Mission to Mars is a 2000 science fiction movie directed by Brian de Palma about a rescue mission to Mars following a disaster during the first manned voyage to the planet. The film was partially inspired by the Disney Attraction of the same name.
Plot
In the year 2020, a mission is launched whose goal is to carry humans to Mars for the first time. The mission's four crew members, upon arriving on the planet, discover a large mountain in their vicinity, with something sticking out of the rubble. After transmitting their find back to the command center on the World Space Station, they head for the site to try and learn more. When they arrive at the formation, they notice a strange sound, which they assume to be interference from their Mars Rover. While attempting to scan the formation with radar, a large vortex, similar to a dust storm, forms around the structure. It envelops and kills two of the mission's crew by tearing them apart, while a third member is killed when a large rock breaks her faceplate, exposing her to the Martian atmosphere.
After the vortex has passed, the camera zooms out to show that the "mountain" was actually a large humanoid face. Only the mission's commander, Luke Graham (Don Cheadle), survives. The formation also emits an extremely powerful EMP, which irreparably damages much of the electronic equipment on the spacecraft. Despite the damage, Graham manages to upload one transmission to the REMO (REsupply MOdule) orbiting Mars.
After receiving Commander Graham's garbled message relaying his crew members' deaths, the Earth command center hastily dispatches another Mars mission. The crew of this new mission includes Commander Woodrow "Woody" Blake (Tim Robbins); Co-Commander Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise); and mission specialists Terri Fisher (Connie Nielsen) and Phil Ohlmyer (Jerry O'Connell). The goal of the mission is to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors. As the ship is being prepared for its orbital insertion around the red planet, a swarm of micrometeorites collides with the ship and compromises the ship's hull, causing an atmosphere leak. The crew works quickly to repair the holes.
Unbeknownst to the crew, the fuel tanks were also damaged, and when they ignite the main engines to slow and enter Mars' orbit, the resulting fuel explosion destroys the engines. They quickly put on pressure suits and abandon the ship, hoping to maneuver their way to the REMO. Circumstances are unfavorable though as the REMO is moving more quickly (in a slightly lower orbit) than the tethered astronauts. Woody concludes the only hope of a successful rendezvous with the REMO is for him to launch himself directly at it using the remainder of his jet pack fuel carrying a line from the others. He successfully attaches this to the REMO, but is unable to stop himself as he does, and floats helplessly away toward the planet where he would most certainly die upon reentry. Terri, wanting to save him, decides to cut her line to rescue her husband. Woody, not wanting Terri to take the chance of dying as well in her rescue attempt, sacrifices himself before it's too late for her to turn back around by taking off his helmet and depressurizes. Devastated, but not wanting her husband to have died in vain, she returns to her crew mates and continues the mission.
When the remaining crew arrive on the red planet they find Graham, the captain of the first team, still alive. He has built a greenhouse and has been living on its produce, including oxygen. He tells the rescuers about his crew's find, and informs them that the formation found was the Face on Mars. He had spent the time alone attempting to learn the secrets of the mysterious structure. He shows the rescue team his most significant clue: a recording of the noise heard in the area of the formation. After several months of analysis he had found that the sound was a map of human DNA in XYZ coordinates.
Together they discover that the mysterious signals are actually a prompt, requiring a return radio signal to input of one missing pair of chromosomes which would complete human DNA. Knowing the completing sequence, but worried about a repeat of the EMP, the crew dispatches a robot to send the completed signal, at which time an opening appears in the side of the structure. Curious, they venture inside, and are soon sealed in, discovering Earth-like atmospheric conditions. They find a large dark room, and once they step inside, a three-dimensional projection of the solar system appears.
The trio see the planet Mars when it was covered with water being hit by a large asteroid. Shortly after, a tall, feminine humanoid -a Martian- appears. It shows the group that the Martians evacuated their planet in spaceships. One ship stayed behind, and dispatched elementary life forms of their own to the nearby planet Earth, which at the time of the Martian evacuation, contained no life forms. Over the billions of years following this "seed-scattering" (see panspermia), these life forms eventually became the humans who would one day land on Mars and be recognized as descendants of that ancient Martian experiment.
As the image of the Martian fades away, an invitation is offered for one of the astronauts to follow the Martians to one of their new home planets. Jim McConnell decides to go, and after their farewells, the rest of the surviving crew head back to Earth. Jim arrives in a room which fills up with water. He then discovers that he can breathe in it. As the remaining astronauts are heading toward Earth, they watch in curiosity as Jim, inside a Martian craft, races away at speeds hundreds of times faster than their ship.
Cast
Box office
- Opening weekend U.S. gross: $22,855,247
- U.S. box office gross: $60,883,407
- Non-domestic box office gross: $50,100,000
- Total Worldwide box office gross: $110,983,407[2]
Critical response
The film received mostly negative reviews from American critics, earning a 24% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.[3] The film's reception among French-language critics was markedly different.[4] Film journal Cahiers du cinéma devoted several articles to DePalma and Mission to Mars at the time of its release, and gave it the #4 spot in their list of the 10 best films of 2000.[5]
The film was screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[6]
Awards and nominations
2000 Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)
- Nominated - Worst Director — Brian De Palma
See also
References
External links
