Mission to Mars

So what did I do on this fine day? I went to sit in a theatre for two hours, of course...

Bill and I went to see the new Brian de Palma film, Mission to Mars. It's been compared to both 2001 and The Abyss, and the comparison to the latter seems more apt, since it's a rough ride against the challenges of a hostile environment with a hopeful message at the end.

The year is 2020, and the first manned mission to Mars is underway. But original mission commander Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise, who apparently enjoyed his tour in zero gee in Apollo 13) is not with the mission, due to his mental state following the wasting death os his wife some months earlier. Instead, his good friend Luc Goddard (Don Cheadle) leads the mission. While exploring the surface, the four astronauts find a giant mound which appears to be topped off with ice. They investigate in person, scanning it with radar, when a giant power surge burns out their equipment, and a giant whirlwind of rock attacks them, killing everyone but Luc. Luc manages to fire off a final message to Earth before he loses radio contact.

Woody Blake (Tim Robbins, the biggest name in the film turning out to be in a supporting role) leads a rescue mission to find out what happens, and Jim is along as the lander pilot, along with Woody's wife, and their friend Phil Ohlmeyer (Jerry O'Connell). We see some details of their life aboard the ship during the six-month flight, and then the story begins when a micrometeorite storm hits the ship. Despite their best efforts, their attempt to enter orbit ends in tragedy, but our heroes do finally make it to the surface, where they investigate what's left of the first mission, and find out what exactly that giant mound is.

Bill observed that this is apparently de Palma's first PG-rated film, but it is a bit grim in places as bad things happen to a few of the characters. While watching it, I thought that it seems to be a rule in Hollywood that every ten years or so we need to have a new movie depicting relatively realistic space travel and the dangers it involves. I'm never sure if these are supposed to be cautionary tales, or are a plot to hang the rest of the story on, or if the creators are just trying to make it an exciting ride. One thing's for sure: Films like this don't especially advance the public's knowledge of space travel beyond what we saw in 2001. On the other hand, no one's made a truly great film of this nature, either (though Apollo 13 is at least a no-nonsense film which does what it sets out to do).

The acting is fine but unremarkable; only Cheadle really stands out. The script often veers to just this side of the hammy, so Sinise and Robbins often seem to be at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. O'Connell, on the other hand, seems to have decided to just have fun with what he's given, which is probably a good choice since he's basically the fifth wheel in this film.

Other than the "danger in space" angle of the plot (which takes up about half the film), the story is pretty good, and might surprise fans of serious science fiction in that it basically handles its subject matter seriously. The crux of the story is something of a cross between James P. Hogan's Giants Trilogy and Allen Steele's Labyrinth of the Night, thankfully being more like the former than the latter: It involves the notion of life on Mars and what happened to it, and is a satisfactory payoff, if not an especially novel one. We end with Jim having supposedly found a new calling to replace the grief over his wife's death.

I do have my reservations about the film, mainly stemming from disappointment that it's not especially original and doesn't fulfill its potential. On the other hand, it's worth seeing for its fairly serious treatment of a science fictional subject matter.

Bill says there's another Mars-based film coming out later this year, and that James Cameron is directing a mini-series based on Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars. Could be an interesting year for near-future SF flicks.

Bill had organized the film outing yesterday morning, and apparently most people he asked already had plans, and everyone else must have decided to enjoy the day, since I'm the only one who showed up. Still, it was nice; Bill and I caught up on some chatting.

After the movie we each independently went to BookBuyers in Mountain View, and laughed when we saw that we'd each had the same idea. I also hit a comics shop on the way home and bought a few things since they were having a sale. (Saved myself about ten bucks, actually.)