Pitch Black is the first film that features Riddick (Or Carolyn, depending on how you look at it) as the main character. The poster definitely promises a horror film that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Does this work as a horror film? More importantly, what about those fight scenes!? Find out all of that and more as the review unfolds.

A crew’s spaceship goes through space, but something goes wrong and there is a fatality. It’s definitely a quick way to start the film and I’m sure that not many were expecting the cast to be whittled down so quickly. They crash land on a mysterious planet and quickly gather their bearings. They had been transporting a dangerous prisoner by the name of Riddick. He definitely wasn’t to be trusted, but what would they do with him now? Riddick does make an escape attempt, but things don’t go so well.

Another member of the crew is devoured and then the cast finally realizes the gravity of the situation. They release Riddick and decide that they’ll need to work together in order to get out alive. The plan is simple: They will grab the power cells and use them to launch their solar powered ship out of their and maybe get back to their planet. (Earth…..right?…) Unfortunately, the inhabitants of this planet have ideas of their own.

Well, one thing that makes this film interesting is the use of the 3 Suns planet. Since the planet has 3 suns, the film has a green edge to it. It feels like you’re watching a black and white film, but slathered with a green paint. It was pretty interesting to watch and it was definitely unique. Of course, once the planet gets dark..it stays dark. Riddick is able to see through the dark with his eye, but will that be enough of an edge to survive?

The monsters/aliens in this film are similar to Pterodactyls. They can fly and one good bite could prove to be the end for a human. As far as physical strength goes, they’re about as tough as an average wild animal. Like a Bull for instance, so a human may be able to overpower one of them, but it’s not so simple. Not everyone can use what they’ve learned on paper to keep a Shark’s mouth closed so that he can’t bite them. The aliens are quick and they usually come out during the dark. (I wonder why….)

The cast isn’t very strong in this film, but that tends to be the norm. Carolyn becomes the leader, but it’s more of a “By Default” type of position. “The end justifies the means” seems to be her way of thinking. Towards the end, she has her hero moments, but she did take time to make her decision. I’m not saying that she’s an awful character, but not a great one. Riddick? Well, he’s your average thug villain, who may have the potential for good in him. I don’t know about this, but when he’s properly goaded, he can be tricked into doing the right thing. He’s decently skilled, but not extraordinarily so.

John is another member and well….there is a plot twist about him. He’s pretty unlikable and you could say that he’s the main villain. It’s ironic since Riddick was supposed to be the big villain, but John seems to have less morals and is probably deeper into the side of evil. Does he make it through the film? Erm…..when was the last time, the “jerk” character made it to the end? Not going to say if this guy breaks the trend, but think about it.

Now, disclaimer time! This review is based off of an edited version that I saw, which edited out the language and made the film a TV 14. So, unless you can find an edited version, this film has a Ton of excessive language. The violence can also get pretty graphic, so if you’re squeamish about people being ripped apart and heads getting crunched….you may want to skip on this one. So, if you’re thinking about bringing a kid to watch this…I’d advise against that. Just a fair warning from your epic blogger DReager1!

So, in the end, did this film work as a horror film? Well, I guess we had a couple of “Jump out” moments, but the film had more tension than actual scary scenes. I guess, if you found Jaws scary, then this should fill the bill. There isn’t really romance in this film, but do I recommend it? For those of you who like horror/alien tales, you’ll probably enjoy it, but there are definitely better options out there. If you’re looking for a “deep” plot and some epic dialogue…what are you doing here? This wasn’t exactly a great film and calling it “good” may be a bit of a stretch. I can’t say that it was my favorite, but it’s better than some other horror titles. like Haunting in Connecticut If you want a movie that will chill you to the bone, check out Bleach: Hell Verse!

Overall 3/10

Colombiana is one of those films where the protagonist has a gun and you just know that someone’s going to take his last walk. The poster gives you a Salt/Tomb Raider feel so this could be good news if you enjoyed those films. One thing that didn’t help was the trailer, which I found to be pretty awful personally. The actual movie is better than the trailer, but was it good enough to be considered a good movie?

Cataleya is the main character of the film and some may consider her a Hero. If you consider Light Yagami, The Punisher, or the Superior Spiderman as heroes, then by all means! She would definitely be heroic, but I don’t really consider those guys to be heroes. Goku, Superman……Bionic Bunny! Those guys did their duty and stayed with their morals. Cataleya’s big mission is to avenge her parents and destroy anyone who gets in her way! It will take some time to climb up the mafia list, so she makes a name for herself as she bumps more and more people off.

The plot is pretty basic which is (Almost) always a good thing. This means that the film can spend less time on the plot and more time on the action. There is also a character by the name of Danny. (Hardcore name, but awful character) Saying that he was an awful character is a bit strong, but I definitely did not like him. I don’t know…I just felt that he was a disgrace to such a cool name. Ignoring that guy, there weren’t many subplots in the film. We had the cliched FBI vs CIA fight, (Which never gets old! Honestly, it’s always the best part of the films) I wasn’t really sure who to root for. I guess I would go with the FBI, but they’re always so much weaker for some reason. I wish that this plot would have gotten more screen time, since it was pretty intense.

This film does have a lot of romance which can definitely bring down the movie for you. Cataleya and Danny are already not good characters, so this helps them to be that much worse. Danny tries to be a “tough guy” and even gets some “hardcore” lines. Unfortunately, they don’t make him a more endearing character. Cataleya’s uncle is supposed to be someone that we can possibly root for, but the opening scene already shows that he’s a complete villain. Why root for him? Of course, Cataleya also becomes a villain so I guess everyone’s evil this time. I bet even Danny had a secret agenda.

So, would I recommend this film? Well, the film has some action scenes and one hand to hand fight, but there are also some things that hamper it down. The romance is a bigger subplot than usual and the character cast is astonishingly unlikable. Cataleya’s scene where she spits out the disk is pretty gross and can also be a quick turn off. There’s the usual summer blockbuster violence, but I can’t remember anything that was unthinkably violent or wince worthy. If you’ve seen Jaws or Terminator, then you’ll be okay……if you want a real movie where the main character uses a gun…I don’t know what to tell you. (Maybe when this film gets a sequel, we’ll have something) If you want to watch a show where the main character has a gun, check out Black Cat!

Overall 3/10