Red Planet (film)
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| Red Planet | |
 Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Antony Hoffman |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Bruce Berman Mark Canton |
| Written by | Chuck Pfarrer Jonathan Lemkin |
| Starring | Val Kilmer Carrie-Anne Moss Benjamin Bratt Tom Sizemore |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
| Cinematography | Peter Suschitzky |
| Editing by | Robert K. Lambert Dallas Puett |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | November 6, 2000 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Language | English, Russian |
| Budget | $80,000,000 |
Red Planet is a 2000 science fiction film directed by Antony Hoffman, starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Val Kilmer. It was released in November 6, 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
In A.D. 2045, the Planet Earth is in ecologic crisis as a consequence of pollution and overpopulation. Meanwhile, automated interplanetary missions have seeded Planet Mars with atmosphere-producing algae as the first stage in terraforming the planet. Twelve years later, when the oxygen quantity produced by the algae is inexplicably reduced, the crew of Mars-1 must learn why, and continue the mission of terraforming the red planet for human colonization.
En route to Mars, the crew get to know one another through discussions about science, spirituality, and religion. Quinn Burchenal, the geneticist (Tom Sizemore), is an agnostic. Aging scientist and surgeon Bud Chantillas (Terence Stamp) is philosophical, having come to believe long ago that "science could not answer any of the really interesting questions." Mechanical systems engineer and "space janitor" Robby Gallagher (Val Kilmer) acts as Chantillas's protégé, and flirts with the spaceship's beautiful, but no-nonsense commander, Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss). Also on board is arrogant pilot Ted Santen (Benjamin Bratt) and Pettengil (Simon Baker).
Soon the ship arrives to Mars orbit, but a solar flare disrupts key systems, complicates their orbit and forces Bowman (Moss) to remain aboard and repair them, while the others land. Their first goal is to locate an automated habitat established earlier on Mars to manufacture food and oxygen in preparation for the crew's arrival.
The landing craft is damaged entering the Martian atmosphere, veers off course, and crash-lands far from their landing zone near the habitat. In the process, they lose track of "AMEE", a military robot that is their "Mars surface navigator." Moreover, Chantillas was critically injured in the crash landing, and they have insufficient air to take him to the habitat where his ruptured spleen could be attended. With limited air, Chantillas tells them to leave him behind and complete the mission.
Meanwhile, in orbit, Bowman deals with several disasters in Mars-1 including a zero-gravity fire and computer and mechanical systems failures.
The disheartened men complete the long walk to the automated habitat only to find it destroyed. With only minutes of air remaining, each man contemplates his impending death by suffocation. Burchenal and Gallagher rest, to conserve air. Pettengill (Simon Baker) and Santen (Benjamin Bratt) wander away to see as much of Mars as they can before dying. They reach a canyon, and discuss their impressions of their situation as they enjoy the view, while awaiting death.
Pettengill despairs his fate and laments the crew's failure. Military pilot Santen, regards the mission a technical success, since everything that went wrong was beyond human control. The men argue, and it becomes a scuffle; Pettengill inadvertently pushes Santen over the cliff and into the canyon. More distraught, Pettengill returns to Burchenal and Gallagher to await death and tells them that Santen jumped off a cliff in suicide. With nothing to lose, Gallagher opens his visor, takes a breath, and discovers to his surprise that Mars's atmosphere is thin but breathable. For the moment, the three survivors are safe, although the guilt-ridden Pettengill becomes dismayed on understanding that Santen would have survived if he had not fallen into the canyon.
Despite unlimited air, they remain stranded on the surface of Mars and are unable to communicate with the orbiting Mars-1 above. AMEE reunites with the crew, and the three astronauts notice the robot is damaged and try removing its power supply. That threat to the robot's survival activates its military programming. Defining the astronauts as enemy, AMEE attacks them. It intentionally wounds Burchenal, following the military tactic that an injured soldier slows an entire unit. From then on, the robot stalks the landing party's trek across the Martian surface.
Eventually, Gallagher is able to construct a make-shift heterodyne crystal radio using parts from the Mars Rover from the Pathfinder mission. Hours pass as they await a reply from Earth. Mission control receives it and tells Cmdr. Bowman aboard Mars-1 — just as she is about to leave Mars orbit. She instructs the men to reach an old Russian Mars probe and use its sample-return system to launch themselves to orbit. The only problem is that they must make another long trek across the Martian surface to the site.
The three men begin the trek, occasionally talking with Bowman and reporting strange findings on the surface. There are patches of algae, but little explanation of why it disappeared in some regions. Pettengill's behavior becomes erratic, but that does not stop Gallagher and Burchenal from philosophic discussion; Burchenal remarks that as a genetic designer, saying he is a realist: "I write code". He cannot take "the easy way out" by falling back on religious and spiritual explanations of nature. Gallagher counters, noting that spirituality is neither cop-out nor rejection of science, but a recognition of its limitations regarding to human existential problems: "It takes more than just intelligence to live a spiritual life". Gallagher is continuing the thematic thread that Chantillas started aboard ship, before their descent to Mars.
