The RED PLANET is Mars and, in the year 2050, it's the
last hope for a home for Mankind. We've polluted and overpopulated
Earth so badly that scientists have been Terraforming
Mars; giving it an atmosphere and plantlife so that we
can "move" there. Something has gone wrong, however and
Mission Commander KATE BOWMAN (Carrie-Anne Moss from MATRIX)
heads a crew on a mission to find out what happened and
repair the damage.
When a solar flare knocks out power to the ship in Mars
orbit, Bowman must stay behind while crewmembers GALLAGHER
(Val Kilmer), BURCHENAL (Tom Sizemore), SANTEN (Benjamin
Bratt), PETTINGIL (Simon Baker) and CHANTILAS (Terrence
Stamp) crashland on the surface in an escape pod. Once
on Mars, the men learn that nothing is as expected. Even
their "navigation" robot AMEE has gone into "military"
mode and is stalking them.
As the crew attempts to survive, they discover that AMEE
isn't the only non-human life on the planet. While Bowman
desperately tries to aid the men in getting back to the
safety of the mothership, time is running out.
RED PLANET says a lot about the spirit of Man and his
uncanny ability to use brains, brawn and plain old courage
to get himself out of the most impossible, life-threatening
situations. In this case, it's refreshing to see that
a lot of these qualities are present in a WOMAN! It's
Commander Bowman who, to me, is the real hero of this
film. She's calm under fire, thinks on her feet and ends
up saving the "hero" in a brave and well-calculated rescue
move. Although the film is slow at times, special effects
and sound effects are awesome and you'll enjoy AMEE and
all the cool gadgets. Most notably, RED PLANET is worth
seeing for its portrayal of a strong, in-charge, professional
woman (who happens to have a crush on one of her crew
members but, hey, she's human!)
Rated PG-13
Directed by: Antony Hoffman
Screenplay by: Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin
from a story by Pfarrer
Starring: Val Kilmer as Gallagher
Carrie-Anne Moss as Commander Bowman
Tom Sizemore as Dr. Burchenal
Benjamin Bratt as Santen
Terence Stamp as Chantilas
Simon Baker as Pettengil
