RED PLANET
Val Kilmer
Carrie-Anne Moss

Following the recent Hollywood tradition of two identically themed movies battling it out at the box office, this is the second trip to Mars at your local multiplex this year. While superior to Brian De Palma's disastrous Mission to Mars, this effort still falls well short of the standard needed for success.

In the year 2050 the population has poisoned the Earth's atmosphere to such an extent that the colonisation of Mars seems the only viable option to save mankind. An advance party, led by a tubby looking Val Kilmer, journeys to the planet to see whether terraforming experiments have been successful, but end up with more than they bargained for when their spaceship crashes and their robot companion decides to go a little crazy. Meanwhile, back in orbit Carrie Ann Moss races against time to get them back to the mothership.

This is Hollywood special effects driven nonsense at it's worst. While the majority of the effects and scenery are undeniably impressive, the film shows a complete lack of emotion towards its stereotyped characters, leaving us not really caring if they live or die. Whilst in the early stages the film does try to deal with issues such as faith versus science, these attempts are purely superficial and are soon forgotten in favour of a series of lame action sequences that completely fail to build up the required suspense.

It feels as if the writers and director have tried to cram in as many ideas and sci-fi clichés as possible, leaving insufficient space to explore any one element or character in depth. There is a constant recycling of ideas and themes from films such as Aliens and The Terminator, but with none of the style or originality that made these films classics. When the most entertaining aspect of the film was the fire alarm in the middle, you know you are in trouble. Perhaps with the requisite quantities of mind-altering substances the visuals could produce an enjoyable experience, but otherwise this is one to avoid.

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4/10 Jon Fathing and Anne Wiseman