As the three ground crew survivors continue their trek, Bowman tells Gallagher that the Mars probe can only hold two of them. An approaching ice storm complicates their survival en route to the Mars spacecraft, but all three find shelter in a small cave. There Gallagher reveals to Burchenal and Pettengill that the Russian probe in which they hope to escape Mars can transport only two men. The guilty Pettengill, worried that he will be abandoned, becomes deranged and runs away with the radio in mid-storm, only to be killed by AMEE. When the storm passes, Burchenal and Gallagher recover the radio and continue to the Mars craft, but make a startling discovery: Pettengill's corpse is infested with insect-like creatures feeding on his dead flesh. Burchenal captures two of them, and carries them with him on the trek, later discovering that the insects explode when exposed to flame.
Burchenal and Gallagher resume the trek. Along the way, they reach a large algae-covered field and Burchenal grasps what has been happening: the insects are native Martian life laying dormant until a food source, such as algae, arrived and took root. The insects eat the algae and excrete oxygen creating the new Martian atmosphere and explaining why they explode when burned.
Unfortunately, the insects go into a feeding frenzy and swarm Burchenal when blood drips from an open wound. He passes his pressure suit (with collected data, air, and sample bugs) to Gallagher, and rather than be eaten alive, he ignites the bugs, causing a chain reaction that burns the remaining algae and much of the region's atmosphere. The explosive fire is large enough to be seen from the orbiting Mars-1 space ship.
Gallagher continues to the Mars probe, where he must jury-rig an orbital launch, but not before a final, definitive fight with AMEE. Again low on air, Gallagher's only chance is to get close enough to Mars-1 and be rescued by Bowman. Retrieving AMEE's power supply moments before she self-destructs, he rigs it up to the Russian systems and successfully launches his improvised escape module.
Bowman detects the launch and moves Mars-1 into position to recover the module; however, by this time, Gallagher has passed out from the launch. Quickly donning a spacesuit she exits Mars-1 to recover Gallagher before his air supply runs out. Returning with Gallagher to the launch bay, the computer announces that Gallagher is in cardiac arrest. Quickly she initiates CPR and within moments brings him back around.
Sitting on the command deck, Bowman and Gallagher share a moment before kissing passionately. As the ship heads back to Earth, Bowman's voice narrates the success of the mission and tells of how the brave crew of Mars-1 saved the Earth. As the ship disappears once more into the black void on her long trip home, she looks to her journey with some optimism, remarking that now, "I've got six months to get to know the Janitor."
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Val Kilmer | Robby Gallagher |
| Carrie-Anne Moss | Cmdr. Kate Bowman |
| Tom Sizemore | Dr. Quinn Burchenal |
| Benjamin Bratt | Lt. Ted Santen |
| Simon Baker | Chip Pettengill |
| Terence Stamp | Dr. Bud Chantilas |
[edit] Reception
Red Planet was a box office bomb, grossing $33 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $80 million[1].
The film received negative reviews, with only a 13% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com as of December 2008[2] Stephen Holden's review in the New York Times was almost entirely negative, calling the film "a leaden, skimpily plotted space-age Outward Bound adventure with vague allegorical aspirations that remain entirely unrealized."[3]
[edit] Notable aspects of the film
Red Planet was the only film from director Antony Hoffman.
Red Planet was the second film to be released in 2000 about a manned voyage to Mars, the other being Brian De Palma's Mission to Mars starring Gary Sinise and Tim Robbins.
The High Orbit Space Station, featured at the beginning of the film, if looked at closely, is an expansion on the International Space Station. The basic completed design of the ISS is featured on top of the main complex, giving the impression that the station had been expanded upon over the years. This is also another link between this film and Mission to Mars, which featured the World Space Station. That station was inspired by the ISS, except with a rotating torus on one of its Main Trusses.[citation needed]
[edit] Bloopers
Just before saying "I write code!" Burchenal says that he is a geneticist, exclaiming "G, A, T and P!" This is an inaccuracy, the four bases of DNA are GATC. DNA has a phosphodeoxyribose backbone. He also pronounces "genome" incorrectly. The omnivorous insects are twice referred to as Nematodes, which are roundworms, not insects.
[edit] Music
The music of Red Planet was composed by New Zealander Graeme Revell, with performances from French singer Emma Shapplin.
[edit] References
- ^ Red Planet (2000)
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes.com page for Red Planet
- ^ "Red Planet: Finding the Terra Not So Firma on Mars," Stephen Holden, New York Times, November 10, 2000
