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Movies / On DVD / Pitch Black
Pitch Black

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Pitch Black (2000)

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Reviews Counted:101

Fresh:56

Rotten:45

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

US Box Office: $0

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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Pitch Black

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Barely intermittent, reminding us that the B-movie is still very much with us.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe

The screenplay, credited to Twohy with Jim and Ken Wheat, for a scary movie hasn't a scary idea on any of its pages.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle

Logic is definitely not the strong suit of Pitch Black. But then, neither is consistent characterization, smart dialogue, originality, subtlety or any of the other benchmarks of quality filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The dialogue and performances are flat when not laughably bad.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

Vin Diesel rocks!

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
01/01/00
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

A visual winner.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

A mediocre but nonetheless entertaining copy of the Alien films.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post

Director David Twohy, who made the aliens-among-us thriller The Arrival, keeps things moving.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Justine Elias
Justine Elias
Village Voice

Catch it on cable.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

Decent, suspenseful entertainment.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz

A routine sci-fi/horror action-adventure, takes us where we've been countless times before.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Laughable plot points.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Laura Kelly
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Pitch Black is so jaunty, so limber, and so visually self-assured that art peeks through where crap has traditionally made its home.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

Moviegoers rejoice! The first fun movie of the year has arrived.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

In the thrills department, Pitch Black is a hands-down winner. It has a good setup, and all of the suspense sequences are perfectly paced.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Infinitely more watchable than the bloated, baffling Supernova.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
Film Journal International

Though highly derivative of Alien, this handsomely photographed, briskly directed sci-fi fright picture is enjoyable enough on its own limited terms.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A very streamlined exercise in interplanetary mayhem and the logistics of the body count.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Was everyone so gung-ho on making a stylish sci-fi flick that it never occurred to anyone how nonsensical and even amoral the whole thing was?

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/01/00
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Pitch Black will leave you with the sudden urgency to leave the hall light on.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Max Messier
Max Messier
Filmcritic.com
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

Latest News for Pitch Black

August 03, 2009: David Twohy Talks Riddick Sequels Opens in new window
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 Opens in new window
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 Opens in new window
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...

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