Pitch Black

Although his career is wrapped up in The Fast and the Furious franchise, Vin Diesel’s coming-out party was really the sleeper hit Pitch Black, director David Twohy's ode to pulp sci-fi novels (specifically the Eric John Stark adventures written by Leigh Brackett) that introduced the world to Riddick, an escaped con with enhanced night vision and a permanent chip on his shoulder.   When a spaceship full of pilgrims crash lands on a strange planet overrun by carnivorous monsters that only come out at night, Riddick becomes an unlikely anti-hero as he attempts to lead the group to safety.  But are his action really altruistic...or just all-for-himself?

 

The film produced two sequels to date (with another installment in the works) that built a complex mythological back-story around Riddick's lone wolf mystery man.  But here we simply get a survival story, populated by characters with just enough personality to make sure we know who was eaten by what.  But Twohy makes sure Riddick is larger than life, repeating the name with Rambo-like reverence and celebrating exploits we've never even seen (no wonder Diesel loves playing this guy!). 

 

No one will mistake this for 2001, and they shouldn't try.  Pitch Black is an energetic, colorful, sci-fi / action hybrid that gets in and out with mercenary-like cinematic economy.  The effects have aged poorly, but the creatures themselves - shot mostly from Riddick's "night vision" POV - still get the job done as a physical and existential threat.  Twohy's ambition to build a franchise is rather obvious from the start and all the building blocks were conveniently in place.  But even if you aren't interested in the further adventures of Riddick, Pitch Black makes for a thrilling one-and-done adventure.

 

Arrow Video has released the film 4K UHD, but the Blu-ray version is certainly nothing to sneeze at either; the brand new 4K restoration makes the film's creative color scheme really pop.  Both the theatrical and director's cut of the film are included along with hours of interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and commentaries, both new and archival (and, yes, the animated prequel to Chronicles of Riddick is there as well).  It's a hell of a package no matter which resolution you choose.

 

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