Stars: Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Terence Stamp, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker

Director: Antony Hoffman

Summary: Kate Bowman's mission, as Commander and Pilot, is to save the human race, with recolonizing everyone to Mars as the only option. What happens when they arrive on Earth is more terrifying than they could have imagined...

In the future, pollution and overpopulation are making the Earth uninhabitable. Humanity's only hope is to colonize the planet Mars by using algae to produce oxygen, but when the algae mysteriously disappear, a group of astronauts are sent to Mars on a mission to learn why. The spaceship, led by Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss), is preparing to land when a sudden emergency forces her to crash-land on the planet without supplies or equipment. The survivors, including systems engineer Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and scientists Burchenal (Tom Sizemore) and Pettengil (Simon Baker), have to figure out how to return to their ship while also learning the truth about the missing algae. As if things weren't bad enough, they have to avoid AMEE, the ship's malfunctioning robot who is trying to kill them all.
RED PLANET is an exciting science fiction thriller based on scientific facts, including theoretical notions on how to "terraform" Mars to become inhabitable. The film also provides information about the nuts and bolts of basic space travel. Kilmer and company avoid science fiction cliches to make their Martian adventures more believable, creating a saga of survival under incredible conditions.

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In Red Planetthe only thing thicker than the Martian atmosphere (which is breathable, by the way) is the layer of clichés that nearly smothers a formulaic beat-the-clock plot. Science fiction fans are sure to be forgiving, however, because the film is reasonably intelligent, boasts a few dazzling sequences, and presents fascinating technology in the year 2057.

We don't know how the Mars-1 spaceship gets to Mars in only six months (newfangled propulsion, no doubt), but we do get some cool diagnostic read-outs on tinfoil scrolls, an abundance of well-designed hardware, and a service-robot-turned-villain that's a high-tech hybrid of RoboCop, Bruce Lee, and a slinky panther with plenty of lethal attitude. The oxygen in the Martian atmosphere has resulted from nascent efforts at terraforming, made necessary by Earth's over-polluted condition. Mars-1 has been dispatched to determine why the terraforming is failing, and upon arrival everything goes inevitably haywire. Nearly two hours, three deaths, and multiple crises later (including the discovery of a Martian life form), "space janitor" Val Kilmer and his ultra-competent commander (Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix) have collaborated to set things right, capped off by second dose of the wretched narration that bookends the movie. Hoary material, to be sure, and as a veteran of TV commercials making his feature debut, director Anthony Hoffman is clearly more comfortable with flashy visuals than depth of character. Still, he keeps things humming right along. A perfectly suitable companion to another Y2K sci-fi thriller, Pitch Black, Red Planetis a fine way to kill a couple of hours. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menus, Scene Access
Subtitles:	Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Year:	2000
Release Date:	May 25, 2001
Runtime:	106 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 018954
Keywords:	Planet, Red, General, Wide, Screen, Fiction, Science, Horror, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction