Subject: Review: Red Planet (2000)

From: Steve Kong <[email-masked]>
Date: 30 Nov 2000 01:31:11 GMT

Red Planet (2000)
Review by Steve Kong
The Hard Boiled Movie Guide
http://boiledmovies.sbay.com/

I love how Hollywood works.  When a film about a particular subject or 
thing comes out there always seems to be another one about just that same 
thing on the heels of it.  For example look at Speed and Blown Away (mad 
bombers), Antz and A Bug's Life (bugs), Matrix and eXistenZ (alternate 
reality).  These types of films are always released a few months away from 
each other and I don't know why because invariably one is far superior to 
the next  usually by a large margin.  This year the thing that is being 
covered twice in theatres is a trip to Mars.  The first out of the gates 
was Brian DePalma's terrible Mission to Mars.  The second is Red Planet and 
Red Planet is what Mission to Mars should have been.

Humans have finally polluted the Earth to the point where habitation on 
this planet is no longer viable.  What is a species supposed to do?  Go 
find another planet to ruin of course.  And this is how Red Planet 
starts.  The opening of the film sets up the story quickly via a voice-over 
by Command Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss).  We meet the rest of the crew 
quickly, co-pilot Ted Santen (Benjamin Bratt), scientist Dr. Quinn 
Burchenal (Tom Sizemore), Chip Penttengill (Simon Baker), a religious 
scientist Chantias (Terence Stamp), and the space handyman Gallagher (Val 
Kilmer).

Unlike Mission to Mars where a lot of time is spent watching the crew as 
they go to Mars, Red Planet makes the trip quick and easy.  Much of Red 
Planet actually takes place on the planet Mars.  What is interesting and 
also what drew me into the film was writer Chuck Pfarrer's (Darkman) notion 
of how we were going to make Mars inhabitable.  Humans, seeing the demise 
of Earth, sent probes to Mars with algae.  This algae worked to make an 
atmosphere on Mars and eventually the atmosphere would turn habitable and 
breathable.  But, to the surprise of the humans somehow all the algae just 
disappeared one day.  Gone.  And it is this disappearance of the algae that 
the crew, headed by Bowman, is sent to investigate on Mars.  The movie has 
a good and plausible explanation for the disappearance of the algae and it 
keeps you guessing throughout the film.

Did I like Red Planet?  Yes.  I enjoyed the film thoroughly.  Some might 
say that it's a bit long or a bit slow, but I thought it was a good solid 
piece of sci-fi moviemaking.  Kudos to director Antony Hoffman and writer 
Chuck Pfarrer for putting together a believable and enjoyable film.

The actors all do well.  Carrie-Anne Moss again shows that she's up to par 
as an actress and that her first time out in The Matrix was not a 
fluke.  (It's interesting to note that her character's name is a tip of the 
hat to the movie 2001's main character Bowman.)  Val Kilmer is excellent as 
Gallagher.  Kilmer has that exact smugness and immature that the Gallagher 
character calls for and Kilmer shines in the part.  Of the other actors 
Terence Stamp puts out a good performance and so does Tom Sizemore (who is 
always a good and reliable supporting actor).

The special effects in Red Planet were sufficiently good.  The one that I 
loved the most was AMEE the robot that is supposed to navigate Mars for the 
ground crew.  AMEE is frightening and though the robot is not always 
onscreen the frightening presence of "her" is always there.

Red Planet is a good sci-fi flick.  Catch it in theatres if you have a 
chance or catch it on video.  Skip Mission to Mars, Catch Red Planet.

--