Brian De Palma directs Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins and Connie Nielsen in this sci-fi adventure movie where the first astronauts to land on Mars suffer a tragedy and another crew is sent to rescue them.

Plodding and lacking atmosphere. This is not exactly the sexiest cast ever for a blockbuster and the dialogue is very meat and potatoes. De Palma gets away with a decent middle act as extended set piece where everything that can go wrong does go wrong during the approach to the planet. He also pleasingly makes it quite clear he’s happy to kill off anyone and everyone. It is the controversial first sequence of his Mission: Impossible all over again. Yet once we touchdown on the red planet, things go all diluted Close Encounters / 2001 / Contact and it really feels like an adaptation of a Disney theme park ride you might not bother waiting in line for. Adequate but uneven.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Marooned (1969)

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