I wasn't sure what to expect when I rented this movie on DVD. The plot sounded interesting...something goes horribly wrong with a manned mission on Mars, and a rescue/recovery mission is sent to investigate. But the resulting movie is almost embarrassing in it's blatant attempt to be "Apollo 13" meets "2001: A Space Odyssey".
The cast is a respectable one, and the actors appear to do what they can to lend some credibility to the movie. But you have to think the heads of NASA are a little ashamed at the ineptitude and lack of discipline that this movie portrays their crews as having only 20 years from now (the film takes place in 2020). According to the movie, married couples are now allowed to go on the same mission to outer space (and, without revealing too much, I can tell you that this movie shows exactly the reason why this ain't a very good idea). Plus, it's amazing that NASA wouldn't have more contingency plans in place than this (SO many things go wrong with the equipment/people/acts-of-God in this film that it's a wonder that the first mission to Mars even made it to the planet in the first place!). Astronauts clearly disobeying orders at every turn, no one seems to be in charge, instead of having a plan and following it, these astronauts are winging it everytime a situation comes up. Good grief. At least "Apollo 13" showed that there was a definite plan, backup plan, and even when that backup plan failed, the astronauts followed orders as precisely as they could from people who were in charge, even given the trying circumstances.
"Mission to Mars" also tries to be philosophical, too, but can't quite pull it off. The "story" told near the end of the movie seems as though it was just a excuse to conveniently wrap up the movie within the allotted time without having to resort to an actual script writing. I think we're supposed to be left wondering just where humankind really comes from. Instead, I was left wondering where I just spent the last 2 hours of my life.
The special effects are generally very good, with a special nod to the appearance of the spacecraft in space and the "planetarium show" near the end of the movie. Ennio Morricone's music is great. I've really come to appreciate his range and imagination over the years (he did the famous theme to "The Good, The Bad, and The ugly" and "The Mission"). The effects of weightlessness in space is a mixed bag. A couple of times it was quite believable but a few times it was obvious that the actors were just hanging around on strings.
Overall, I'd have to give this movie a miss. A great opportunity with a good cast that is marred by the most fundamental problem: The Script.
James
The cast is a respectable one, and the actors appear to do what they can to lend some credibility to the movie. But you have to think the heads of NASA are a little ashamed at the ineptitude and lack of discipline that this movie portrays their crews as having only 20 years from now (the film takes place in 2020). According to the movie, married couples are now allowed to go on the same mission to outer space (and, without revealing too much, I can tell you that this movie shows exactly the reason why this ain't a very good idea). Plus, it's amazing that NASA wouldn't have more contingency plans in place than this (SO many things go wrong with the equipment/people/acts-of-God in this film that it's a wonder that the first mission to Mars even made it to the planet in the first place!). Astronauts clearly disobeying orders at every turn, no one seems to be in charge, instead of having a plan and following it, these astronauts are winging it everytime a situation comes up. Good grief. At least "Apollo 13" showed that there was a definite plan, backup plan, and even when that backup plan failed, the astronauts followed orders as precisely as they could from people who were in charge, even given the trying circumstances.
"Mission to Mars" also tries to be philosophical, too, but can't quite pull it off. The "story" told near the end of the movie seems as though it was just a excuse to conveniently wrap up the movie within the allotted time without having to resort to an actual script writing. I think we're supposed to be left wondering just where humankind really comes from. Instead, I was left wondering where I just spent the last 2 hours of my life.
The special effects are generally very good, with a special nod to the appearance of the spacecraft in space and the "planetarium show" near the end of the movie. Ennio Morricone's music is great. I've really come to appreciate his range and imagination over the years (he did the famous theme to "The Good, The Bad, and The ugly" and "The Mission"). The effects of weightlessness in space is a mixed bag. A couple of times it was quite believable but a few times it was obvious that the actors were just hanging around on strings.
Overall, I'd have to give this movie a miss. A great opportunity with a good cast that is marred by the most fundamental problem: The Script.
James