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Mission to Mars (2000)

Starring:

Don Cheadle, Jerry O’Connell, Kim Delaney, Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise

 Cymast’s Synopsis:

The first human mission to Mars results in the mysterious deaths of 3 of the 4 astronauts.  The remaining astronaut is stranded on Mars, and a rescue mission is sent.  After another accident, the 3 survivors of the rescue crew team up with the 1 original survivor and solve the mystery of the Face on Mars.

Mr. Cymast’s Synopsis:

It’s a rescue mission to Mars gone wrong, and they found a surprise. And it wasn’t a pickle.

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CNN.com: ” ‘Mission to Mars’ takes bad to a whole new level. This film is mind boggling and stupid, a derivative piece of doo-doo that’s an embarrassment for all involved.”

Roger Ebert: “I can’t recommend ‘Mission to Mars.’ It misses too many of its marks. But it has extraordinary things in it. It’s as if the director, the gifted Brian De Palma, rises to the occasions but the screenplay gives him nothing much to do in between them.”

Cymast: As a fan of fluffy sci-fi, I found the movie mostly enjoyable. The characters, at times, are distracting in their ineptitude as astronauts. There’s a drawn-out, smarmy love scene that I’m sure was included just to lengthen the movie: 2 of the astronauts twirl and flirt in zero-G. Twirl and flirt, twirl and flirt, twirl and flirt . . well, you get it. There’s a climactic space death scene which is slightly marred by the expressionless, Julia Robertsesque acting of Kim Delaney. She does have a convincing scream, though. Don Cheadle’s performance as a sole stranded/rescued astronaut saves the movie, IMO. I particulary enjoyed the Martian landscape and what appeared to be its thermal features. I did not care for the the last half of the ending, as it leaves WAY TOO LITTLE to the imagination. That part of the ending also seems cartoonish, compared to the rest of the movie. But, to the movie’s credit, I’m sure it was a tough scene to write. Overall, it’s worth a look, especially if you’re a fan of alternative theories.