Red Planet [DVD]

A great science fiction movie, in my opinion it is Val Kilmer's third best movie!

Fun show.

Antony Hoffman’s 2000 film, “Red Planet,” takes place in the then-far-off future of 2045. Humanity, facing ecological crises on Earth, sent bioengineered algae to Mars in order to terraform the planet. Though it initially appeared successful, the algae died off and a mission was sent to Mars to figure out what went wrong. The film stars Val Kilmer as Robby Gallagher, an engineer; Carrie-Anne Moss as Lieutenant Commander Kate Bowman, mission commander; Tom Sizemore as Dr. Quinn Burchenal, geneticist; Benjamin Bratt as Lieutenant Ted Santen, pilot; Simon Baker as Dr. Chip Pettengill, terraforming specialist; and Terence Stamp as Dr. Bud Chantilas, chief science officer. The crew, representing the first crewed mission to Mars, quickly encounter difficulties along the way including landing craft damages, a defective and dangerous robot, and personality clashes. The story soon becomes a survival tale with the mystery of the algae playing out in the background. The movie’s poster and disc case art reveal that the crew find a lifeform on Mars, but it’s a simple form of life that was able to become dormant as Mars’ atmosphere thinned and its water boiled away into space. This adds to the science-fiction elements of the story and serves the plot, but does not become too far-fetched like some other sci-fi films.“Red Planet” released alongside a group of Mars-themed movies, including “Species II,” “Mission to Mars,” and “Ghosts of Mars,” all of which picked up on the excitement the Mars Pathfinder mission generated with new images and data of the red planet in the late ’90s. “Red Planet” even features the Sojourner Rover in a scene where the astronauts use it to retrofit a communications device, 11 years before Andy Weir’s novel, “The Martian,” and the 2015 film based on it. Similarly showing the influence of Pathfinder, the astronauts land via a giant airbag-enclosed pod. While this worked for the robotic lander and rover, it is inadvisable for humans.Like “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” releasing in the same year, the overlapping releases and general themes of “Red Planet” and “Mission to Mars” make comparisons between the two films inevitable. “Mission to Mars” is a better overall film, but “Red Planet” is fun in its way. Graeme Revell’s music is a particular strong point while Moss and Kilmer bring enjoyable performances, despite some dated or stale characterizations. Some of the CGI holds up particularly well, notably for the robot AMEE.

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I love sci fi movies. My video library consists of even one-season televison wonders. So, imagine my delight when I had a choice at the theatre between RED PLANET and MISSION TO MARS. I chose to see RED PLANET, and I never regretted it. I bought it the first day it was available on DVD. Here's why:This movie is as scientifically accurate as Hollywood will allow. I'm one of those people who enjoys sci fi immensely but still cringes a little when there is sound in space, understanding that a destruction scene just isn't the same without the bang. So, I can let that slide. There are other things, though, that just irk me. For example, like the fact that not every planet has the same gravity. This movie makes a very good attempt to get the science right, including the lesser gravity on Mars (you'll know the scene).Not only is it good for the science, but it has these very deep characters that are given time to develop on screen. They all get to tell their stories, and there is some conflict here and there that gives it dimension. It's a good adventure story that doesn't get campy. The special effects and scenery are believable. By the time you get done watching, you want to join NASA and give it a go.At least rent this film and give it a try. It's not flashy. It tells a good story and weaves realism in with the fiction. It's worth the watch, guaranteed.

The second outward bound movie to Mars (the other being Mission To Mars , also skillfully reviewed by this writer) was a box office bomb at the time, raking in $33 million worldwide and yet cost $80 million to produce -- oops! I mean we had the Matrix girl and Batman on this mission!What happened?The plot was not too bad at the start. Earth was depleted and an ecological disaster by 2025. In the 2050s they found that their terraforming of Mars was not working, oxygen levels dropping, so they put together a crew of four guys and a babe (that's Commander babe to you, soldier) and took off to Mars.The ships and hardware are quite well done. The talking computer with no emotion is a standard sci-fi standby. The robot warrior Amee was supposed to be some kind of exploring machine -- this was never made clear in the script.After getting bombarded by gamma rays and shorting out everything (almost like what happened in Mission to Mars, but I digress) the boys escape in their pod while the Commander (Carrie Ann-Moss, (The Matrix ) as Commander Bowman, a clear nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey's Commander Dave Bowman 2001 - A Space Odyssey (Two-Disc Special Edition)), stays behind.The landing is pretty frightful with big balloon things coming out as they bounce around in the valley. They also drop off the robot, who gets his computer brains scrambled, goes into Military Mode and starts hunting them down.The boys are into your standard characters: Coward, Religious, Jock, Security and Pilot. None of these really played well. Character development was quite poor in all of them (except Val Kilmer, the only guy with more lines than the other boys). Their chemistry was just not there. The pilot is pushed off a cliff. The coward (who pushed him off the cliff) gets killed by Amee. The jock (Val Kilmer, Batman Returns a.k.a. the janitor) is the sole survivor. The scientist gets eaten alive by the native bugs.The fireworks scene where the bugs, like fireflies, burst out of a body with blood and all kinds of stuff. The fun pretty much stops there, though.The discovery of the Russian probe that could potentially fire Val back into orbit took some suspension of disbelief. Even if he was able to get the batteries recharged, it's been lying dormant on the surface for nearly a century. That its fuel and computer would still work is a bit unreal. At least it spoke clear Russian.A valiant attempt at a story, a good try at philosophy but a bit too long for my taste. The unrequited love angle was poorly done as well.The bad robot's optic blue squinting like a human to somehow focus in on its prey is not how a machine would act.I could go on and on with the plotholes. Somewhat entertaining, on par with Mission to Mars, but as the narration at the end says: "Nothing when the way it was supposed to"!Rental.More Mars Fun!:Invaders from Mars (Special Edition)Mars Attacks!The Martian Chronicles

