Mission to Mars
Reviews
John Chard
Some couples dance, others go to Mars. It was the year of two Mars based movies, with the other being Red Planet, of Pitch Black and the chaotic history that produced the Supernova. Plenty of sci-fi around but sadly few decent offerings. Mission to Mars is a film you can see had good ideas on the page, some brainy and emotion based narrative threads. Effects work is OK for the era, while there's a very impressive cast put together to tell the story. Yet the script stinks to high heaven, the surprises are as absent as Martians are, while the steals from previous sci-fi movies grate on the nerves. The odd sequence has quality about it (dancing in space, woo-hoo, storm attack, yay), while the finale - all be it still a steal - is well constructed and further proof that someone somewhere had the kernel of a good story idea, but it's laborious trite and devoid of the basic film principals - to entertain and engage. So many things wrong here, so much so the names of all involved have been spared. Join this Mission to Mars at your own peril. 4/10
CinemaSerf
When a mission to explore the red planet goes wrong, stranding "Luke" (Don Cheadle) alone on this hostile world, his colleagues "Woody" (Tim Robbins), "Jim" (Gary Sinese), "Terri" (Connie Nielsen) and "Phil" (Jerry O'Connell) put huge pressure on their boss to let them take the spare rocket ship and head to the rescue. After a minimum of persuasion, off they go and are soon in sight of the planet and of an anomaly that is defying their instruments and their instincts. They land, discover their friend is alive and well and that there is a strange construction on the planet that needs investigating. Sense might dictate they go home and return to proceed in greater numbers but there's no taming the inquisitiveness of mankind and, well, the action starts to heat up. To be fair, this film looks very good and the use of visual effects and the spaceship interiors are complementary rather than overwhelming. The dialogue, well that's another story - it's pretty poor from start to finish and the plot itself is fairly derivative (and a bit repetitive, too). The acting is really only adequate, but Brian De Palma does manage to engender a sense of camaraderie amongst his astronauts and a workable sense of menace as the plot develops. Jeopardy? No, not really. Of course some of the crew are going to end up Martian toast and I found the science a little bit implausible as we advance. As a throw-away sci-fi adventure film this works fine and passes two hours effortlessly. If you are looking for anything more cerebral and/or original then perhaps not...
RalphRahal
Brian De Palma's Mission to Mars (2000) delivers an engaging space exploration adventure that still holds up as a fascinating depiction of outer space, especially given the limited technical knowledge available at the time. While it may not be flawless in its execution, the film does a commendable job of portraying the challenges and mysteries of space travel. The performances, particularly from Gary Sinise and Don Cheadle, are standout elements. Their characters bring depth and emotion to the story, grounding the film's high-concept premise with human connection. The storyline is another highlight, offering a plot that’s unpredictable in true De Palma fashion. The layers of mystery and the well-written underlying message keep the audience invested throughout. The script may not be perfect, with some moments feeling a bit thin, but it works well in service of the overall narrative. Combined with De Palma’s direction, the dialogue and pacing help to maintain the film’s emotional and intellectual impact. Mission to Mars is a movie for those who appreciate science fiction with a thoughtful touch. Its visuals, strong performances, and engaging plot make it a memorable exploration of both outer space and the human spirit. Even after all these years, it’s a film that remains enjoyable to revisit
Movie Recommendation
Tomcats2001-03-30College buddies chip in and promise that the group's last unmarried man will collect a cash pot. Seven years later, the kitty is worth $500,000 -- money Michael needs to pay a gambling debt. Problem is, the only other single guy is a hopeless womanizer!More...
She's Out of Control1989-04-14A Los Angeles radio-station manager's girlfriend shows his teenage daughter how to be sexy.More...
To the Devil a Daughter1976-03-04An American occult novelist battles to save the soul of a young girl from a group of Satanists, led by an excommunicated priest, who plan on using her as the representative of the Devil on Earth.More...
Seducing Doctor Lewis2003-05-20A much-needed boost, in the form of a new factory, is promised to the residents of the tiny fishing village St. Marie-La-Mauderne, provided they can lure a doctor to take up full-time residency on the island. Inspired, the villagers devise a scheme to make Dr. Christopher Lewis a local.More...
La mossa del cavallo2018-02-26Montelusa, Sicily, Italy, 1877. Giovanni Bovara, the new chief inspector of the mills, is charged with collecting a severe tax. Sicilian by birth, but Ligurian by adoption, he reasons and speaks as a man of northern Italy and does not understand the dynamics of the law of silence that regulate the Sicilian land, so his intransigence immediately gives him several enemies…More...
The Vengeance of She1968-04-14Beautiful young European girl, Carol, is possessed by the spirit of Ayesha – “She Who Must be Obeyed” – and led to the lost city of Kuma, where she is destined to become queen.More...
Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns2000-01-27Manos, a Greek school teacher, is forced to travel to Melbourne, Australia when the man who murdered his grandfather 57 years ago surfaces there. While the reluctant Manos is tutored in the art of revenge by old friend Stephanos, he also attempts to patch things up with his former fiance Nicki.More...
