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Red Planet [2000]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

In Red Planet the only thing thicker than the Martian atmosphere (which is breathable, by the way) is the layer of clichés that nearly smothers a formulaic beat-the-clock plot. Science fiction fans are sure to be forgiving, however, because the film is reasonably intelligent, boasts a few dazzling sequences, and presents fascinating technology in the year 2057.

We don't know how the Mars-1 spaceship gets to Mars in only six months (newfangled propulsion, no doubt), but we do get some cool diagnostic read-outs on tinfoil scrolls, an abundance of well-designed hardware, and a service-robot-turned-villain that's a high-tech hybrid of RoboCop, Bruce Lee, and a slinky panther with plenty of lethal attitude. The oxygen in the Martian atmosphere has resulted from nascent efforts at terraforming, made necessary by Earth's over-polluted condition. Mars-1 has been dispatched to determine why the terraforming is failing, and upon arrival everything goes inevitably haywire. Nearly two hours, three deaths, and multiple crises later (including the discovery of a Martian life form), "space janitor" Val Kilmer and his ultra-competent commander (Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix) have collaborated to set things right, capped off by second dose of the wretched narration that bookends the movie. Hoary material, to be sure, and as a veteran of TV commercials making his feature debut, director Anthony Hoffman is clearly more comfortable with flashy visuals than depth of character. Still, he keeps things humming right along. A perfectly suitable companion to another Y2K sci-fi thriller, Pitch Black, Red Planet is a fine way to kill a couple of hours. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Editorial
Video Description

DVD Special Features:

Deleted Scenes
Interactive menus
Scene Access
Languages: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, German, English for the hearing impaired.

Editorial
Synopsis

In the future, pollution and overpopulation are making the Earth uninhabitable. Humanity's only hope is to colonize the planet Mars by using algae to produce oxygen, but when the algae mysteriously disappear, a group of astronauts are sent to Mars on a mission to learn why. The spaceship, led by Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss), is preparing to land when a sudden emergency forces her to crash-land on the planet without supplies or equipment. The survivors, including systems engineer Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and scientists Burchenal (Tom Sizemore) and Pettengil (Simon Baker), have to figure out how to return to their ship while also learning the truth about the missing algae. As if things weren't bad enough, they have to avoid AMEE, the ship's malfunctioning robot who is trying to kill them all.
RED PLANET is an exciting science fiction thriller based on scientific facts, including theoretical notions on how to "terraform" Mars to become inhabitable. The film also provides information about the nuts and bolts of basic space travel. Kilmer and company avoid science fiction cliches to make their Martian adventures more believable, creating a saga of survival under incredible conditions.
Editorial
From the Back Cover

In the mid-21st Century, the nations of a dying Earth look starward for a solution and set to colonize Mars. But something no one could have expected awaits. Houston, we have big trouble.

Val Kilmer, Carrie-Ann Moss and Tom Sizemore star in this taut adventure about humankind's first mission to the mysterious Red Planet. Also on the mission is the multifunctional robo-assistant AMEE. In one mode, she's as loyal as a puppy. But a malfunction has locked her into a far different mode. She's become a killing machine bent on destroying the crew. Yet that's not the end of the expedition's perils. Because Mars may be barren, but it's not uninhabited.


How It May Happen (If NASA Plan It)
Review date: 2008-02-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

A review on Red Planet, ok here goes, this film's best feature is how it takes a (planned NASA) future space travel trip to Mars and makes it almost believable.

Like any person reviewing music/film/theatre, each should be taken on it's own credit and be rated as such.

Like drivers some love VW's and some Lada's. This if I'm being honest is a very nice Skoda, very good, well made, dependable, but unfortunately will not be for everyone.

Saying that, this Skoda Fabia is well filmed, with action being well staged and acted by a strong cast, unlike some films which use far to much, the CG elements (AMME, all transport and space scenes) are used to a minimum but enough to move the film on a and to great results.

Of course like any film there is a hidden element in the screen play, it hides as a simple love story within a Sci-fi frame, that said, if you like this kind of "man fails to think it through" and "woman saves the day - with mans help" kind of movie then this is a one to buy and add to your growing DVD collection.

I personally have had this in my collection since its release and view as a personal favourite, and watch it around once a month.

To be frank, this film is just great harmless, quality movie entertainment from start to finish.

If you can pick it up for a song, then its worth the price. Honest.


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Reviews


not bad !
Review date: 2007-10-21 Rating: 6 out of 10

i do like my sci-fi but this film could have delivered more, but its well worth a watch

buy when cheap

A good B-series flick
Review date: 2006-11-14 Rating: 6 out of 10

A number of previous reviewers were disappointed by Red Planet. I wasn't. Of course, for die-hard SF fans (which I am not), fond of faster-than-light travel, intergalactic laser battles, indestructible monsters etc. the movie looks a bit pedestrian.

