<em>'Pitch Black'</em> is passable viewing. As a big <em>'Fast & Furious'</em> fan, it was about time I checked out more of Vin Diesel's other work. I had heard of this character of his before, though didn't know a jot about the plot. It turns out it's fairly good, despite minor issues. It has a noticeable low budget/low quality feel to it, the special effects haven't aged beautifully and the acting level is rather mid. Nevertheless, I still did enjoy the creatures and those onscreen do the job. It does attempt quite a bit of sci-fi, so I can respect it. Diesel is effective in the role of Riddick, a character I can certainly see the potential for here. Kinda funny that he co-stars with Cole Hauser, who appears in <em>'2 Fast 2 Furious'</em> - the only F&F flick to not feature Vin. Hauser is solid enough, he does suit this sorta role. Radha Mitchell and Keith David are the best of the others. I'm intrigued to see where they went with <em>'The Chronicles of Riddick'</em> (of course, the film Diesel chose over 2 Fast). I hadn't heard of this one before, though do know of the follow-up... so it must be good, right?

The movie that put Vin Diesel on the map as Riddick, the crooked anti-hero wanted by bounty hunters. This is another movie that benefits from knowing very little before watching the film.

Wasn't a big fan the last time I saw this (2000/2001) and didn't think too much about it this go around, with the shoddy editing particularly early on (seemed to stabilize in the final act), and the direction itself was pretty amateurish with stretching the picture in certain instances. Some interesting elements I guess and the acting was okay but no real standouts including Vin Diesel who shows zero personality that at least has come through in the Fast and the Furious franchise. **2.75/5**