Mission to Mars (2000)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Cannon (story) and
Jim Thomas (story) ...

Release Date:

10 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Let There Be Life.

Plot:

When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Sandstorm | Spacecraft | Beautiful Woman | Loss Of Husband

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gary Sinise	...	Jim McConnell
Tim Robbins	...	Woody Blake
Don Cheadle	...	Luke Graham
Connie Nielsen	...	Terri Fisher
Jerry O'Connell	...	Phil Ohlmyer
Peter Outerbridge	...	Sergei Kirov
Kavan Smith	...	Nicholas Willis
Jill Teed	...	Reneé Coté
Elise Neal	...	Debra Graham
Kim Delaney	...	Maggie McConnell
Marilyn Norry	...	NASA Wife
Freda Perry	...	NASA Wife
Lynda Boyd	...	NASA Wife
Patricia Harras	...	NASA Wife
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Bobby Graham

Also Known As:

M2M (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi violence and mild language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:All | Brazil:14 | USA:PG (NO. 37274) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

Jordan

Company:

Jacobson Company, The

Trivia:

A certain famous Disney star appears in one shot of the film. Momentarily as we see the Mars Recovery vehicle approach the planet, Mars itself, the rotating circular hub of the spaceship, and the round satellite dish sitting on its spine line up to form the friendly and familiar Mickey Mouse logo.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie it stated that the 23 chromosomes came from mars about a million years ago and set off the explosive growth on the planet earth. This is not true at all. Humans are the only organisms that have 23 chromosome sets [we are diploid having 46 actual chromosomes]. Different organisms have a different number of chromosomes so sending 23 chromosomes to earth wouldn't have really started the 'explosive growth of life on the earth'. Ferns for example have over 1000 chromosome sets.

Quotes:

[Arrives late at the BBQ in his circa 1960's Corvette]
Woody Blake: Gentlemen, Internal Combustion Engines. Accept no substitutes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#23.13)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday To You

Exquisitely bad

If you're a Sci-fi fan like me, you will find this movie competes only with the other worst Sci-fi title in our contemporary times, War of the Worlds by Spielberg.

This movie is crud from the start. First, we are to believe that NASA now seeks out married couples to fly in space - ain't gonna happen in real life. Then, when a rescue mission is called for on Mars the decision to launch one is not made by NASA (as real life might have it) its made by the star-studded cast.

As the stupidity rolls on in this film you can find some parts that are just plain horrible writing. For example, the crew flies this amazing hi-tech spaceship to Mars, but just before landing they have a fuel leak. Somehow, someone forgot to put a fuel pressure gage in the ship?!?!? Then we get treated to some of the WORST acting you will ever see. Up to this point in the film we are supposed to believe that Tim Robbins and Connie Neilsen - married in the plot - are deeply in love. But when Robbins 'heroically' dies trying to save the ship, within 10 minutes Connies seems to be 'over it'. We see no further effects that she has lost a husband - and in fact, boy did she recover quickly.

You, as the viewer, are then treated to more insults to your intelligence when the crew finds Don Cheadle there on Mars where he has been stranded for many months. Oddly though, Cheadle has no problem breathing on Mars - hmmm, must have brought his own atmosphere - and shock of shocks, he has plenty of electricity to run his fancy computer (which answers all the technical questions) even though he has been there long after batteries would have run out.

Now that DePalma has you completely in his power (if you're stupid enough to keep watching) he then lays the biggie on you. Where did Earth's population come from? Mars. Yup, years ago they "seeded" our planet before leaving their own decaying world. This might be a nice premise for a movie, but here of course, its just the vehicle to "explain" what to that point has been the mystery in a tedious and boring movie.

But the ultimate insult awaits for us in DePalma's utterly ridiculous end of the movie. Gary Sinese will now join the long-exiled Martians somewhere in another galaxy. Yup - but how does he get there? A water pipe essentially... Ya, so much for writing.

What I find most amazing about Mission to Mars is that fine actors like Sinese, Tim Robbins, Connie Neilsen, Don Cheadle and many others MUST have read this script first - HOW they could have signed on to this mess is beyond me. Must have been good money.

Mission to Mars is without doubt one of the worst Sci-fi movies in history, asking you the viewer to ignore stupidity, lousy writing, factual blunders about space flight, and a cast that seems so 'numb' to the horribly crafted mess that they just 'do the lines' to get the darn thing done.

This movie, along with such classic crud as Spielberg's War of the Worlds, or Alien versus Predator, belongs in a Sunday marathon of Sci-fi movies where the Director presumes his audiences are brain-dead. Certified garbage - from start to end.