Red Planet

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2001 Howard Anderson

Story

Mission Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) is the pilot and commander of the most important mission of the 21st century: saving the human race.

It's 2050, Earth is dying, and colonizing Mars is the only alternative to obliteration. Bowman and her crew have made this journey to investigate what went wrong with the malfunctioning Mars Terraforming Project, and to repair it. But what happens when they get there is far more terrifying than anyone could have guessed: a crash-landing leaves them without scientific, communication or escape equipment, and causes their military mapping and exploration robot to malfunction into an enemy, relentlessly dedicated to breaking the team down. Defying orders from Houston, Bowman refuses to leave Gallagher (Val Kilmer), with whom she shares an intense emotional bond, and the rest of the crew, and instead attempts to guide them back from above.

But as the landing team explores the harsh new planet desperately seeking a way out, they make the most terrifying and baffling discovery of all: Mars may be barren, but it's not uninhabited.

Review

Around the time this film was gearing up and getting into production, I think it was one of the producer who said that "Red Planet" would have the philosophical intricacy of "2001: A Space Odyssey", and the cutting edge originality of "The Matrix." Needless to say "Red Planet" did not quite achieve that lofty goal, despite the fact that during production there were certain things that had a look of promise to them, like the great cast they had assembled, and the hiring of a lot of the same set and costume designers that had previously worked on "The Matrix." The two biggest wildcards were the director, Anthony Hoffman, who was making his feature film directorial debut, and how well the screenplay by Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin would hold up. In the end, it didn't...

For me this film simply did not work. One of the many reasons for that is the way the story veers off into too many different directions at once. First of all there's the rescue mission, then the astronaut suffering from space dementia, then the out of control robot that goes into guerilla-mode after the crash, and let us not forget the mystery of what is going on with the apparently failed terraforming of Mars. Now, if only the film could have taken one of those story threads and handled it adequately, instead of just going halfway with everything, then maybe it could have turned into something worth while. But sadly that did not happen. Another thing I've got a big problem with is that breathable air on Mars shit. From a scientific point of view I'm sure it works fine, with the terraforming and all, but talk about removing a major tension builder and sabotaging your own film.
The simple hostility of the planet could have been used so much more effectively as the astronauts were being hunted down by AMEE the robot. Just think about how acutely increased their vulnerability against attack would have been if the slightest tear in their suits would have meant game over. I also can't help but wonder who the genius was who said, "let's create an all-CGI killer robot, and have it move all smooth and elegant like, without any clunking parts or audible hydraulics." I can just hear them pitching it to the studio, but believe me when I say that in actuality it does not work. A robot like this is supposed to be menacing. It's suppose to radiate power and hi-tech brutality in its every move. Just take a look at Richard Stanley's brilliant "Hardware" and Stephen Norrington's shredder extravaganza, "Death Machine", to see two perfect examples of how a metallic mother of a bad-ass killing machine is supposed to both look and sound. This pathetic puppy-like creation featured here simply does not cut it.

The human additions to "Red Planet" didn't exactly impress me too much either. Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore both delivered perfectly okay performances. Carrie Anne Moss is the one who was probably able to make the most out of her part, while Terence Stamp was wasted, big-time. Benjamin Bratt and Simon Baker didn't really leave any kind of an impression at all. They're there, but that's basically it, if you know what I mean. Visually the film is a bit more exciting, with a few nice visual effects sequences scattered about here and there, like the crash landing and the zero-G fire, but there were also sequences that had that cheap-ass TV production feel to them, and I don't know about you, but I view that as a bad thing. Finally I would just like to express my deepest sympathies to Warner Bros., who actually spent $75 mill. on the making of "Red Planet."

Image

The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen image is beautiful to behold. I detected no shimmering or chroma noise, and at no time did the rich color palette used by the filmmakers show any sign of smearing. The deep blacks and shadow details are all dead on, and the sharpness of the image is wonderful. This transfer is near reference quality, and it gives you a great opportunity to detect a lot of fun stuff, like the reflections of the entire film crew in the helmets of the astronauts.

Sound

The sound can do a lot for a movie, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix of "Red Planet" is really amazing. The surrounds are used almost constantly, taking full advantage of the entire soundstage and delivering some groovy 360 degree sweeps. The low end is tight and packs plenty of punch, and the LFE channel is also given quite the workout. From the full on assault of the crash landing, to the wind swept desolation of Mars, this soundtrack, at least, will truly take you there. The score by Graeme Revell fills the room completely, and the dialogue remains solid throughout.

Features

A collection of eight deleted scenes. And that's it. Nothing else. Not even the original theatrical trailer. The scenes are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen (when are the other studios ever gonna learn from New Line) and in Dolby Surround. They run continuously, and the scenes themselves are really nothing you can't live without.

Overall Opinion

I was very let down by "Red Planet", but then, there actually was a time when I harboured some expectations for this film, all though very little of those expectations remained intact by the time of the DVD release. If you expect nothing, then you stand a much better chance of not being disappointed, and that goes for any film, I guess. And even though the film leaves a lot to be desired, the visual and aural presentations on this DVD do deliver the goods. The extra features do not, however.