Mission To Mars

Mission To Mars
Cast: Gary Sinise
Studio: Touchstone
Rating: 3/10

When the film 2001: A Space Odyssey came out, people were in awe. The thought of space and of seeing someone’s perception of what may be out there beyond our reach was simply compelling. The question “What if?” lingered in the backs of millions of viewers’ minds. Now that we’ve entered the new millennium, it’s time to start seeing the real results, along with the rise of some new questions and perceptions. Director Brian De Palma pushes the envelope a little further by exploring man’s first step on Mars in his sci-fi adventure, Mission To Mars.

Using the same ideas and recreations (translation: blatant rip-offs) as its predecessor, 2001, Mission To Mars should never have taken off. It’s a rather disjointed story that not only covers about a three-year life span, but feels that long as well. Set in the not-so-distant year of 2020, the first launch to Mars is about takeoff, and the four lucky astronauts are prepared to make history.

Well, as it turns out, and as we guess within the first fifteen minutes of film, the first mission goes awry and some not-so-pleasant things happen on the uncharted territory. With only a few minutes of unclear footage, the space station headquarters learns that their team is in danger and prepares to send another foursome to the rescue. Anxious and willing, Jim (Gary Sinise), Woody (Tim Robbins), Terri (Connie Nielsen), and Paul (Jerry O’Connell) set out to find some answers and battle the unknown on Mars.

With an all-star cast headed by Gary Sinise and Tim Robbins, you’d think Mission To Mars would be a major blockbuster. Not so. Though they’re cool, the minimal special effects aren’t enough to hold even the biggest space buff’s interest, and the corny screenplay weakens the actors’ ability to convey any sense of realism. Not to mention the horrible makeup job on Gary Sinise. I guess to reveal a tortured soul, it’s now appropriate to go heavy on the eyeliner? If you ask me, it’s a complete distraction and only adds to the silliness.

Not to be out of control nit-picky, but another ailment facing Mission To Mars is its PG rating. It’s geared towards kids but I don’t think it can hold their attention long enough to get to the good stuff. With the special effects so few and far between, the story’s not compelling enough to sit through for two hours. If you still insist on seeing Mission To Mars, be prepared to be disappointed. This show’s been done before, and in a much better way.

+ ashley adams


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.