Red Planet (2000)

Astronauts search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.

Director:

Antony Hoffman

Writers:

Chuck Pfarrer (story), Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay),

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Val Kilmer	...	Robby Gallagher
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Cmdr. Kate Bowman
Tom Sizemore	...	Dr. Quinn Burchenal
Benjamin Bratt	...	Lt. Ted Santen
Simon Baker	...	Chip Pettengill
Terence Stamp	...	Dr. Bud Chantilas
Jessica Morton	...	Website Fan
Caroline Bossi	...	Website Fan
Bob Neill	...	Houston Control (voice)

Storyline

In the near future, Earth is dying. A new colony on Mars could be humanity's only hope. A team of American astronauts, each a specialist in a different field, is making the first manned expedition to the red planet and must struggle to overcome the differences in their personalities, backgrounds and ideologies for the overall good of the mission. When their equipment suffers life-threatening damage and the crew must depend on one another for survival on the hostile surface of Mars, their doubts, fears and questions about God, man's destiny and the nature of the universe become defining elements in their fates. In this alien environment they must come face to face with their most human selves.

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Plot Keywords:

mars | environment | future | nature | algae | 

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Taglines:

Not A Sound. Not A Warning. Not A Chance. Not Alone.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, brief nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [pl] Warner Bros. [ca]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mars

Filming Locations:

Boral Quarry, Prospect, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£330,391 (UK) (1 December 2000)

Gross:

ESP 352,430,702 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore played "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see who would say the 'F' word.

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Goofs

When Burchenal explains that humans have killed all frogs on Earth, he mentions that they have become extinct because they could not breathe through their skin anymore. Yet, the recent declines in frogs population are also likely to come from diseases, habitat destruction and climate change. The decreasing of the ozone layer is also supposed to play an important part in these declines.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Commander Kate Bowman: [narration] By the year 2000 we had begun to over populate, pollute, and poison our planet faster than we could clean it up. We ignored the problem for as long as we could. But we were kidding ourselves. By 2025, we knew we were in trouble. And began to desperately search for a new home - Mars.
Commander Kate Bowman: For the last 20 years we've been sending unmanned probes with algae, bio-engineered to grow there and produce oxygen. We're going to build ourselves an atmosphere we can breathe. And for 20 ...

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Crazy Credits

In the credits, Pettengill is spelled Pettengil (one "l").

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Connections

Referenced in Impossible Dreams (2011)

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Soundtracks

"The Fifth Heaven"
Written by Graeme Revell
Produced by Graeme Revell and Paul Haslinger
Performed by Emma Shapplin

User Reviews

GOOD, INTELLIGENT THROWBACK TO 1950S SCI-FI

Movies like "Red Planet" remind me why I enjoy science fiction so much. Most sci-fi films today put the special effects first before characterizations. While that's not a bad idea (I have enjoyed several films in that vein such as "Independence Day"), films can become too dependent on that and that's when the fun drains away.

"Red Planet" is a film that has solid special effects, but also a strong story and good characterizations. It was the second film released in 2000 to have Mars as its backdrop, the first being "Mission to Mars". "Mission to Mars", despite having top stars,master craftsman Brian DePalma directing and phenomenal special effects, was a little too pat and resorted to cliches (Not that I blame DePalma; he did the best he could with the script he had and the film wasn't bad at all)

I didn't know anything about the plot and I think that helps with a film like "Red Planet". It allows suspense to be created from the series of crises that spring up on the astronauts and that's a benefit. But I will say this: the marketing campaign for "Red Planet" advertises this as your typical good guys versus evil aliens action fest. It is not. This is a more intelligent and stylish film than given credit for. It owes more to "2001" and "The Black Hole" or even the classic Republic serial "Radar Men from the Moon" than "Alien". It is about ideas, not effects and I LOVE films like that.

I know a great many people will hate this film. That is because popular culture has brainwashed people into thinking mass entertainment revolves around effects only. There are some flaws (mostly in technological probability and pacing in the first 20 minutes)but writer Chuck Pfarrer and director Antony Hoffman remember that great sci-fi is also about the story and characters and the result is the best sci-fi film in recent years.

***1/2 out of 4 stars