Don't know why, I miss a young Val? But it's ok for a space movie, I love 'em

Like someone stole the one I had but this one’s good it works

Got it for a bargain of 5 euro's, thats great. Its region B with english speaking and subs. Its a mediocre story with some stupid parts. Some choices of actors i don't understand. Specialeffects are a little amaturistic, the actors are good.

Una pelicula que me trae un buen recuerdo y es bastante divertida y emocionante, hay un buen plantel de actores y la calidad de imagen y sonido de el blu ray es muy buena, como era muy difícil localizar la pelicula en España la compre la edicion Alemana (con audio y subt, en Castellano), gracias a Amazon, me llego muy rápida y muy buen precio, muy contento con la compra y el servicio.

I will confess the price put me off for a while, but this film is very good for a film with more tense drama than out and out action. Tom Sizemore is one of those actors you don't really think about much but he has been brilliant in so many films no matter what you might think of the films themselves - Red Planet, Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, Passenger 57, Heat and Lock Up to name a few. I'll recommend that little list for you if you haven't already seen any of them.As actors go I have liked a lot of Val Kilmer films, maybe from the first couple of films I recall in True Genius and Willow. There isn't much to say about him in what isn't a strong persona role, he plays it well though.Carrie-Anne Moss' character is a little understated, but still plays a key part in the story. I suppose as the love interest and with the way the film ends she had to be the commander or the ending wouldn't have worked.You can connect with most of the characters, with short bursts of action this film finds a decent pace. Maybe the whole AMEE thing was a bit out of place shall we say, even if plotwise it turns out it was necessary. By Raj on Big Bang Theory's estimates he could have called AAA.If you haven't seen this, whyever not? If you have then put aside the price which for some DVDs being more than others just makes me think the manufacturers don't have a clue - you sell more if it is a reasonable price, some just wait until the price goes down or it sells second hand so you don't gain anything *shakes head*

Ich mus sagen für mich einer der besten seines Genres. Schlägt Mission to Mars und 2010 D. Jahr i.d. wir Kontakt aufnehmen bei weitem.Handlung Dramatig und vor allen die Schauspieler überzeugen. Und was die Bilder anbelangt kommt kein anderer Film an die Qualität dieses Streifen nur annähernd heran. Val Kilmer und Tom Sizemore sowie Carrie Anne Moss sind Grandiose Schauspieler.Für mich ist dieser Streifen inzwischen einer meiner Lieblings Filme geworden. Wenn man Mission to Mars mit Red Planet vergleicht und sich nur die Technische Ausrüstung anschaut gehen Welten auseinander. Bei Red Planet wirkt einfach alles viel ausgereifter und ansehlicher.Und wenn man die Geschichten der beiden Filme betrachtet selbst da hat für mich Red Planet eindeutig die Nase vorn. Sie wirkt einfach Glaubwürdiger.Sie handelt vom Überlebenskampf einer Crew.Und so weit hergeholt ist die Handlung auch nicht.Mission to Mars erzählt die ewige frage: sind wir allein ? Nun für mich eher langweilig umgesetzt.Selbst Amee der Roboter der seine eigene Mission verfolgt ist eher Glaubwürdiger, als die Handlung in Mission to Mars. Roboter dieser Art wird es mit großer Sicherheit schon bald geben. Besser gesagt es gibt sie schon. Also für mich der Film schlechthin. Und für mich auch sehr wichtig der Streifen hat auch jede menge Humor. Val Kilmer hat Ihn auf jedenfall. Schade das er nicht mehr Filme macht . Deshalb bekommt er von mir 5 sterne ! Absolut sehenswert !