Larian Studios Forums General Chat Chronicles of Riddick - Pitch Black

I am not much into sci-fi horror; most movies I saw are rather predictable and try to look too serious for their own good.
There are few exceptions, notably Aliens, the follow up to Ridley Scott's exellent Alien (designs by H.G. Giger). Now Aliens probably being one (if not the) of my favorite Sci-Fi movies, nothing untill today could come close. I just saw Pitch Black.

It's not often that I have a burning wish to buy a DVD, especially when the market is filled with american big-budget but low-sense flicks.
Pitch Black certainly doesn't look like a big-budget movie, nevertheless, it looks pleasent. The camerawork is professional, the lighting is excellent and the 3d effects, although a tiny bit outdated, do not overwhelm the movie.
The story seems typical but the developement isn't.
A civilian trader ship crashes on a desert planet, carrying some passengers. One of those passengers is a policeman who escorts a dangerous criminal to a prison after the later is finally caught.
Nothing exciting about this plot as it seems to be the only possible way for an american horror/sci-fi.
That's where the similarities end. The acting is, in my opinion, most excellent. Surprised I was when I saw that Vin Diesel ACTED. I am no fan of Vin after such dumbster material as XXX but now I see he isn't bad. On the countrary, in this movie I couldn't imagine anyone else in this role. (I wonder what D&D character he usually plays <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />). Whereas there are a few "scientific" errors, there are a lot of curious little details which make the movie believable. The action sequences are actually interesting to watch. As I said, the camerawork and the lighting are exellent. As for the scare factor, I am not an avid horror-movie watcher. Not only they usually feature awful acting and worse scripts but they tend to be repetitive. I won't judge this movie as a horror movie because (for me again) there are few, if none, spooks. In fact, I haven't seen anything which scared me since "Devil's Avocate", another of my favorite movies, which I watched a couple of years ago before going to sleep <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Arguably, this movie is a reworked Alien/Aliens. Noticing the several similarities, I nevetheless consider this movie as a gem. If you like sci-fi/action, take a look.

Good night.