Mission to Mars

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This article is about the film. For other uses (including real-life exploration of Mars), see Mission to Mars (disambiguation).
Mission to Mars
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian De Palma
Screenplay byJim Thomas
John Thomas
Graham Yost
Story byJim Thomas
John Thomas
Lowell Cannon
Based onWalt Disney's Mission to Mars
Produced byTom Jacobson
Starring
CinematographyStephen H. Burum
Edited byPaul Hirsch
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • March 10, 2000 (2000-03-10)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[1]
Box office$111 million[1]

Mission to Mars is a 2000 American

Disney's theme park attraction of the same name.[2] The film depicts the first crewed Mars exploration mission going awry; American astronaut Jim McConnell (Gary Sinise) helps to coordinate a rescue mission for a colleague. Principal support actors were Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell, and Kim Delaney
.

Plot

In 2020, the Mars I mission launches for planet

a large humanoid face
.

The event creates an electromagnetic pulse the space station observes, after which it receives a distress message from Luke. Realizing Luke could not have left because the pulse would have damaged the computer system of the Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) they repurpose the Mars II mission into a rescue.

Months later, as Mars Rescue--consisting of Commander Woody Blake, his wife Terri Fisher, recent

widower Jim McConnell, and technician Phil Ohlmyer-- nears Mars orbit, they discover that all satellite imagery of the formation area is covered with static. Micrometeoroids
breach the ship, causing damage to the external fuel lines and resulting in the engines exploding. With the destroyed Mars II out of control, the crew is forced to abandon ship and travel in their spacesuits to the Resupply Module in a nearby orbit over Mars. Woody launches himself at the module and manages to attach a tether to it, but loses his grip and begins descending into the Martian atmosphere. Terri attempts to rescue Woody, but knowing she would run out of fuel before reaching him, Woody removes his helmet, killing himself to save her.

The survivors arrive on the Martian surface, and begin repairing the ERV. They find Luke living in a greenhouse; he shows them pictures of the face, and reveals that the pulses in the low sound they heard represented a 3D model of human-like DNA, but missing a pair of chromosomes. Jim determines they must complete the sequence to pass a test, and they send a rover to broadcast the completed signal via radar. Following the transmission, an opening appears in the side of the structure. With a massive dust storm approaching Jim, Terri, and Luke head to the formation, while Phil stays to finish repairing the ERV. Phil is ordered to launch, with or without them, before the storm hits.

The three astronauts enter the opening, which seals behind them. A three-dimensional projection of the solar system depicts the planet Mars, covered with water, being struck by a large asteroid and rendered uninhabitable. A projection of a humanoid Martian lifeform reveals that the native Martians evacuated the planet in spaceships, one of which was sent to seed Earth with DNA, intending to create life that could one day land on Mars and be recognized as descendants. An invitation is offered for one of their group to follow the Martians to their new home. Jim accepts the invitation, bidding farewell to Terri and Luke, and is sealed inside a small capsule. Terri and Luke race back to the ERV and arrive just as Phil is about to take off. They barely escape the dust storm into space as Jim's capsule is launched from the crumbling formation and flies past them toward the Martians' home.

Cast

Filming

The film was shot primarily on location in

Vancouver, British Columbia; Jordan; and the Canary Islands.[3] Extensive special effects surrounding certain aspects of the film such as the NASA spacecraft and Martian vortex, were created by a number of digital effects companies including ILM, Dream Quest Images, Tippett Studio, CIS Hollywood, and Trans FX.[3] Between visuals, miniatures, and animation, over 400 technicians were directly involved in the production aspects of the special effects.[3]

According to the director in the 2015 documentary film about his career, De Palma was brought on board after the previous director walked away due to concerns over the lack of additional money for the budget. De Palma indicated that the film needed additional funds and that much of the budget went into the CGI for the film. When De Palma was hired the script had already been written and the film cast.[4]

Soundtrack

Mission to Mars: Original Score
Film score by
Ennio Morricone
ReleasedMarch 14, 2000
GenreOrchestral
Length62:11
LabelHollywood

The original score for Mission to Mars, was released by the Hollywood Records music label on March 14, 2000. The score for the film was composed by Ennio Morricone and performed by the New York Philharmonic. Suzana Peric and Nick Meyers edited the film's music.[3]

Reception

Release

The film, produced by

Spyglass Entertainment in selected European territories.[5] Mission to Mars explores astronomy, extraterrestrial life, and space exploration.[6] Despite the fact that the film employed the use of numerous extensive special effects, it failed to garner any award nominations from mainstream motion picture organizations for its production merits. On March 14, 2000, the original film score was released by the Hollywood Records label. It was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by Italian composer Ennio Morricone
.

Critical response

Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received mainly negative reviews.

Golden Raspberry Award for Brian De Palma in the category of 'Worst Director', where he lost to Roger Christian for Battlefield Earth.[9] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C−" on scale of A to F.[10] On the Taste of Cinema website, David Harkin felt that Mission to Mars was an "enjoyable slice of sci-fi, with [director De Palma's] trademark mix of stylish camera movements and visual flourishes".[11]

The film's reception among French-language critics was markedly different in positive fashion.

Cahiers du cinéma devoted several articles to De Palma and Mission to Mars at the time of its release, and placed it as #4 in their list of the 10 best films of 2000.[13] The film was screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[14]

Sinise and Robbins, a couple of awfully good actors, are asked to speak some awfully clunky lines. When Robbins says, "OK, we're ready to light this candle" before ignition, it sounds like a parody of astronaut lingo.

