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Scott Ventura >> Movie Commentary >> May 2001 >> Red Planet

Red Planet

Movie Commentary by Scott Ventura

Details

Scott's Rating:
2 / 5
Times Seen:
1
Viewing Date:
May 2001
IMDB Name:
Red Planet (2000)
Director:
Antony Hoffman
Keywords:
action, sci-fi, suspense
Made:
2000
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for sci-fi violence, brief nudity and language.

Dilution

Red Planet has a handful of interesting ideas, but doesn't provide an entertaining vehicle for them. There are glimpses of science and philosophy thrown in, but the movie focuses instead on tension between the characters and false crises. Most of these aren't sympathetic characters, so the battle is lost before it's begun. They kill off the best actor in the bunch at the first opportunity, but only after a solid minute of lines that are shamelessly copied from every other stock script. The movie's desparation to maintain interest is evident in the Carrie-Anne Moss shower scene. Why stop there? I can imagine a version in which she goes nude in the solitude of the ship. The other potential boredom- staver takes the form of a CGI robot that could clearly benefit from a reading of Isaac Asimov's I, Robot. What kind of robot is programmed with a survival instinct that surpasses its function of helping the good guys?

Nitpicking Spoilers!

Credit

It wouldn't be fair to slam the movie and then neglect the good bits. Most of the scenes with Carrie-Anne Moss were made watchable by her presence, and her good bits in particular. I liked a few of the gadgets, including the PDAs with rollaway screens. I was amazed that Santen didn't come back to life. He was thrown over the cliff, but we never actually saw him die. I thought they'd surely resurrect him at least once.

Other Opinions




Copyright 2001 by Scott Ventura. All rights reserved.