Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8502 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-05-25
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Red Planet the only thing thicker than the Martian atmosphere (which is breathable, by the way) is the layer of clichés that nearly smothers a formulaic beat-the-clock plot. Science fiction fans are sure to be forgiving, however, because the film is reasonably intelligent, boasts a few dazzling sequences, and presents fascinating technology in the year 2057.

We don't know how the Mars-1 spaceship gets to Mars in only six months (newfangled propulsion, no doubt), but we do get some cool diagnostic read-outs on tinfoil scrolls, an abundance of well-designed hardware, and a service-robot-turned-villain that's a high-tech hybrid of RoboCop, Bruce Lee, and a slinky panther with plenty of lethal attitude. The oxygen in the Martian atmosphere has resulted from nascent efforts at terraforming, made necessary by Earth's over-polluted condition. Mars-1 has been dispatched to determine why the terraforming is failing, and upon arrival everything goes inevitably haywire. Nearly two hours, three deaths, and multiple crises later (including the discovery of a Martian life form), "space janitor" Val Kilmer and his ultra-competent commander (Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix) have collaborated to set things right, capped off by second dose of the wretched narration that bookends the movie. Hoary material, to be sure, and as a veteran of TV commercials making his feature debut, director Anthony Hoffman is clearly more comfortable with flashy visuals than depth of character. Still, he keeps things humming right along. A perfectly suitable companion to another Y2K sci-fi thriller, Pitch Black, Red Planet is a fine way to kill a couple of hours. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Video Description
DVD Special Features:

Deleted Scenes
Interactive menus
Scene Access
Languages: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, German, English for the hearing impaired.

Synopsis
In the future, pollution and overpopulation are making the Earth uninhabitable. Humanity's only hope is to colonize the planet Mars by using algae to produce oxygen, but when the algae mysteriously disappear, a group of astronauts are sent to Mars on a mission to learn why. The spaceship, led by Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss), is preparing to land when a sudden emergency forces her to crash-land on the planet without supplies or equipment. The survivors, including systems engineer Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and scientists Burchenal (Tom Sizemore) and Pettengil (Simon Baker), have to figure out how to return to their ship while also learning the truth about the missing algae. As if things weren't bad enough, they have to avoid AMEE, the ship's malfunctioning robot who is trying to kill them all.
RED PLANET is an exciting science fiction thriller based on scientific facts, including theoretical notions on how to "terraform" Mars to become inhabitable. The film also provides information about the nuts and bolts of basic space travel. Kilmer and company avoid science fiction cliches to make their Martian adventures more believable, creating a saga of survival under incredible conditions.

Customer Reviews

A Missed Opportunity
Like De Palmas dreadful "Mission to Mars", "Red Planet" has all the ingredients of a Sci-Fi epic but fails to deliver. Unlike "Mission to Mars" which attempted to go for excessive plausibility in supporting its missing presumed dead storyline "Red Planet" swings the opposite way with weak characterisation, trite dialog and some poor performances.

Val Kilmer is not miscast, however, his cartoon-like character should not have been involved in such a mission. Carry-Anne Moss as Bowman, the commander of the mission, demonstrated no command strengths except perhaps yelling and seemed to be little more than eye candy with her tendency to take her clothes off - hardly a strong female lead and certainly not much of a role model. Other characters played by Benjamin Bratt, Tom Sizemore, Simon Baker and Terence Stamp were bland and interchangeable.

The idea was sound I suppose, the idea of terraforming using algae to convert the atmosphere to a more earthlike mix, the concept of earth becoming too crowded and polluted etc etc. A little hackneyed yes, but it was the most interesting part of the movie. A combination survey/combat robot? Well of course it was going to go nuts and start moulinexing its way through the crew - cliched and overused in so many other films.

Overall it came out as a weak movie that appeared to set high standards for itself and then failed to reach them. I give this movie three stars for its setting as Mars did look pretty good, and for the use of the algae idea.

I was looking for a serious plausible movie and didn't find it, but had I been looking for a semi-serious sci-fi road movie I might have enjoyed it. If all you want is a simple space movie with a little action and excitement then perhaps you'll get more out of this than I did.

Popular actors, standard formula, and passes time well.
If you are looking for some exotic space creature like Sigourney Weaver, or even Jane Fonda. Then this is not the movie for you. The closest it comes to this is the obligatory shower scene. If you are looking for big ugly killer creatures or space pirates, again this movie is not for you.
What this movie does contain are the popular actors of this time. One popular actor included but overlooked in a lot of reviews is Benjamin Bratt ...Ted Santen, who shows up again in "Miss Congeniality" (2000) where he seems to have gotten a much higher rating.
The movie is formula with the standard mix of personalities. The Mission is like all the others. There is a compelling need to go to Mars. Naturally disaster strikes. Some sacrifice some good guys, maybe some bad guys, a few anticipated suppress, and AMEE knows the way to a man's hart.
The DVD has some outtakes that you may find enhances the film and then again the scenes may have been taken out for good reason. There is no running commentary. I am not going to transliterate the story. If you watch it for fun then you should not be disappointed.

GOOD BUT NOT GREAT...
It is the year 2057, and the earth is depleting its oxygen supply. A crew travels to Mars to see about potentially colonizing it. When they are close enough to Mars to touchdown, things go haywire, forcing all of the crew, less their commander, to abandon ship on the commander's orders.

The crew manages to land on Mars, where they discover that things are not what they seem. They are in for a few surprises, as well as a mounting body count, as here, too, things begin to go haywire. Meanwhile, up in space the commander has managed to salvage their spaceship. Will the crew make it back to the ship? Will the Earth be saved? Watch the movie, but be forewarned that it will probably only appeal to die hard sci-fi fans. Despite an excellent cast, the movie tends to flag.