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 [Poland] Warner Bros. [Canada]

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

The main lyric to The Police song used during the "still" scene is, "When the World is Running Down (You Make the Best of What's Still Around)," an apt description of the movie's plot.

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Goofs

Mars lost its magnetosphere several billion years ago, allowing radiation to react more strongly with the Martian ionosphere and keeping the atmosphere too thin to support human life. This is due mainly to the cooling off of the Martian core, whose magnetic field supports atmospheric retention. Using algae to re-oxygenate the planet would be futile; the atmosphere is too thin to keep the oxygen from escaping into space.

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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 Bad Movie Beatdown: Ghosts of Mars (2012)

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Soundtracks

"A Thousand Years"
Written by Sting and Kipper
Published by Magnetic Publishing Ltd.
Administered by EMI Blackwood Music, Inc./Diverse Music Ltd.
Administered by BMG Songs, Inc.
Performed by Sting
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Red Planet is a great rainy, Saturday afternoon film

Whoa there kids! Red Planet is just a movie and in my opinion a pretty good sci-fi picture. Yes, it is not 2001: A Space Odyssey or Mission to Mars (which I think was ridiculous). It is not meant to be. Maybe the characters are not fully developed but name a science fiction movie where the characters are completely developed. The movie is called "Red Planet" not "Who are the People Who are Going to Mars to Save Earth?" and we join the action "in media res" which means in the middle of things so character development is not stressed in the beginning. Good grief. People throw around scientific, cinematic, and character development flaws with the movie instead of trying to enjoy the suspense of this movie.

You are stuck on the planet Mars. No food or water. Someone on the crew is already dead and another is a little sketchy. You have a limited time to get off the planet, your friendly neighborhood military robot has decided to play "Seek and Destroy", and something mysterious is happening on the surface of Mars involving tiny, bio-luminescent aphids.

So imagine all of that and you will get an idea of what the writers and director wanted to recreate for the audience. I liked this movie. I recognize there are flaws in the movie and possibly the acting but honestly I thought it was a great premise. Reminded me of the Greek myth of Jason and Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece.

I would give the movie 4 stars out of a possible 5. Before you write and tell me how inaccurate or misguided a movie-goer I am realize I have read the classic sci-fi adventures from the likes of Heinlein, Clarke, and Bradbury. They would recognize the film for what it was: a piece of escape fiction that had its moments of comedy, intelligence, and suspense.