Red Planet

Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: I won't add to the lengthy comments which
have already been made. This is a movie
that is definitely worth seeing. I can see
why it is compared to Pitch Black - though it
is not as 'tight' a movie overall as Pitch Black.
It is a fairly solid effort nonetheless.
The acting is very good, the sets look great,
and the story is passable. You could do a lot
worse, and will probably find this a cool flick
if really into sci-fi. nuff said

Rating:
Summary: Not partucularily exceptional.
Review: However, pretty pictures and somewhat coherent plot. You even wanted to see what was going to happen next. I watched it once, and I would not PAY to see it again.

Rating:
Summary: Far better than most reviews indicate
Review: I've watched this movie on DVD at least 30 times now and haven't gotten tired of it yet. The storyline is interesting and, compared with most SciFi films, eminently reasonable. Each of the characters has a distinct personality. Kilmer, Moss, Seizmore, and Stamp are superb, giving compelling although generally subdued performances. The special effects are excellent but not overdone. If you are at all interested, at least rent it. You may well find youself buying a copy.

Rating:
Summary: What a Waste
Review: This movie had a good cast, lots of resources, good production design, and a pretty convincing depiction of Mars. It could also have been a good movie if a little intelligence had been devoted to the script. Instead, the scientific illiteracy of the thing renders it an annoying joke. Take, for example, the "nematodes" (which are worms, by the way, not insects). The explanation for the rich Martian atmosphere is that the "nematodes" are eating algae and somehow "making oxygen". Well, guess what...it's plants and algae that "make oxygen"...eating it in order to make O2 by some other process is absurd and meaningless. Also, the state of the Martian atmosphere comes as a surprise to the explorers, yet somehow the ships's sensors are able to measure the atmospheric pressure as "865 millibars"...which is nearly the normal pressure on Earth...which should have been a clue that something odd was going on. Dramatically, the extraneous addition of the killer robot is merely synthetic "excitement" added to try to strenghten a lousy script. What a waste of effort to produce a movie that has already been pretty much forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Even the Real "Red Planet" Would be Insulted
Review: This movie is one of the worst things ever made. What is it about? Two hours of Val Kilmer, no thanks. That one guy from "Law & Order" fell off of a mountain on Mars. Is that possible? Then a robot comes to life and tries to kill the rest of the team. Too bad the robot lost the fight. Trash.

Rating:
Summary: Even the Real "Red Planet" Would be Insulted
Review: This movie is one of the worst things ever made. What is it about? Two hours of Val Kilmer, no thanks. That one guy from "Law & Order" fell of a mountain on Mars. Is that possible? Then a robot comes to life and tries to kill the rest of the team. Too bad the robot lost the fight. Trash.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, Dear.
Review: It's 2024, or 2036 or 2096 - or whenever it is - and we've "killed the planet earth" (We've done that already by the way. Summers aren't what they used to be.) Apparently we have no option but to bombard the surface of Mars with moss and hope it grows so we can next go and kill Mars. Naturally, our botanical experiments are a huge success and in no time at all, we've converted a lifeless space-rock into Bali. The next thing we've got to do is overcome radiation, gravity, reality, acting and direction and propel five Americans and an ageing Englishman across the cosmos to see how fast we can set up shop on our nearest neighbour. Naturally, our little voyage is a catastrophe. The space philosopher-cum-senior citizen played by Terence Stamp dies in the opening twenty minutes, ostensibly of a spleen injury, but one suspects of embarrassment. A robot called AMEE, created by the American military to assist matters falls on its head and decides to murder the whole crew. The 'craft' is hit by a solar flare and catches fire. The ground party land miles from their destination and run out of oxygen ten minutes after discovering that their home-from-home has been ravaged by martian cockroaches. Oh - and by the way - you can breathe on Mars. It has to do with the moss. And the cockroaches. Or something. I could go on - but I won't. Lacking in every department, though an impressive advertisement for Arizona.

Rating:
Summary: awful
Review: The best thing about tis movie is that the photography is so bad that you can't see what's going on. And when you try to figure it out, you don't care what's going on.

Rating:
Summary: GAH! Can you say fast-forward?
Review: <i>Red Planet</i> has a great cast plopped into stock-character formulations. The script reveals more about the writer than those characters: an awareness of what The Big Issues are, but nothing to say about them. The special effects and future-concept are fun to watch as is the gorgeous camerawork directed at Carrie-Anne Moss. On balance, a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: No Clue. None.
Review: Watching this movie drag through two hours is like being in a dentist's chair for the same period while the incompetent sadistic fool tries to dislodge a perfectly good molar with a set of hand pliers. Really, it's that bad. Where should I begin - well, the dialogue has all the life of a dead flashlight. You can see the cliches coming about 15 minutes before any of the characters do. Towards the end when Val Kilmer notes the need of another power source, you KNOW what is going to happen and what he is going to do. When the "bad" guy runs out on his own, you also know right away what is going to happen to him. Interminable. This is the second time ("Matrix" being the first) Carrie Anne Moss is cast as the otherwise powerful female who has to surrender to her "higher biology" and fall in love with the beleaguered beat-up schnook. Save your time and money and go watch Alien or The War of the Worlds or Forbidden Planet again, those classic examples of talented filmmaking will be a much better time, believe me. Whoo, this movie defines what is wrong with the Hollywood machine and the people who write, produce, and act in their "product". No Clue. None. Period.