Mission to Mars

DVD Special Features (TO BE CONFIRMED):

Theatrical trailer(s)
Audio Commentary Animatics to Scene Comparison
Documentary "Visions of Mars"
Visual Effects Analysis Production
Art Gallery
DVD-ROM Features
Widescreen anamorphic format


If Brian De Palma directed Mission to Mars for 10-year-olds who have never seen a science fiction film, he can be credited for crafting a marginally successful adventure. Isolated moments in this film serve the highest purpose of its genre, inspiring a sense of wonder and awe in the context of a fascinating future (specifically, the year 2020). But because most of us have seen a lot of science fiction films, it's impossible to ignore this one's derivative plot, cardboard characters and drearily dumb dialogue. Despite an awesome and painstakingly authentic display of cool technology and dazzling special effects, Mission to Mars is light years away from 2001: A Space Odyssey on the scale of human intelligence.

After dispensing with a few space-jockey clichés, the movie focuses on a Mars-bound rescue mission commanded by Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise), whose team (Tim Robbins, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell) has been sent to retrieve the sole survivor (Don Cheadle) of a tragic Mars landing. During the sequence en route to Mars, De Palma is in his element with two suspenseful scenes (including a dramatic--albeit somewhat silly--space walk) that are technically impressive. But when this Mission gets to Mars, the movie grows increasingly unconvincing, finally arriving at an alien encounter that more closely resembles an astronomical CGI video game. But this is a $75 million Hollywood movie, and no amount of technical wizardry can lift the burden of a juvenile screenplay. Kudos to Sinise, his co-stars, and the special effects wizards for making the most of hoary material; shame on just about everyone else involved. --Jeff Shannon,

Special Features

Bonus Footage, Commentary: Audio commentary, Documentaries: 'Visions of Mars', Image Gallery, Visual effects analysis, animatics to scene comparisons, Storyboard Comparisons, Trailers

Actors: Kim Delaney, Peter Outerbridge, Jill Teed, Kavan Smith, Elise Neal, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell, Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle

Audio Languages: Italian, English

Duration: 109 minutes

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitle Languages: Slovenian, English, Italian, Croatian

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