2000 Mules2022-05-20Bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker, Dinesh D’Souza, exposes widespread coordinated voter fraud in the 2020 election sufficient to change the overall outcome. Drawing on research provided by the election integrity group, True the Vote, “2000 Mules” offers two types of evidence: geotracking and video. The geotracking evidence, based on a database of ten trillion cell phone pings, exposes an elaborate network of professional operatives, called mules, delivering fraudulent votes to mail-in boxes in the five key states where the election was decided. Video evidence obtained from official surveillance cameras corroborates the cellular positioning data. The film concludes by exploring ways to assist in the prevention of election fraud in future democratic elections.More...
A Trip to Mars1918-02-22The navy captain Avanti Planetaros is inspired by his astronomer-father to travel through outer space to reach other worlds. He becomes an aviator and, along with the young scientist Dr. Krafft, the driving force behind the construction of a space-ship. Despite oppostion from the mocking Professor Dubius, Planetaros gathers a crew of fearless men and takes off. During the long voyage, the crew becomes restless; a mutiny is narrowly avoided. Finally, they reach Mars and discover that the planet is inhabited by people who have reached a higher stage of development, free of diseases, sorrow, violence, sexual urges, and the fear of death. Avanti falls in love with Marya, daughter of the Prince of Wisdom, the head of the Martians. Marya shares his feelings and decides to return with him in order to bring the wisdom of the Martians to the backward Earthlings. (stumfilm.dk)More...
Wicked Spring2002-03-02During the 1864 battle of the Wilderness, three Union soldiers and three Confederate Soldiers get seperated from their units as twilight engulfs the ravaged battlefield. The men wander alone through the dangerous woods, separate of each other, until they meet by chance on the banks of a quiet creek. The men meet and spend the night around a campfire, not realizing they are enemies until the next morning when the sun rises and a new day of battle begins.More...
Kathy Griffin: Tired Hooker2011-12-20Topics include Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries' divorce, Nancy Grace on Dancing with the Stars, pajama jeans, forever lazy's, and ordering pizza with Cher.More...
Red Planet2000-11-10Astronauts search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.More...
L.A. Story1991-02-08With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a "wacky weatherman" tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles.More...
Zazie dans le Métro1960-10-28A brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle.More...
Dear Dictator2018-03-16When political turmoil forces a British-Caribbean dictator to flee his island nation, he seeks refuge and hides with a rebellious teenage girl in suburban America, and ends up teaching the young teen how to start a revolution and overthrow the "mean girls" in her high school.More...
Can't Hardly Wait1998-06-12It's graduation day at Huntington Hills High, and you know what that means - time to party. And not just any party, either. This one will be a night to remember, as the nerds become studs, the jocks are humiliated, and freshman crushes blossom into grown-up romance.More...
Space Cowboys2000-08-04Frank Corvin, ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, Jerry O'Neill and ‘Tank’ Sullivan were hotdog members of Project Daedalus, the Air Force's test program for space travel, but their hopes were dashed in 1958 with the formation of NASA and the use of trained chimps. They blackmail their way into orbit when Russia's mysterious ‘Ikon’ communications satellite's orbit begins to degrade and threatens to crash to Earth.More...
Code 462003-09-02In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria Gonzalez, the woman in charge of the forgeries. After a passionate affair, Gold returns home, having named a coworker as the culprit. But when one of Gonzalez's customers is found dead, Gold is sent back to Shanghai to complete the investigation.More...
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones1987-11-15Elroy Jetson invents a time machine that takes him back to prehistoric times, where he meets the Flintstone family.More...
Three to Tango1999-10-22Oscar and Peter land a career-making opportunity when a Chicago tycoon chooses them to compete for the design of a cultural center. The tycoon mistakenly believes that Oscar is gay and has him spy on his mistress Amy. Oscar goes along with it and ends up falling in love with Amy.More...
Similar Movies
The Silence of the La...
1991-02-14Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.Terminator 2: Judgmen...
1991-07-03Set ten years after the events of the original, James Cameron’s classic sci-fi action flick tells the story of a second attempt to get rid of rebellion leader John Connor, this time targeting the boy himself. However, the rebellion has sent a reprogrammed terminator to protect Connor.The Lost World: Juras...
1997-05-23Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm by revealing that he has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove and a wildlife videographer join an expedition to document the lethal lizards' natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.Eyes Wide Shut
1999-07-16After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.Alien
1979-05-25During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.Miller's Crossing
1990-09-21Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.AVP: Alien vs. Predat...
2004-08-12When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.Last Light of Orion
2017-06-02The astronaut James Dalton is sent to the edge of our galaxy to save the human race from extinction.115
2025-01-15Emily enters a reverse time loop while creating incorrect fuel (element 115). JT, a boy she meets daily, helps her gather DNA, plants, and water. She creates a wormhole, but the fuel fails, causing a quantum collapse that reverses her through time.Star Wars
1977-05-25Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.The Fifth Element
1997-05-02In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.Star Trek II: The Wra...
1982-06-04The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.Star Trek III: The Se...
1984-06-01A surprise visit from Spock's father provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence.K-PAX
2001-10-26Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.Star Trek IV: The Voy...
1986-11-26When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.Predator 2
1990-11-21A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.Star Trek V: The Fina...
1989-06-09A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.20,000 Leagues Under ...
1954-12-23A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.Star Trek VI: The Und...
1991-12-06After years of war, the Federation and the Klingon empire find themselves on the brink of a peace summit when a Klingon ship is nearly destroyed by an apparent attack from the Enterprise. Both worlds brace for what may be their deadliest encounter.A Clockwork Orange
1971-12-19In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?