Mars: A Space Odyssey
"Mission to Mars"
Overall Rating: ***½
The "Mars Face" is one of the most recognizable features of the solar system. NASA maintains that the face-like feature is merely an optical illusion, but to aficionados of the paranormal, it is an architectural message as important and cryptic as the pyramids. How much longer could we have gone without a sci-fi movie exploring the ins and outs of this mysterious feature of the Cydonia region?
"Mission to Mars" opens the night before the first mission to Mars blasts off. The astronauts are having a party to celebrate their last night on Earth; there, we meet lifelong friends Luke Graham (Don Cheadle), the commander of the first mission, Woody Blake (Tim Robbins), the commander of the follow-up mission leaving in a year, and Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise), perhaps, among the three friends, the most dedicated to the Mars mission. McConnell isn't scheduled to go to Mars, however; his wife's protracted illness forced him to drop out of the training program at the last minute. When a strange phenomenon kills all the members of the first team except Luke, however, Jim quickly plans out a rescue mission--and Jim is the only man to command it.
If "Mission to Mars" doesn't remind you of "2001: a Space Odyssey," chances are that you've missed either "2001" or "Mission to Mars." "Mission to Mars" is a bit more straightforward than "2001," it's a little friendlier, but it's practically the same movie; just replace the monolith with the "Mars face," and drop Hal. Some elements seem almost straight out of the earlier film--both films' spaceships look alike, and the white room used in the climactic scenes (and previews) of "Mission to Mars" strongly resembles the room at the end of "2001." "Mission to Mars" even has a brief scene depicting man's evolution (though the presentation is significantly different from the apemen scenes in "2001"). Homage? Perhaps--to an extent. "Mission to Mars" also has a character named Luke who spends one scene talking about a mysterious "force" ("Star Wars" reference?), a spaceship commanded by a man named Jim ("Star Trek" reference?), and overt reference to "Flash Gordon." I do have to give the filmmakers credit--this is the first sci-fi film I've seen with the Mars Face in it. I came away from this movie, however, thinking how much it reminded me of "2001."
Despite its apparently unoriginal origins, the story is engrossing. Between the déjà vu and the previews, I had a fairly strong idea of where the story was going. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see how they got there, and is exciting in places--the scenes right before the second mission lands on Mars had me on the edge of my seat. That sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
The movie is bolstered by second-to-none visual effects. There's one sequence that looks slightly animated, but it's supposed to, since the film is depicting an extremely sophisticated animated simulation. The images of Mars from the space probe, the Pathfinder-like robot rover, and the World Space Station are better effects; they are visually stunning. The best are the zero gravity effects--if the movie has a memorable scene, it's probably when Phil (Jerry O'Connell) makes a three-dimensional model of a DNA molecule out of M&Ms.
"Mission to Mars" is fairly safe for the whole family. There is some strong language, but less than many other PG films. There are some references to sex, though veiled enough that I doubt younger children would get them. There are also a few graphic deaths--including a very dramatic suicide and several deaths under mysterious circumstances. Some of these deaths, and another scene where a man is injured on a spaceship are moderately bloody, but the film on the whole always manages to avoid going too far.
Perhaps the funniest moment is buried deep in the credits; though set in Texas, on Mars, and in space, the movie was "Filmed on location in British Columbia." The biggest mystery in "Mission to Mars" is probably what part of British Columbia looks like Cydonia, Mars; nonetheless, the movie is a visual effects feast that should satisfy sci-fi fans.
Title: "Mission to Mars"
Release date: March 10, 2000
Overall Rating: ***½
The "Mars Face" is one of the most recognizable features of the solar system. NASA maintains that the face-like feature is merely an optical illusion, but to aficionados of the paranormal, it is an architectural message as important and cryptic as the pyramids. How much longer could we have gone without a sci-fi movie exploring the ins and outs of this mysterious feature of the Cydonia region?
"Mission to Mars" opens the night before the first mission to Mars blasts off. The astronauts are having a party to celebrate their last night on Earth; there, we meet lifelong friends Luke Graham (Don Cheadle), the commander of the first mission, Woody Blake (Tim Robbins), the commander of the follow-up mission leaving in a year, and Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise), perhaps, among the three friends, the most dedicated to the Mars mission. McConnell isn't scheduled to go to Mars, however; his wife's protracted illness forced him to drop out of the training program at the last minute. When a strange phenomenon kills all the members of the first team except Luke, however, Jim quickly plans out a rescue mission--and Jim is the only man to command it.
If "Mission to Mars" doesn't remind you of "2001: a Space Odyssey," chances are that you've missed either "2001" or "Mission to Mars." "Mission to Mars" is a bit more straightforward than "2001," it's a little friendlier, but it's practically the same movie; just replace the monolith with the "Mars face," and drop Hal. Some elements seem almost straight out of the earlier film--both films' spaceships look alike, and the white room used in the climactic scenes (and previews) of "Mission to Mars" strongly resembles the room at the end of "2001." "Mission to Mars" even has a brief scene depicting man's evolution (though the presentation is significantly different from the apemen scenes in "2001"). Homage? Perhaps--to an extent. "Mission to Mars" also has a character named Luke who spends one scene talking about a mysterious "force" ("Star Wars" reference?), a spaceship commanded by a man named Jim ("Star Trek" reference?), and overt reference to "Flash Gordon." I do have to give the filmmakers credit--this is the first sci-fi film I've seen with the Mars Face in it. I came away from this movie, however, thinking how much it reminded me of "2001."
Despite its apparently unoriginal origins, the story is engrossing. Between the déjà vu and the previews, I had a fairly strong idea of where the story was going. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see how they got there, and is exciting in places--the scenes right before the second mission lands on Mars had me on the edge of my seat. That sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
The movie is bolstered by second-to-none visual effects. There's one sequence that looks slightly animated, but it's supposed to, since the film is depicting an extremely sophisticated animated simulation. The images of Mars from the space probe, the Pathfinder-like robot rover, and the World Space Station are better effects; they are visually stunning. The best are the zero gravity effects--if the movie has a memorable scene, it's probably when Phil (Jerry O'Connell) makes a three-dimensional model of a DNA molecule out of M&Ms.
"Mission to Mars" is fairly safe for the whole family. There is some strong language, but less than many other PG films. There are some references to sex, though veiled enough that I doubt younger children would get them. There are also a few graphic deaths--including a very dramatic suicide and several deaths under mysterious circumstances. Some of these deaths, and another scene where a man is injured on a spaceship are moderately bloody, but the film on the whole always manages to avoid going too far.
Perhaps the funniest moment is buried deep in the credits; though set in Texas, on Mars, and in space, the movie was "Filmed on location in British Columbia." The biggest mystery in "Mission to Mars" is probably what part of British Columbia looks like Cydonia, Mars; nonetheless, the movie is a visual effects feast that should satisfy sci-fi fans.
Title: "Mission to Mars"
Release date: March 10, 2000
MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ***½
Overall rating: ***½
Aprox. run time: 113 min.
Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Lowell Cannon (story), Jim Thomas, John Thomas (story and screenplay), Graham Yost (screenplay)
Stars: Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Connie Nielsen (Dr. Terri Fisher), Don Cheadle, Jerry O'Connell
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/M2Mars.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Lowell Cannon (story), Jim Thomas, John Thomas (story and screenplay), Graham Yost (screenplay)
Stars: Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Connie Nielsen (Dr. Terri Fisher), Don Cheadle, Jerry O'Connell
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/M2Mars.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 3/17/2000 05:50:00 PM
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