who revels in obvious "B" movie sci-fi can decide this is what he wants to rant about. Especially this long after release.
Yeah!
Wait, who's ranting? A guy who rediscovers a movie is as bad as he remembered it is ranting now? Egad!
But you are right that Pitch Black is better than most bad sci-fi. That's a pretty low bar to clear. Nearly as low a bar as bad horror or bad romantic comedies. At least we agree that it's not "great".
Man, that's just *mean*. That's mean, man. /James Coburn
Sure it's not great but I, and I think most people in these comments so far, take issue with your summation of Vin. He does play the uncaring playful psycho quite well. When this film was made he hadn't yet established himself as the goofy hero inscribed on your psyche. I think your re-viewing has tainted your respect-o-scope.
C.
I'll just say that as a lover of B movies and sci-fi that dares to diverge from the Aliens/1984 style futurism this movie pleased the pants right off of me. I love Claudia Black from Farscape, and the juxtaposition of how the only thing separating the bounty hunter and Riddick is the price on his head. Not really worth going into detail here since your snark was so good, but I'm glad you reminded me of this movie which I have to have watched at least half a dozen times.
Having revisted this 'review', perhaps after a few beers, this is where I take issue:
"When Deisel goes nose-to-nose with a space bat, lunging left and right to stay in its blind spot as it turns its head, Pitch Black loses its last faint shred of credibility. The worst sin any movie can commit is to betray its own conceit."
By this stage the movie has already established that the alien bats spot people by movement, not by seeing in darkness. Riddick gets this and reacts accordingly, to his benefit. Perfectly in keeping with the movie's conceit!
But I'll give you a pass for the Silent Hill reference. Not because of Rhahdhah Mitchell. But because Sean Bean was in there. And being amazing.
C.
Hell, my suits are worth more than that!
C.
Honestly Outland is a movie I will still watch regularly, it is very enjoyable and very Connery. If you are asking does it hold up as a movie, yes, but the cheesy effects get worse every year. Also the movie holds one of the worst Sci-Fi tropes; when the mine worker decides his spacesuit is full of spiders and claws at his air hose to escape causing his head to stretch out and burst.
Also have to disagree. Fun movie. "...Looks clear." Always gets a laugh out of me.
If you want to watch sci-fi movies at all, especially movies with any action, adventure, or creature effects, in my humble opinion you might as well give up if you don't like this movie. Or be prepared for a lot of frustration. Wherever you rate this on the scale of good-to-bad, few come out that are much better, and many come out that are much worse. In my book it's a solid 'good'.
Also, is it really that cheap-looking? I mean it's not laughably bad. Clearly they didn't have a multi-million dollar budget, but I don't think that alone should prevent movies from being made, or be counted strongly against them when they are.
I always called him Tin Weasel.
The actual worst thing I've seen all week was when Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) was on at my family's Christmas gathering.
I saw Home Alone 2: Lost in New York yesterday, so clearly your title is misleading at best, sir.
Mr. Bonk, firstly, I always love seeing your username. It makes me happy.
What I mean by the movie betraying its own conceit -- and most horror movies do this -- is that the space bats are introduced as deadly creatures until they go up against the hero, at which point they literally bump heads with each other like Keystone Kops. David Twohy was obviously in love with that overhead shot of Riddick bending left and right in front of the space bat, but I think it looks ridiculous. Nearly as ridiculous as Riddick deducing from a space bat skeleton that it has a blind spot. Riddick, space paleontologist!
However, I wouldn't mind this stuff if the movie was better written and the characters had clearer and more consistent motivations. I find weak material is more prone to implausibility! If the movie was better, it would have distracted me from caring about how the characters evade the space bats.