—Bob Graham, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle[15]

Mark Halverson, writing in

2001, by a long shot, but for 2000, it'll do nicely".[19] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, added to the positive sentiment by saying "Here and there an inspired shot makes the film come alive, and at least three of its sequences had me positioned well on the edge of my seat."[20]

Writing for

ReelViews, called the film "Ineptly directed, badly acted, and scripted with an eye towards stupidity and incoherence, the film is worthwhile only to those who are in desperate need of a nap. And, as is often the case when a big budget, high profile motion picture self-destructs, this one does so in spectacular fashion."[22] Describing a mixed opinion, J. Hoberman of The Village Voice said the film encompassed "a touchy-feely esprit that's predicated on equal parts Buck Rogers bravado and backyard barbecue, the whole burnt burger drenched in Ennio Morricone's elegiac western-style score".[23]

Unfortunately, the filmmakers' imagination flags in the closing sequences; the movie's final reel looks like a high-tech museum exhibit entitled '"2001: A Space Odyssey" for Dummies'.

—Margaret A. McGurk, writing for The Cincinnati Enquirer[24]

holographic sequence detailing the evolutionary link between Earth and Mars is staggeringly well staged."[25] However, he ultimately came to the conclusion that there wasn't "an original moment in the entire movie, and the score is so repetitive that it could have been downloaded directly from EnnioMorricone.com."[25] Similarly, Todd McCarthy wrote in Variety that the film's "dramatic package that it arrives in is so flimsy, unconvincing and poorly wrought that it's impossible to be swept away by the illustrated version of creationism on offer." He did note "Pictorially, the film is smooth and pristine looking. De Palma and his frequent cinematographer Stephen H. Burum go for their patented swooping and twisting camera moves whenever possible, and there are some very nice ones onboard the recovery ship."[26] Lisa Schwarzbaum writing for Entertainment Weekly deduced that "Mission to Mars wants us to think about lofty things: the bravery of explorers, the ingenuity of our nation's space program, the humility required to comprehend the possibility that we earthlings are not the be-all and end-all of creation. But De Palma's film is too embarrassed, too jittery and self-conscious to hush up and pay attention."[27]

Box office

The film premiered in cinemas on March 10, 2000, in wide release throughout the U.S. During its opening weekend, the film opened in first place grossing $22,855,247 in business showing at 3,054 locations.[1] The film The Ninth Gate came in second place during that weekend grossing $6,622,518.[28] The film's revenue dropped by 50% in its second week of release, earning $11,385,709. For that particular weekend, the film fell to second place screening in 3,060 theaters. Erin Brockovich unseated Mission to Mars to open in first place grossing $28,138,465 in box office revenue.[29] During its final weekend in release, it opened in a distant 72nd place with $17,467 in revenue.[30] The film went on to top out domestically at $60,883,407 in total ticket sales through an 18-week theatrical run.[1] The film took in an additional $50,100,000 in business through international release to top out at a combined $110,983,407 in gross revenue.[1] The film ranked 41st at the box office for 2000.[31]

Home media

Mission on Mars was released on VHS and DVD on September 12, 2000. The film was later released on Blu-ray in France on September 22, 2009.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Mission to Mars". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  2. ^ "Mission to Mars: The Ride That Inspired the Movie That Inspired the Ride". Oh My Disney. Disney. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  3. ^ a b c d "Mission to Mars (2000)". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  4. ^ "De Palma" 2015 documentary film
  5. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  6. ^ Brian De Palma. (2000). Mission to Mars [Motion picture]. United States: Touchstone Pictures.
  7. ^ a b Mission to Mars. Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  8. ^ Mission to Mars (2000). Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  9. Golden Raspberry Award. Archived from the original
    on 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  10. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  11. ^ "10 Great Sci-fi Film Classics You Probably Haven't Seen". 23 November 2021.
  12. ISBN 978-0-292-71345-1
    .
  13. ^ Top Ten Lists: 1951-2009 Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine. Cahiers du Cinéma. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  14. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Mission to Mars". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  15. ^ a b Graham, Bob (10 March 2000). Spaced Out `Mission to Mars' gets lost in mystical mumbo jumbo. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  16. Sacramento News & Review
    . Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  17. ^ Ebert, Roger (10 March 2000). Mission to Mars. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  18. NY Daily News
    . Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  19. ^ Corliss, Richard (10 March 2000). Mission to Mars. TIME. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  20. ^ Arnold, William (10 March 2000). Mission to Mars. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  21. ^ Savlov, Marc (10 March 2000). Mission to Mars. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  22. ReelViews
    . Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  23. ^ Hoberman, J. (14 March 2000). Missions Impossible. The Village Voice. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  24. ^ McGurk, Margaret (14 March 2000). Mars looks familiar next to nothing Archived 2012-10-07 at the Wayback Machine. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  25. ^ a b Mitchell, Elvis, (10 March 2000). Small Step for Man, but a Big Whoop for Martians. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  26. ^ McCarthy, Todd (9 March 2000). Mission to Mars. Variety. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  27. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (17 March 2000). Mission to Mars. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  28. ^ "March 10–12, 2000 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  29. ^ "March 17–19, 2000 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  30. ^ "July 14–16, 2000 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  31. ^ "2000 Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  32. ^ "Mission to Mars Blu-ray" – via www.blu-ray.com.

Bibliography

External links

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