Wonderful special effects, decent action sequences, but the acting was luke warm. I liked Van Diesel's character and portrayal of the convict though. The CGI generated monsters were by far my favorites!

Yup. One of the best sci-fi since T2. http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

I liked what they did with the lighting--the ultra sepia/bright 3-sun days. The neon at night.

I liked it...

robyn

Actually that the one thing that kind of bugged me. They did a great job w/ lighting at the beginning of the movie w/ the suns and everything. Then when it first went black it was pretty good too. However as it progressed from there it seemed to get lighter wrt background lighting http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/frown.gif I know it was done so you could actually see what was going on, but ...

The one thing that bothered me about the movie (and this is a really minor gripe...) was the woman's accent. A lot of the time she had a heavily Australian accent, but in one of the features, the director talks about how she did such a flawless American accent. Hello?

*** WARNING Spoiler ***

Loved this movie, but why did Fry have to die in the end? And that one kid (girl), what was her role in this movie? Vin Diesel was awesome, too cool for words.

------------------
"I've done some...questionable things, but nothing the God of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for."

- Blade Runner

bluemagic
That's what makes the movie beautiful!

Its a good movie and Van Diesel was fantastic in his role.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bluemagic:
*** WARNING Spoiler ***

why did Fry have to die in the end?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Because the writer and director said so. And hooray for the fact that it didn't have to be changed to appease a test audience! I wish more movies had bold twists like that.

It should have been the boy/girl that was killed instead of Fry. I have to admit tho, when she went out to save Riddick, I knew she was dog meat...

------------------
Don't move...Don't whisper...don't even breathe...

i hated it, that is why i put it up for trade immediately after watching it.

.02

bill

[This message has been edited by billhiggins (edited December 12, 2000).]

Most sci-fi movies present nothing new under the sun. Some sci-fo movies present a novel concept, but either don't go anywhere with it, or devolve into a stupid and tired plot punctuated with lame action scenes.

Pitch Black managed to take a few great concepts and keep them interesting for 90 minutes. Of course, the special effects are great (with a few exceptions... you'll know 'em when you see 'em), but more importantly, the acting (mostly) holds up and the plot remains fresh throughout. Two thumbs up!

- David Stein


------------------
There is No Cabal

[POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

I like Pitch Black but it's a movie that falls apart when you think about it. The main problem is the deadly creatures that are sensitive to light:

(A) Such a creature would not have evolved on a planet with constant daylight except for a short eclipse every 22 years. True, the creatures could've been transplanted by unknown forces from another planet, but still there's the next problem...

(B) The creatures apparently devoured every other living thing on the planet during the previous eclipse, 22 years earlier. But when a predator has no more prey to feast upon, it dies out. How did these creatures survive for 22 years without any food?

I saw this movie as basically a(nother) reworking of Aliens, without much in the way of story or characters to support it.

[Possible spoilers]

I was expecting a movie more in the tradition of Aliens. I was expecting Riddick to go out there and blast these creatures to kingdom come not do hand-to-hand combat with them with a knife.

Still, it's one of the better sci-fi films to come along in a while.

I rented this one when i tcame out, then bought it a week later. I think it's a cool movie, not incredible blockbuster type, but still a cool movie to watch http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif The effects are great, specially the spitting fire part http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif Overall they did a great job, and the DTS sound makes it even better http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

I am so suprised people liked this flick. I rented it the other day & thought it was crap. The special effects were cheesy & the storyline was tired & uninteresting.

It still amazes me what people like these days...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dhmac:
[POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

I like Pitch Black but it's a movie that falls apart when you think about it. The main problem is the deadly creatures that are sensitive to light:

(A) Such a creature would not have evolved on a planet with constant daylight except for a short eclipse every 22 years. True, the creatures could've been transplanted by unknown forces from another planet, but still there's the next problem...

(B) The creatures apparently devoured every other living thing on the planet during the previous eclipse, 22 years earlier. But when a predator has no more prey to feast upon, it dies out. How did these creatures survive for 22 years without any food?</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Part of it is willing suspension of disbelief -- it is scifi after all http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

also regarding 1. I think it turned out that the eclipse was supposed to last pretty long -- at least a year.

2. many creatures, especially reptiles and amphibians can go into extended periods of hibernation for years at a time -- certain frogs in africa and australia will bury themselves in the dirt and basically dry up for years at a time until a monsoon comes and they come to the surface.)

Personally, I really enjoyed it. I liked the cinematography a lot, and I thought it was interesting the way no one character was exactly who you expected them to be. I was kinda disappointed that the woman from Farscape was killed so early though. Overall I would give it about 8/10.

Tuan Jim

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Mandrake:
I have to admit tho, when she went out to save Riddick, I knew she was dog meat...

</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The reason Riddick helped her is because she overcame her fear to risk her life to save the others in her crew. When it came time to do that see did and paid the ultimate price. She had to die, that was one of the main plots in the movie!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dhmac:
[POSSIBLE SPOILERS]


(B) The creatures apparently devoured every other living thing on the planet during the previous eclipse, 22 years earlier. But when a predator has no more prey to feast upon, it dies out. How did these creatures survive for 22 years without any food?</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Like Cicadas. I'm pretty sure I didn't spell that right, but they come out every 17 or 18 years


------------------
Duffman says a lot of things

The only good thing about the movie were Vin Diesel. The special effects were ok. The reason David Twohy used the blue tinting is because the sky and weather was bad when they shot the movie. Also check out David Twohy's other movie The Arrival, now that is a cool sci-fi movie

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by jhomer:
The only good thing about the movie were Vin Diesel. The special effects were ok. The reason David Twohy used the blue tinting is because the sky and weather was bad when they shot the movie. Also check out David Twohy's other movie The Arrival, now that is a cool sci-fi movie</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I too liked The Arrival. Very cool. Pitch Black wasn't bad.

The creatures were also cannabalistic which they showed toward the end of the movie.

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Now, this was a scary film. I loved the shot of the guy blowing out alcohol into the darkness. Vin Diesel was good, but that character has been done before (often). There were some very common plot devices that were employed, like inclusion of the Muslim's 3 sons (alien fodder). It was a good twist at the end, for once someone who was supposed to live, didn't, and I applaud that effort. I thought the aliens were far too reminscent of Starship Trooper's bugs, though. I wonder why they couldn't come up with some other form?

Out of 10? I give a 6!

------------------
Glenn's DVD List

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Glenn Glass:
I thought the aliens were far too reminscent of Starship Trooper's bugs, though. I wonder why they couldn't come up with some other form?
</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm listening to the 2nd commentary right now and the talk a lot about various aspects of the creatures and how they came about.

I saw it in theaters.. it was ok. not something I would care to see twice and I like sci fi movies.