Pitch Black Review

Pitch Black review

Vin Diesel’s Pitch Black was released 25 years ago today. It’s never been more Vin Diesel’s than it is today.

Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.

Pitch Black

Directed by David Twohy

Screenplay by Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat and David Twohy

Starring Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black, Rhiana Griffith and John Moore

Pitch Black Review

Pitch Black wasn’t Vin Diesel’s first movie. He had a memorable part in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and a memorable voice acting turn in The Iron Giant to his credits before the film dropped 25 years ago. His fame would shoot into another stratosphere one year after its release as Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious. But Pitch Black and his character Riddick were an important step in the rocket ship to stardom that Diesel was on in the early 00s. I’d go so far as to argue (and will on the podcast that drops tomorrow) that his portrayal of Richard B. Riddick in Pitch Black is the finest work of his career. And the moment he became a star. At least to those who saw it.

Pitch Black was a decent hit upon its release…but would pale in comparison to the numbers the Fast and Furious franchise would begin achieving soon after. There’s a mysterious quality to Riddick that could only be brought to the table by Diesel in a pre-Fast and Furious world. Even if you had seen Vin Diesel in movies before…he wasn’t Vin Diesel yet. We didn’t know if Riddick would emerge as a hero…or if he was simply the merciless killer the film describes him to be. It’s a trick that couldn’t be pulled even a year later when Diesel became a household name…and the hero of every story.

There’s a true menace to Riddick here that the character would struggle to retain through two more films (so far). By the time the sequels arrived…Riddick was just cool. He was something more in the year 2000. A credible threat, a morally questionable man, always two steps ahead and able to turn any situation to his advantage. His arc in Pitch Black is, fittingly, about the death of the Riddick who crashed on the three sunned monster laden planet…and the birth of the hero who flew away from it.

How we get to that point isn’t always the cleanest. Some aspects of Pitch Black feel very dated. I have no doubt that you can guess which aspects of a movie released in 2000 featuring CGI creatures those would be. It’s a simple premise with many disposable characters. The concept itself, a planet that rarely sees darkness…inhabited by dangerous creatures that can’t enter the light…is a good one.

Radha Mitchell’s embattled pilot, burdened with the guilt of her attempt to save herself at the passengers’ expense, serves as the film’s traditional lead. It’s important to the story that Riddick starts in the shadows. We’re told by his bounty hunter Johns (Cole Houser) how dangerous the man is before we see him act. Although Riddick becomes the lead and flies from the planet a changed man…Johns isn’t lying about his cargo. Fry (Mitchell) is the character given a redemption arc. Her quest to save people and get them home is a noble one…born out of a moment of failure. Pitch Black sets Riddick up to be an obstacle to her journey. What it ends up doing with him is far more interesting.

For his part…Riddick seems amused by the direness of his situation. He’s seen hell…clear as day given the eye shine he underwent in prison…this is just another version. His wits and bravery make for a capable leader…even if that’s the last thing he would call himself. Still…work needs to be done…and creature attacks need to be survived. There’s a pivotal moment near the end of Pitch Black where Riddick prepares to exit the planet alone…abandoning the people he’s been forced to work beside for most of the story. We don’t know if he’d actually leave. I suspect that he would. His moment of change hasn’t occurred yet…and Vin Diesel isn’t Vin Diesel yet.

Fry proves herself to be someone worth respect in Riddick’s eyes. Her willingness to die to save the people Riddick is threatening to abandon shows how far apart they are in that moment. When she does die…saving Riddick…the character we know changes forever. He knew he hadn’t lived a life worthy of that sacrifice. She made sure to tell him that herself. The Riddick that flies away at the end of Pitch Black is a man who is now compelled to live up to that sacrifice the same way Fry was compelled to atone for her moment of sin. “Tell them Riddick’s dead. He died somewhere on that planet”, Riddick answers to Jack’s (Rhiana Griffith) question about what they’ll tell people about what happened. He means it. Richard B. Riddick the bounty had died. Riddick the hero was born. As it turns out, so was Vin Diesel the star.

A quarter century of Vin Diesel fame later makes looking back at the last moments of pre-superstardom in Pitch Black as interesting as it is difficult. He’s almost completely fully formed as the star he was about to become…but there’s a level of believability to his performance as Riddick that has been missing for a long time. If you can look past the iconic image of Vin Diesel long enough to notice. It’s not surprising that Diesel has returned to the character of Riddick several times (including an excellent video game). There’s something to Richard B. Riddick in Pitch Black that makes him a character to stand the test of time. The story may be simple…the CGI erodes with time…but Riddick may be more interesting now than he’s ever been.

Scare Value

The movie itself is a decently fun sci-fi/horror romp…but it’s Vin Diesel that gives it a lasting quality. He’s arguably never been better than he is in Richard B. Riddick’s first outing. Not every effect holds up…the story is minimal at best…but Riddick’s omnipresent coolness holds up enough to keep Pitch Black an effortlessly fun movie to watch.

3.5/5