Mission to Mars

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2000 Howard Anderson

Synopsis

The year is 2020 and NASA has made another giant leap for mankind - successfully landing a team of astronauts on Mars. However, shortly after their arrival on the Martian surface, Mission Commander Luke Graham (Don Cheadle) and his colleagues encounter something bizarre, shocking and chilling that brings about a catastrophic and mysterious disaster which decimates the crew. Graham is able to send one hasty cryptic message back to Earth before his nightmare begins.

Haunted by the enigmatic last communication received from the ill-fated Mars One crew, NASA hurriedly prepares and launches a rescue mission to investigate the tragedy and bring back survivors - if any. Co-piloted by Commander Woody Blake (Tim Robbins) and Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise), with colleagues Dr. Terri Fisher (Connie Nielsen) and scientist Phil Ohlmyer (Jerry O´Connell) on board, the astronauts set out on a heroic sixth month journey to Mars.

Review

"Mission To Mars" is the first of three movies where Mars is the center of attention, and whereas the other two have yet to hit the big screen, "M2M" has now made it all the way to the DVD format. The other two are "Red Planet", which opens in November, and John Carpenter's "Ghosts of Mars", which is currently shooting in New Mexico as I'm writing this. Out of those three films, the one that I'm most eagerly anticipating is undoubtedly John Carpenter's "Ghosts of Mars", and as such I did not expect a whole lot from Brian De Palma's Martian outing. The reviews for "M2M" were, for the most part, not too good, and my impression of the film from watching the trailer was that "M2M" would be nothing more than a simple rip-off of other sci-fi classics, like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Imagine my surprise when the movie turned out to be a well-crafted, suspenseful and entertaining sci-fi/thriller. All though the film is nowhere near the greatness of Kubrick and Spielberg's masterpieces, due in part to a screenplay that definitely could have used some more work (the story is not bad, but it's not great either), I was still very impressed at the level of technical accuracy and realism that De Palma has utilized in the telling of this story. As I was watching the film, I was quite often reminded of various documentaries that I've seen about Mars and the possibilities and the future of space travel, on both the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel.

The visual effects by DreamQuest and ILM are nothing short of spectacular, and when you see the attention to detail that they've taken in creating the vast Martian landscape and other key elements in the story, then you really start to appreciate the amount of work and effort that they've put in to give us a taste of the mysteries of Mars.

The cast of "M2M" is also a fine ensemble, and all though none of them deliver career-best performances, they still have nothing to be ashamed of. Gary Sinise is one of those actors that just turns in one brilliant performance after another, like he did in "Forrest Gump", "Apollo 13", and " Ransom", and all though "M2M" doesn't call for a performance quite as intense as that, he is still able to give you a sense of who Commander Jim McConnell is, the memories that haunt him, and the things that drive him. Tim Robbins also delivers a perfectly fine performance as Commander Woody Blake, as does Don Cheadle and Connie Nielsen, but this film is not gonna bring home any Oscars in either the lead or supporting actor category. I found "Mission To Mars" to be a good science fiction film that kept me well entertained throughout its running time of 113 minutes.

Image

The 2.35:1 anamorphic image is spectacular. Whether it's the empty blackness of space or the red surface and atmosphere of Mars, the image is consistently striking. The intense colors never exhibit any trace of smearing, and the sharpness of the image reveals to you every rock and pebble in the Martian landscape. Mars has never looked this good.

Sound

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is also excellent, something that is made very clear during several of the more intense sequences. But there is also something very subdued and quiet about this mix, and I mean that in a good way. Like in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", there is an almost hushed sensation to the sound during the parts of the film that take place in outerspace. But whenever the film calls for it, expect a full assault from all 5.1 channels.

Features

There are some really nice bonus materials to be found here, and I think this is the most loaded DVD I have ever seen from Disney that isn't a part of their Collector's Series. There's an Audio Commentary with Cinematographer Stephen Bhurum, Visual Effects Supervisors John Kroll and Hoyt Yeatman, and Production Designer Ed Verreaux. The four of them are recorded together (something I always prefer) and it's an interesting but obviously a very technically focused commentary track. There's a feature entitled Animatic to Scene Comparison, where you get a glance at the various stages of creating the visual effects for the movie. There is also a "Visions of Mars" Documentary that focuses on various aspects of the production, and challenges that were faced in bringing this vision to the screen. The Visual Effects Analysis is a nice addition, and it offers you even more insight into the creation of the film's stunning visual effects. There is also a sizable Production Art Gallery, the Theatrical Trailer, and some additional DVD-ROM material.

Overall Opinion

I did not have especially high expectations for this film, but I feel Brian De Palma has delivered a very enjoyable sci-fi/thriller, with an incredibly realistic feel in its visualization of the future of space travel. The DVD looks and sounds fantastic, and there are even some great bonus materials included. Give this one a chance, you just might like it.