Red Planet (2000)

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.

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	...	Gallagher
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Bowman
Tom Sizemore	...	Burchenal
Benjamin Bratt	...	Santen
Simon Baker	...	Pettengil
Terence Stamp	...	Chantilas
Jessica Morton	...	Website Fan
Caroline Bossi	...	Website Fan
Bob Neill	...	Voice of Houston (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:

extinguishing a fire | cold the temperature | mars | survival | environment | 

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Taglines:

They Didn't Find Life On Mars. It Found Them.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | 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:

Moon Plain, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,721,296, 12 November 2000

Gross USA:

$17,480,890

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,463,969

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

Visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun specialized in what he called "organic effects, designed to help tell stories and be invisible to the audience." For Okun, who most recently created the sharks in 'Deep Blue Sea' (1999), plausibility was key, especially when introducing unfamiliar environments and technology. He said: "Our mission was to make audiences believe that this adventure is happening to these astronauts on the surface of Mars and that they are in a desperate struggle to survive. In order to empathize with the characters, they have to believe the story."

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Goofs

Bowman instructs Gallagher to launch Cosmos: "Okay, now, this thing has two settings: on and off." The probe has two buttons written in Russian: "annulirovat'" (cancel) and "proba" (trial), however, "proba" is upside-down.

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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 Everything Wrong with...: Everything Wrong with the Martian - With Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson (2016)

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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

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.