Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

It's hard to find new stories in sci-fi genera. Most of the movies just circles around some basic themes. This movie is a breath of freshness in this genera. Although there is a spaceship in this with a not so unique fate assigned to it at the beginning but the plot changes its course to some uncharted territory pretty fast after that.The making and acting is decent. The interesting story creates a thrilling experience throughout its runt-time. Vin Disel nails his part with perfection. It was more than impressive to watch him act.There are some unnecessary events in the story that felt forced to me. These were avoidable and probably were there just to get the audience emotional(if you have seen this you might understand what I am talking about). Without these I would've probably considered this to be a perfect sci-fi classic.

When their spaceship crashes on an outskirts planet, fears mount in regards to an incarcerated convicted murderer who fled captivity in the crash, however, the crew and passengers soon find something far more terrifying on the planet itself in this action thriller with a sci-fi twist. Relatively simple as the premise may be, it is undeniably effective with the film's best moments coming from the crew and passengers scurrying about in fear of Vin Diesel's killer, accidentally shooting one another in the process. The tension is not quite the same once Diesel decides to unite with the group to overcome the vicious alien presence on the planet, but there is still plenty to ponder over as all concerned find it so hard to trust Diesel even in the face of a very real alien threat. As for the alien presence on the planet, it brings up a whole gigantic slate of unanswered, perplexing questions, particularly in relation to their allergy to sunlight. Then there is the amazing coincidence of the characters crash landing just before the planet is about to plunge into several days of complete darkness - but this is a pretty decent film when one focuses on trust/mistrust themes and the portrait of diverse individuals all banded together in the name of a common goal to survive. Diesel is very good too in the role that really kick-started his career; he has an awesome line towards the end about saying good night, and with his blacked-out contact lenses and designer goggles, his character leaves an indelible impression that lasts long after the movie has ended.

Loved the movie. The two leads did a heck of a job to carry the movie. Captivating story and great execution. The best bits of the movie in order are 1. Vin Diesel: I don't think I have seen him pre-Fast Furious franchise but if this is his prowess then FF have absolutely not utilized his skills. The shoulder dislocating scene alone..! (some effects were used, but it was real). His portrayal of a psychopath is really good. 2. the Imagery. LOVED IT. The colours, the lighting, the negative scenes, all really good. The aliens themselves could have been better but hey. 3. The soundtrack keeps a good pace with the movie. Overall, totally enjoyable.

Finally, after years of cheap and rubbish ALIENS rip-offs, comes one that is actually pretty darned good for a change. Despite being unreleased for about a year in this country, and with its fair share of plot holes and flaws, PITCH BLACK still manages to be one of the most impressive science fiction films in a long time. Although a pure B-movie at heart, PITCH BLACK impresses us with some wonderful photography, strong acting, and characterisations, and, for once, an imaginative script which throws in many inventive touches as it goes along.It's action right from the start as the film opens with one of the most tense, prolonged, and realistic spaceship crashes in a long time. The special effects here are adequate, although strained by the budget. Once the survivors group together on the planet's surface and decide to explore, here the fun really begins. The suspense is racked up to breaking point, making this relatively quiet first half pretty damn tense, as the viewer is aware that the survivors are not alone, and it takes a long time (and a few deaths) for them to realise this. Due to the wealth of action and different situations, even with a relatively long running time this stuff never becomes boring.Once the aliens show themselves (in a scene where the lead character is repeatedly put in danger but just manages to escape) the thrills and chills are heightened further. The plot twist of having an eclipse suddenly occur has already been stolen in the cheesy FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2, but it's still a good one in any case. There's a taught NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD-inspired scene where the remaining survivors huddle inside the crashed ship as the aliens mass outside, trying to get in. The final third takes the form of an immense trip on foot through the desert to reach a working spaceship, and offers up most of the fun as our character's lighting begins to fail bit by bit, until they are left in "pitch black" by a string of unlucky accidents.There are some many horrific scenes in this film that it's hard to pick the best, although I did especially like the moment (shown in the trailer) where a character lights a torch quickly to see himself surrounded by the aliens, before it going out again just as suddenly. The squelchy sound effects do the rest of the work for us. The desert landscape of Australia is put to good use, with the bleached photography achieving the same realistic sun-scorched effect as in THREE KINGS. Indeed, the photography (whether in the bright light or in the dark) is excellent throughout, and one of the film's strong points.The acting, too, is pretty good, and the fact that the film lacks famous faces makes it all the better. Radha Mitchell - an ex-NEIGHBOURS actress, if you would believe it - makes for a tough, likable and resourceful heroine, and one of the best female roles in a sci-fi movie in a while. Keith David pops up in a role as an Arab, and is as good as ever. I'm happy to say that he actually survives in this film. Cole Hauser (son of Wings) creates a believable, three-dimensional bastard in Johns, the film's most hateable character. However, acting honours go to Vin Diesel, playing the imposing escaped convict. Despite having surgically-altered eyes so he can see in the dark, a shaved head and imposing bulk, Diesel still manages to make his killer a likable character with a hard edge, and succeeds as an action hero.The CGI effect of the large aliens are generally pretty good, with the well-designed creatures being most menacing, especially when seen in a half light. One thing I didn't like were the tiny flying aliens which just look like a blob of CGI in close-up. There's a fair smattering of (computer generated) gore for horror fans, with heads and bodies being ripped apart in very brief shots. There are also some fun p.o.v. shots from the aliens' and Diesel's perspectives which are nice to look at. I'm pleased to say that director David Twohy (who also make the pretty good alien invasion flick, THE ARRIVAL) has succeeded again in making an enjoyable movie; one which is suspense, horrifying and exciting in equal measures, and should be seen at once by all genre fans as a breath of fresh air in today's cinema.