Mission to Mars (2000)
Directed by Brian De Palma

Film Review

Brian De Palma's reputation as a serious film director took quite a hammering with this, his first full-blown foray into science-fiction.  To blame De Palma for the film's poor performance at the box office (it struggled to make back its ninety million dollar budget) is perhaps a little unfair, when its real Achilles heel is so blisteringly evident.  With the resources that were thrown at it, Mission to Mars could have been a spectacular offering in the sci-fi genre.  Unfortunately, despite some evidence of meticulous research into its technical detail, it seems to have been written by someone determined to win the award for the schmaltziest pile of crud in history.  The juxtaposition of state-of-the-art visual effects and some laughably bad soap-style character interchanges is as shocking as it is unreal. If you want to enjoy this film, the only option is to switch off the sound and invent your own dialogue.

It is a pity that Brian De Palma didn't tear up the script and demand that it be completely rewritten, because in most other respects the film has a lot going for it.  The special effects are occasionally below par but mostly they do the job remarkably well, and the nods to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) are a nice touch.  De Palma comes into his own with the dramatic action sequences, where he successfully draws out as much tension as possible from the perilous situations the characters find themselves in.  Admittedly, most of his effort is wasted as we feel absolutely nothing for any of the protagonists, as all of them appear to have had a personality bypass and can't help talking to one another in ghastly soap-speak of the most aggravating kind.  The film just about manages to cling onto its credibility until the last twenty minutes or so, when the mystery of Mars is revealed to us, in a way that makes it abundantly clear that the spectator is supposed to have an I.Q. in the region of 15 and a mental age of 10.  At this point, you just give up and lose the will to live.  There may once have been intelligent life on Mars, but going by this film there's not much sign of it on planet Earth.

Film Synopsis

In 2020, Luke Graham commands the first manned mission to Mars.  After a successful landing, Graham and his fellow astronauts discover a mysterious crystalline structure embedded in a mountain.  When they attempt to probe the structure with a radar, there is a sudden power surge accompanied by a whirlwind which kills everyone except Graham.  A recovery craft is sent to rescue the stranded astronaut, commanded by Woody Blake.  The other crew members are Jim McConnell, Terri Fisher and Phil Ohlmyer.  Having narrowly survived a bombardment by micro-meteors, the rescue team realise that their only hope of reaching the Martian surface is via the Resupply Module that is now in orbit around the planet, and to reach that they must attempt a risky space-walk in their pressure-suits.  Woody dies in the attempt to reach the Resupply Module, but the others are more successful and soon manage to make a safe descent to Mars.  Their relief at having found Graham alive and well is soon overtaken by astonishment at what they find awaiting them on the Martian surface...