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"Wild
'Pitch'"
by Scott Mantz
"Pitch Black"
Radha Mitchell, Vin Diesel
Directed by David Twohy
Well, as much
as I hate to admit it, it's official--sci fi is dead. After years
of disappointments, I have yet to see anything substantial to change
my mind about this unhappy conclusion. With the notable exception
being "The Matrix", there hasn't been one decent science fiction
film that's been worthy enough to stand up to the classics. While
box office smashes like "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace"
and "Armageddon" sold hoards of action figures and tons of popcorn,
they didn't offer much in terms of creativity, intelligence, or
thought-provoking stories. Even less successful films like "Supernova"
and "The Relic" were merely repackaged versions of much better films.
Well, you can add another film to this list. While "Pitch Black"
offers plenty in terms of cheap thrills and jolting scares, there's
little else to justify it as a worthy moviegoing experience.
Sometime in
the not-too-distant future, a spaceship crash-lands on a barren
planet . The survivors, including pilot Fry (Radha Mitchell), lawman
Johns (Cole Hauser), and religious Imam (Keith David) must find
water in the intense heat and barren wasteland if they are going
to stay alive, much less get off the planet. Further complicating
matters is a Riddick (Vin Diesel), a superhuman prisoner who they
are forced to release, since he has nowhere else to go. They find
an abandoned colony whose inhabitants were killed by flesh-eating
bat-like creatures who come out only at night. They're safe as long
as the 3 suns are shining, but a coming total eclipse will thrust
the planet into darkness, freeing the bats from their cavernous
dwellings. The survivors must battle the elements, the aliens, and
each other if they are to stay alive and escape with their hides
intact.
One of the things
"Pitch black" has going for it is its hip cast. The beautiful Radha
Mitchell is the tough-as-nails leader who resembles Sigourney Weaver's
Ripley from the "Alien" films. Vin Diesel is the controlled superhuman
killer who's only out for himself, but he knows that he is doomed
without the help of the other survivors. He's cool, confident, and
intelligent, and he actually remains likable even though he can
turn on his captures at any minute. Cole Hauser starts off charming
enough as Diesel's lawman, but he holds a secret that brings his
heroism down to the level of humiliation.
Other than that,
"Pitch Black" succumbs to the same clichÈs that have brought down
countless other horror and sci fi B-movie flicks. When will people
learn that they have to stick together and not wander off in the
face of undefeatable odds? Haven't they seen "Scream" enough times
to know that the moment one person goes off on their own, they're
done for? We never really get a good look at the embracing bat-creatures,
but we see enough of them to know that they pale in comparison to
the ones in "Aliens". The freaks come out at night, so what the
heck were the survivors thinking when they decided to venture out
into the dark to commandeer an abandoned spaceship? Oh, and one
final bone of contention--just why did Cole Hauser have to pick
a fight with Vin Diesel with thousands of bats flying around overhead,
ready to pick them off like corn on the cob?
"Pitch Black"
takes itself too seriously to give moviegoers a good ride. Had it
been done in the style of, say, "Deep Blue Sea", which was a B-movie
that knew it was a B-movie, then it could have been a lot more fun.
Unfortunately, that's not the case. So, I stick to my theory--sci
fi is dead. Can there possibly be anything on the horizon to make
me (happily) change my mind? Let's see. "Mission to Mars" looks
like a blatant rip-off of "2001: A Space Odyssey". "Red Planet"
was pushed back from Summer to October, which is never a good sign.
Finally, George Lucas has announced that he will direct "Star Wars
Episode II". Oh well, forget I brought it up. Rest in peace sci
fi.
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