

"Red Planet"

Well, mankind finally did it. It's 2057 and planet Earth is on the brink of
ecological extinction. There is one choice and one choice only for survival
- colonize Mars. The Mars Terraforming Project laid the groundwork to
prepare the red planet for its human inhabitants. Now, a manned space
mission is sent to begin the colony, but disaster soon strikes, stranding
the landing party on the inhospitable planet and leaving mission commander,
Kate Bowman, alone on their failing spaceship. It's a race against time as
Bowman must save her ship and crew in the science fiction actioner, "Red
Planet."

"Red Planet" is by the numbers and derivative, but it is well done by the
numbers and derivative. It tries to do a lot of things with several plot
lines happening concurrently. It's a survival flick a la the 1964 sci-fi
movie "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" as the marooned crew discovers that there
is air on the planet, extending their endangered lives. The introduction of
a sinister robot, called AMEE, portends problems that are reminiscent of
both "Alien" and "Terminator." There is even a passing nod to the classic
"War of the Worlds" thrown into the mix, as well as "2001."

This is a typical Hollywood action/disaster film that moves along at a
brisk, energetic pace under the control of first-time helmer Antony
Hoffman. The director has a good team behind the camera, so there is
quality built in to the sets, costumes (although all the uniforms have the
players names emblazoned in several places in large letters as if the crew
of six suffers from a learning disorder that prohibits their remembering
each other's names) and flashy special F/X.  Veteran lenser Peter
Suschitzky gives the film the benefit of his years of craft experience.
Owen Paterson helps things look otherworldly with art direction that makes
the red planet an inhospitable place indeed. Costuming, by Kym Barrett, has
a suitable pseudo military air about it, though Carrie-Anne Moss's threads
consist mainly of skin tight t-shirts without a bra - not that I'm
complaining, mind you.

The small but well-versed cast breathes some life into their mostly
two-dimensional characters, though there is little in the way of character
development. Carrie-Anne Moss has proven she has the physical ability to be
an action hero, but, to date, has not had the chance to show any acting
chops. If she can get more meaty roles, she may prove herself to be the new
Sigourney Weaver. It's too soon to tell, though, with her current track
record. She plays the stalwart, smart Captain Bowman well enough but
doesn't get beyond the essentials of the character. Val Kilmer and Tom
Sizemore get to do the macho guy thing and get to deliver the funny,
smart-ass lines that provide the film's comic relief.

The rest of the cast is little more than background characters. Terrence
Stamp plays a scientist turned philosopher, but is killed off early on,
getting little to do except to tell the others "you can do it!" Benjamin
Bratt is given even less to do and his demise makes little sense in the
context of the story. Simon Baker plays a quasi-sinister character, but the
motivations and actions of the guy make little sense except to introduce a
"bad guy" to the story. Special mention is needed to praise the robot
character AMEE. While she doesn't speak, she is a major character in the
monster movie part of the tale and consists of some cool F/X.

Some of the details of the Red Planet are not handled quite as well as
others. In one part, there are clouds in the sky - on a planet supposedly
devoid of an atmosphere. This is one glaring inconsistency. In another,
when the stranded, would be colonists locate their emergency habitat, they
find it utterly destroyed. The comment is made that even the worst storm on
Earth could not harm the refuge, but no reason is given why their almost
home was wrecked. You also have to take the sci-fi mumbo jumbo explanations
given with a grain of salt.

Comparison will be made with the other Mars flick that hit the screens
earlier this year, "Mission to Mars." Where the latter film approached the
awful category, "Red Planet" plays more like a space western that tells its
tale of survival in a hostile land. There is no deep philosophy to muddy
the action waters, here. Instead, we have an old-fashion story that uses
up-to-date F/X and computer-generated technology to keep us entertained for
a couple of hours. Even if it ain't rocket science, it did that for me and
I give it a B-.

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