Today’s quick review: Red Planet. Years in the future, a solar flare disrupts the first manned mission to Mars, forcing Bowman (Carrie Anne-Moss) to stay aboard the damaged spacecraft while the rest of the crew (Val Kilmer, Terence Stamp, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, and Simon Baker) make an emergency landing. The beleaguered astronauts must find a way to survive on the inhospitable planet and salvage what is left of the mission.
Red Planet is a science fiction thriller about an ill-fated mission to Mars. The purpose of the voyage is simple: to determine why attempts to terraform Mars by seeding it with algae have suddenly failed. But the scientific mystery soon gives way to more pressing concerns when disaster strikes. Red Planet has everything it needs to play out its premise but little beyond that, making it a decent watch that leaves little lasting impression.
Red Planet follows the typical recipe for space exploration movies. While Bowman tries to get the ship operational again before its orbit decays, Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and the others face a series of perils on the planet’s surface. The plot has just enough going on to be engaging but not much more than that. The challenges the crew faces are adequate by not all that impressive, and the overall mystery surrounding their trip to Mars falls flat.
The other aspects of the movie follow a similar pattern. Red Planet’s characters have just enough definition to be distinct but not enough to make them memorable. The best-defined characters are Bowman and Gallagher, but even their relationship just goes through the motions. The action scenes work well enough in principle, but in practice they end up caught uncomfortably between artificial and realistic. Overall, the film’s craftsmanship is middling.
Fans of the sci-fi genre may want to give Red Planet a shot. It has just enough going on to make it a serviceable popcorn watch, but it lacks either the spectacle or depth needed to shape itself into something more. For a more realistic take on survival on Mars, check out The Martian. For a similarly desperate and ill-fated space mission, check out Sunshine. For a slightly farther-fetched look at space exploration, check out Interstellar.
5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for decent action with some rough edges and not much special to offer.