Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMission to Mars (2000)
Director: Brian De Palma
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
2020: a manned mission to Mars has run into unexplained trouble on the red planet and a rescue team has the risky task of going in after them. With three of his colleagues dead and no radio contact, Cheadle draws the short straw. He has to hole up on the Martian surface, grow a beard and wait. The cavalry are coming, however, and they're the best that NASA's got, including ace helmsman Sinise and wise commander Robbins. All they have to do is align themselves to the correct orbit, but a dangerous fuel leak may be about to jeopardise their plans. De Palma's best stuff is in the middle of the movie, where he gets to grips with the nuts and bolts of the precarious rescue attempt and constructs a couple of flawless suspense sequences. The deliberate approach is most refreshing, but nothing else in the movie matches up to it - not the draggy set-up and certainly not the dismally unimaginative final half-hour, when we uncover the age old secrets of Mars. Given the glaring mismatch between the able performers, comic strip dialogue and monumental Morricone score, the whole thing reeks of a perversity unusual among today's machine tooled blockbusters, but that's hardly an unqualified recommendation.Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: Brian De Palma
Producer: Tom Jacobson
Cast: Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell, Kim Delaney, Tim Robbins, Peter Outerbridge, Kavan Smith, Jill Teed, Elise Neal, Armin Mueller-Stahl full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Duration: 116 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now