Val Kilmer
Robby Gallagher
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Science Fiction
Astronauts search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.
Top Billed Cast
| Release Date | 2000-11-10 |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 1h 46m |
| Directors | Antony Hoffman, Peter Suschitzky, Colin Fletcher, Graeme Burfoot, Ramprasad Sampath, Noni Roy, Giovanni Pacialeo, Geoffrey Wharton |
| Producers | Jorge Saralegui, Mark Canton, Chuck Pfarrer, Bruce Berman, Andrew Mason, Stephen Jones, Charles J.D. Schlissel, Suzanne Lowe, Thomas Boland |
| Writers | Jonathan Lemkin, Chuck Pfarrer |
Here comes a billion dollar campfire. At least it's good for something.
The second of the Mars based box office bombs released in 2000, Red Planet is maybe - just maybe - worth a revisit by some who were irritated by it back on first viewing. Once knowing that this is not going to be some action packed alien movie, that it's a survivalist drama that tips its hat to 1950s sci-fi schlock, that cares about its characters, then there's a decent popcorner experience to be had here.
This is not to say it's a genius entry in the sci-fi pantheon, because it's not, the same problems still exist; Terence Stamp is woefully under used (seriously they could have got any low paid character actor to play his role), some things either don't make sense or are left unanswered, and of course it still drags in the middle as the boys chatter away on Mars whilst Carrie Anne-Moss is up at base station fretting and suffering erectus nippleus.
Yet there's fun to be had here, some nutty science marries up with nice photography and splendid set design, and the makers know what sort of picture they want to make. Where Mission to Mars sunk under the weight of its own pretensions - trying to go all elegiac and important, Red Planet nudges and winks and asks you along for the ride. So get on board and take it for what it is, a pretentious free zone with good human drama at the core. 6.5/10
— John Chard
Red Planet has so much going on, and it doesn't have control of any of it. Not a single actor fits their character, except possibly Carrie-Ann Moss, who spends basically the entire runtime too benched to really count as a character in 99% of the story anyway.
Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.
— Gimly