ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

Well, I didn't love it, but there's nothing really bad I can say about it either. Certainly I couldn't have made a better movie, and it definitely has one of the better robot designs in the Totally Non-Human And Very Mobile class.

The fact that the robot goes a little nuts and becomes one more dangerous problem for astronaut Val Kilmer to face on the Red Planet seems kind of a waste. It wasn't really a villain with a an interesting evil nature to contemplate, it was just more like a computer running on Windows Vesta and doomed to fail from the get-go . . .

The plot is hellishly complex, involving the terraforming of Mars, a host of dormant Martian insects that wake up and eat the growing Earth algae (a bad thing), and then fart oxygen as a waste product (a good thing).

Damn near everything goes wrong, most of the characters die (another bad thing), and Carrie-Anne Moss stays in the orbiting spacecraft the whole time and never gets to wear tight shiny black outfits like in the Matrix (and very bad thing).

But the ending is science-minded, intelligent, and optimistic. If you haven't seen it, give it a try.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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This is actually a pretty good movie in some ways. I enjoyed it recently.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

Last year there was a discussion on the RPF about the robot. Someone who had worked on the movie said that, that was the second design. They started the movie with an actual robot, that was of a spider-like design. After the "Wild, Wild West" movie bombed, the studio panicked and killed the spider robot, because of the WWW's spider machine. So the movie went from an actual robot, to a CGI one.

David.

[alltare]

I wonder why the poster was produced as it was. The 3 actors' names are in the correct billing order (Val-Carrie-Tom), but their pictures, directly below the names, have been rotated 1 step to the right. At first I thought that this must be an oversight in one of Bud's PhotoShopping efforts, but not so- that's how all the official posters were printed.

[Bud Brewster]

[Gord Green]

Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore began feuding during production. According to reports, it all began when Kilmer got annoyed about a fancy exercise machine that Sizemore wanted shipped from England to the set in Australia.

Eventually the two hated each other so much, Kilmer would not come out of his trailer if Sizemore was on the set. Many of their scenes together were filmed over the shoulders of photo doubles. Kilmer reportedly refused to say Sizemore's character's name, saying instead "Hey, you!"

Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore got into a confrontation that escalated into them throwing weights at each other until Sizemore knocked out Kilmer with a punch to the chest. (At a crewmember's request, he avoided Kilmer's face).

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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Pow]

I've read several articles stating that Kilmer is a nightmare to deal with on movie sets.

[Bogmeister]

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Red Planet is kind of a strange one, one of two big budget sf films that year about the red planet (the other being Mission to Mars).

The strange thing about this one is that most of the astronauts here that go to the planet are clearly mentally unbalanced to some degree, and that's very weird considering that those who succeed as astronauts in our real world have to be the most level-headed people around.

The film is also divided between two locations for the entire film; on the surface of the planet with the crew and on the orbiting ship with the lone female astronaut (Carrie Anne-Moss). The story skips back and forth between the two locales, and this weakens the narrative flow.



As far as the crew on the planet, Val Kilmer is probably the least squirrely — which is to be expected, since he's the main lead. Terence Stamp is the eldest member and is therefore the most mature, but he's taken out of the equation early.

Tom Sizemore is always a bit 'off' no matter what role he plays.

Then we get to the real nutcases. Benjamin Bratt has many anger issues for some reason and is wound way too tight. The youngest member (Simon Baker) is some kind of repressed psychotic. How and why would these two be astronauts?

The characters were presented as this flawed for the dramatic plot turns, but it's very over the top. In any case, I didn't much care if any of these guys lived or died, except perhaps for Stamp.




The Threat turns out to be a robot, usually resembling a robotic dog. It also goes nuts and chases after the crew. I don't understand why this was made the central premise of a story about going to and checking out Mars.

The whole thing takes place around year 2050, when Earth is on the verge of dying. But I didn't hold out much hope for it all when this bunch is the best that our civilization sends to save us all.

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BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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It just occurred to me that the dramatic rescue of Matt Damon in The Martian when he launched himself into space and was rescued is similar to what Val Kilmer did in this move, and his dramatic rescue by Carrie Anne Moss.

In fact, I found this list of similarities on a website.

~ Relaunch into orbit using existing rocket that must be stripped down

~ Relaunch causes front of vehicle to be exposed

~ Relaunch fainting

~ Retrieval in orbit using tether by lead commander

The same site adds this item as an update later.

~ I forgot that they both also feature the main orbiter ship venting air, causing orbit trajectory changes.
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_________________ Red Planet (2000) trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)