When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
Astronauts, and their robotic dog AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion), search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.
The oncologist wife of a prominent child psychologist suspects her husband has an unhealthy scientific obsession with their child, unaware of what - or who - is really going on inside his head.
Director:
Brian De Palma
Stars:
John Lithgow,
Lolita Davidovich,
Steven Bauer
When a mysterious storm kills all but one crew member of the first manned mission to mars, a rescue mission is launched. Once on the red planet, the crew finds the sole survivor of the first mission who informs them that this was no ordinary storm. It was meant to protect something. But what?Written by
Eric Thal
Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2000 (#04) See more »
Goofs
(at around 54 mins) When the crew have exited the ship after it exploding and Woody is flying towards the REMO, Phil looks at his wrist-mounted computer which tells him that Woody is going to overshoot the REMO. However, below the graphic on the right side of the screen, the caption contains a spelling error, reading: "Traget projection and outcome" instead of "Target.... etc." See more »
Quotes
Terri Fisher:
The genetic difference between men and apes is only three percent. But that three percent gave us Einstein, Mozart...
Phil Ohlmyer:
...Jack The Ripper.
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Crazy Credits
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's cooperation and assistance does not reflect an endorsement of the contents of the film or the treatment of the characters depicted therein. See more »
I don't understand why this film is getting such a hard time here ! OK, so it's no 2001 - a film with which is has much in common - but it's certainly no Battlefield Earth either.
The story is engaging - the action sequences are realistic and entertaining - the special effects are excellent, with very realistic spaceship designs and photography. The main criticism I can level at the film is that is totally avoids some important scenes, such as the first landing on Mars, or the landing of Mars 2 crew. Also the initial scene is drawn out and there's far too much hugging going on !
This is an intelligent, but low-key film - it reminded me of some mid-fifties sci-fi, like the Thing. Perhaps audiences today are less sophisticated - having been brought up on a diet of poor action movies and even poorer Star Trek 'science fiction'. Mission to Mars has a more realistic basis, is less flashy - and I don't think there's even one explosion in the whole film.
If you enjoyed Contact or 2001 and want more of the same, then Mission to Mars is a definite must-watch. It's a shame that a quality film like this is getting panned so badly, as movie studios are more likely to avoid similar projects in the future. Would 2001 be made today ? I doubt it.
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I don't understand why this film is getting such a hard time here ! OK, so it's no 2001 - a film with which is has much in common - but it's certainly no Battlefield Earth either.
The story is engaging - the action sequences are realistic and entertaining - the special effects are excellent, with very realistic spaceship designs and photography. The main criticism I can level at the film is that is totally avoids some important scenes, such as the first landing on Mars, or the landing of Mars 2 crew. Also the initial scene is drawn out and there's far too much hugging going on !
This is an intelligent, but low-key film - it reminded me of some mid-fifties sci-fi, like the Thing. Perhaps audiences today are less sophisticated - having been brought up on a diet of poor action movies and even poorer Star Trek 'science fiction'. Mission to Mars has a more realistic basis, is less flashy - and I don't think there's even one explosion in the whole film.
If you enjoyed Contact or 2001 and want more of the same, then Mission to Mars is a definite must-watch. It's a shame that a quality film like this is getting panned so badly, as movie studios are more likely to avoid similar projects in the future. Would 2001 be made today ? I doubt it.