When you think David Thwothy -- some of you might think the Arrival, GI Jane (neither of which, I must say, were very good)-- and others of you might wonder who the hell he is. I would fall into the latter category.
Fortunately, because of this movie, you might all think positively of him when and if you ever do think of him.
Pitch Black proves that a good director, and maybe a good cinematographer can change a movie from "barely tolerable" to "really worth wile."
The plot is standard sci-fi fare: a cargo ship (that's PEOPLE cargo -- in the future the stakes are always higher) on autopilot collides with the tail of a comet and gets beat up fairly bad. They crash into a nearby planet, but not before ejecting most of the crew stasis pods, sending them to their deaths. Only a handful of people survive, and what they come to find is that the planet is barren, a wasteland of perpetual daylight, devoid of everything -- like Baltimore in the dead of summer. (Minus the drugs and pimps, of course...) They must struggle to stay alive, but there's an unseen alien menace lurking beneath their very feet...
...blahblahblah. So the film doesn't get points for originality. What it DOES have, however, is some vaguely interesting (though no more original) character situations. There's a cop who's not all he seems; a young boy, who's not all he seems; a tough female thrust into the position of authority (hmmm...sounds like another sci-fi movie I saw once...) But the kicker is a homicidal maniac with a cat's eyes (that's really cool, by the way) and a penchant for murder. Played by Vin Deisel, Reddek is probably the most intriguing character. Although we only get a glimpse of his motivations for such anti-social behavior -- "...You don't think someone...who lied in a dumpster with his own umbilical chord wrapped around his neck can believe in god? Well, you're wrong. I DO believe in god. And I HATE the f***er." -- Thwothy uses the potential fear spawned in the rest of the survivors to his advantage. Now, not only are they stranded on an alien world with no water or food, hunted by an unknown creature, but they must deal with a HUMAN BEING, who for no apparent reason could very well murder them all.
And it almost works well. In fact, one might say that the interaction between Reddek and the cop, Reddek and the kid, and Reddek and the girl are more suspenceful and enjoyable than the aliens, which are the standard "evil menace" fare and do little for the movie on the whole.
That brings us to the flow of the movie, which I must say, is excellent. From the very opening scenes, the movie is chock full of astounding, trippy visuals. The opening crash sequence is nothing short of breathless. You feel the movement of that ship as it crashes -- something most crash sequences fail to do. The three suns of the planet cast a painful white glare on the film, most of the time it's like your pupils have failed to dilate properly, if at all. A blue sun adds a creepy, surrealistic tint. As the movie progresses, and the eclipse begins to blot out the suns, we finally see some filters on the lenses, and it progresses until the entire world...is Pitch Black. (how'd I do on THAT one, eh? <grins>) Altough no one was able to explain to me why there were no stars...
The special effects are ho-hum when it comes to the blockbuster, big-budget, CG-drenched stagnant movies -- but that only works to the movie's advantage. They keep it...focused a little better. They're far from BAD, don't get me wrong. The aliens, though not really too unique or interesting, are sufficently animated, and do their job on that level. Most of my problems with the special effects come from years of studying it...so I'm pretty sure the average person wouldn't have any problems with them.
All in all, it is reminiscent of the good-ol' days of sci-fi. It's a throwback to the 80s -- and Alien, Predator, and the like, though more than likely because it steals from all of them. Still, the visual style and a few great moments make this better then the average sci-fi garbage being pumped at us lately (check out my Supernova review for that...) and worth the price of a ticket, if only to forget life and enjoy yourself for a few hours.
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