Red Planet is more of an adventure flick than your typical SF blockbuster. I found the plot quite believable, the technology fairly realistic (including "smart" extra-vehicular suits and a lander inspired by both the Apollo Lunar Module and the more recent unmanned probes) and the acting performances very decent. Val Kilmer's acting is quite subdued (you may at first wonder if he really is the main character), and the whole cast fill their roles well. Special effects are excellent yet unobtrusive (the zero-G fire and the "landing" scenes are quite impressive), while the depiction of the Martian surface is visually stunning and very close to reality. That, in fact, may be why SF fans generally didn't like the movie: it must have been too... believable. Apart from some gadgets, most of the technology displayed in Red Planet is already with us (or just around the corner), so it doesn't look like the 32nd Century or so. Yes, the storyline might be predictable at times, but it is still a good B-series flick, with no great pretence to be anything else. I'd call it a B+ series movie, and a good way to spend 100 minutes.


A Missed Opportunity
Review date: 2006-07-16 Rating: 6 out of 10

Like De Palmas dreadful "Mission to Mars", "Red Planet" has all the ingredients of a Sci-Fi epic but fails to deliver. Unlike "Mission to Mars" which attempted to go for excessive plausibility in supporting its missing presumed dead storyline "Red Planet" swings the opposite way with weak characterisation, trite dialog and some poor performances.

Val Kilmer is not miscast, however, his cartoon-like character should not have been involved in such a mission. Carry-Anne Moss as Bowman, the commander of the mission, demonstrated no command strengths except perhaps yelling and seemed to be little more than eye candy with her tendency to take her clothes off - hardly a strong female lead and certainly not much of a role model. Other characters played by Benjamin Bratt, Tom Sizemore, Simon Baker and Terence Stamp were bland and interchangeable.

The idea was sound I suppose, the idea of terraforming using algae to convert the atmosphere to a more earthlike mix, the concept of earth becoming too crowded and polluted etc etc. A little hackneyed yes, but it was the most interesting part of the movie. A combination survey/combat robot? Well of course it was going to go nuts and start moulinexing its way through the crew - cliched and overused in so many other films.

Overall it came out as a weak movie that appeared to set high standards for itself and then failed to reach them. I give this movie three stars for its setting as Mars did look pretty good, and for the use of the algae idea.

I was looking for a serious plausible movie and didn't find it, but had I been looking for a semi-serious sci-fi road movie I might have enjoyed it. If all you want is a simple space movie with a little action and excitement then perhaps you'll get more out of this than I did.

Red Planet
Review date: 2005-05-23 Rating: 4 out of 10

I think whenever we sit down to watch a Science-Fiction film, most of us are pretty happy to suspend belief in some factors for the sake of the plot. As far as this film goes, I'm perfectly happy to understand that it would be possible to attempt to populate the surface of Mars with algae; I'm perfectly happy to believe that armed only with a screwdriver Astronaut Handyman Val Kilmer could chop up a 50 year old modem and make a working walkie-talkie. I'll even go so far as to believe the professionalism of a highly trained crew could be compromised by the making of a Vodka distillery on the space ship to relieve the boredom of the 6 month journey to Mars. What I'm not going to accept is some of the baloney churned out in this film to make the plot seemingly more exciting. We have speaking computers which you can yell at to make them work harder. A version of first aid heart massage when all that seems necessary is a few good hard bashes to the chest. A space ship that seems more like a luxury night club than a means of transport and so it goes on.

The thing that makes it all the more frustrating is that there are several opportunities to increase the tension in the plot and yet the film makers miss these chances over and over again. We see on the initial sequence on the ship that there is some chemistry between Kilmer's character and the commander of the ship, Cmdr Bowman played by Carrie-Anne Moss. We also see that there is some chemistry of a more malicious kind between Bowman and one of the other members of the crew (I forget which one, most of the minor characters are clones of one another anyway). And then instead of marooning this set of characters on the surface of Mars and watching what happens, Bowman is stranded alone on the space ship and a chance to develop this storyline is missed. The same happens when we learn that the escape means from Mars will only carry 2 passengers, and yet there's three surviving members of crew on the planet. Just when you think this will lead to a great stand-off scene, one of them runs off and gets killed, well problem solved then!

My final gripe with the film is the characterisation of the members of the crew is absolutely stupid. Even when the film starts and Cmdr Bowman runs through the crew list, it's more like an introduction to a dating agency. As I've said before the minor characters are clones of one another and with their helmets on I had real problems telling one from another. Finally Cmdr Bowman herself is perhaps the worst thing to have ever happened for the characterisation of strong women. Here's a woman who can only command by shouting, strips down to her vest at every opportunity and seemingly will sleep with a member of her crew as soon as she gets the chance. It is not possible to have a strong woman character who can command with charisma and can obtain the loyalty of her male colleagues without resorting to personal means? Apparently not in Hollywood.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Simon Baker
Tom Sizemore
Benjamin Bratt
Val Kilmer
Carrie-Anne Moss

Creators:
Val Kilmer (Primary Contributor)
Carrie-Anne Moss (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900189545
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-05-25
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000-11-10
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)

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