A film review by Sam Floeter Copyright © 2000 Sam Floeter

Pop quiz, hot shot: You're a hundred million miles from home, stranded on a stormy red planet and you've just uncovered the greatest secret of all time. BUT...your crew is dead, the face plate of your space suit is cracked, you're leaking oxygen, and there's noone around to hear you scream.

What do you do?

What do you do?

If you said, "Call your best friends up at NASA, and tell them to get their asses out there, pronto", you'd be right. But now the question becomes, 'What happens when their ship breaks down, too?'. 'Mission to Mars' is our first taste of what Hollywood production companies have in store for the summer box-office. High concepts, big budgets, and flashy special effects supply the birthing pool for renowned director Brian de Palma’s latest vision.

Upon entering the movie theatre, I had little idea of what to expect given the fact that the trailer for MTM is vague to say the least. However, I knew that there was a reason for this. There had to be a surprise in store, and indeed, there was. Thus, I will try to critique the film without trying to give much away.

MTM is, first and foremost, a good film. Some of the ideas behind the plot are spectacular, and there are several enthralling moments. It does have it's flaws, however, which I will get to in a minute.

Essentially, the plot of MTM revolves around a mission to rescue the sole survivor of the first manned mission to Mars. The rescue team, led by Woody Blake (Tim Robbins) and Jim Mcconnell (Gary Sinise), encounter a series of technical problems that ultimately doom the ship and send it plummeting to the planet face. Once on Mars, the team must use their wits to both unravell the deadly secret uncovered by the first team, and find a way back home. And that's all the scraps you'll get from me.

The element that shapes MTM and sets it apart from most movies in this genre are the dilemmas that the crew must face. The problems become more logical, more realistic, and the main conflict in MTM is ultimately Man vs. Nature. I thought that the CGI work for the planet itself was fantastic, and I loved the overhead shots of Mars from outer space. The story was dynamic and extremely original, the film abounds with "What on Earth/Mars will they do next?" moments, and I enjoyed watching the plot unfold. Now to the bad stuff.

After watching MTM, the film that immediately sprang to mind was Robert Zemeckis’s ‘Contact’, which I actually found to be a more satisfying film in some respects and ironically, MTM provides the answers that a dissappointed audience from 'Contact' did not recieve. Firstly, I am not too fond of De Palma’s camera work in MTM. I think that Mr. De Palma's true talent lies in the 'Gangster/Film Noir' genre, with films such as the brilliant 'Carlito's Way', 'Raising Cain', 'Scarface' and 'The Untouchables' as his masterpieces of modern cinema. But...in the realm of sci-fi, he just doesn't possess the visual dimension and depth that directors like Speilberg, Cameron, or Zemeckis display of celluloid. In other words, I thought that in the hands of a more ‘visual’ director, MTM would have been a better film.

I also thought that some of the actors did not preform to their full capacity and perhaps a better casting call could have been made. Fortunately, these flaws are minor and easily overseeable. My main problem with the film was the resolution. In ‘Contact’, for example, the film merely gives you clues and ideas to solve its galactic riddle, thus the viewer is left to draw their own conclusions from the unravelling story yarn. This is not the case in MTM, rather, the film reveals the answer to 'the secret of life on earth' in one dramatic blow, in black and white, and with no middle ground. In accordance, as a viewer, if you do not like the explanation you are given, it actually takes away from the films power. I thought that the explanation was entertaining, but I did not like the abrupt, 'Persian bazzar' manner in which it was spelled out. I also thought that some of the CGI at the end was slightly disappointing (You'll know what I mean when you see it) and you wouldn't think to say it, but after nearly 2 hours, I felt that the ending was too sudden. In fact, even after the 'THE END' card popped up, many viewers didn't move because we were all certain that there had to be more to it.

I saw a lot of parents toting kids along, and while there is some graphic violence, much of it is too cartoonish to take seriously, and the film does not focus on violence as a driving force to move the plot along. Inevitably, the film is rated PG so what do you expect?

My conclusion is just as abrupt as the ending of MTM. My advice? Go watch it and see what you think.

	Running Time: ? Min | Rated: PG | US Release: March 10th | More >>

Related Links:

• Official Site
• Cinemenium - Mission to Mars
• SciFlicks.com ---> Mission to Mars
• Upcomingmovies.com: Mission to Mars

Let there be life.