Cool News
Quint has a pleasant view of MISSION TO MARS
Well Geeks, AICN very own Quint saw MISSION TO MARS and disagrees with the bulk of reviews that have come in to Geek Headquarters the last couple of days, maybe I should have gone after all...
Ahoy Father Geek... Chief... ladies and gentlemen. Everybody's favorite
crusty seaman back once more, this time with yet another look of Mission To
Mars.
Going into the flick last night I didn't expect to review it. I had seen all
the reports on various screenings of the film up on the site and I figured
it'd be too much to add yet another. But, after seeing the movie and actually
reading the most recent reviews I felt compelled to write something up for
you, Constant Readers. To give some of you hope.
I actually liked this movie quite a bit. It'll unfortunately get burned a lot
with comparisons to it's visual counterpart, 2001, a vastly superior film.
But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
A little more than a year ago, I had stumbled across a script at the main
camp site in the Episode 1 line. As I recall, Harry and Father Geek were
still sleeping the late night away in their tent and I was bored silly. Harry
had brought along "reading material" which equaled a nice sized stack of
scripts. The top one caught my eye, not because of the name of the movie, but
of the writer. It was Mission To Mars by Ted Tally. Ted Tally, for those who
don't know, was the man who was able to craft one of the best book to screen
adaptations in recent years with Silence of the Lambs. So, being the sneaky,
crusty seaman that I am, I dug into the script.
I have been eager to see the movie ever since. The script had it's problems,
but I was sure the draft I read was a very early one. The dialogue was off,
in desperate need of a rewrite, some of the situations didn't work, but it
was a fun premise with some very unexpected twists and turns. Given a little
time and a snip here or there and it'd be ready to knock audiences down with
pure coolness.
Flashforward to last night, I was sitting in the Metropolitan theater (which
oddly enough was the same theater we were camping out at where I first read
the script) awaiting the glorious eye-candy.
The movie starts off like very few seem to nowadays... setting up characters.
I think a lot of people are going to be turned off by the fact that this
movie spends time with its characters, develops them, at least tries to make
them into real people. I love it when a movie can successfully do that. Look
at Jaws, for example. It takes its time with its characters, so when they are
put into a dangerous situation, you actually care and are rooting for them to
win, not the shark, unlike the fun slasher flicks of the '80s where you end
up rooting for the Freddy or Jason.
The problem with Mission to Mars is it never really got what was wrong in the
script righted before shooting. Some of the dialogue still seems very forced.
The writers felt compelled to tell the audience instead of show us. That and
the fact that it had a bad score were the two things that kept me from loving
this film. I had no problem with the character moments, like when Tim Robbins
and wife dance in zero gravity. You have to care for these people if you're
going to feel anything when they are put in danger. I love those extra scenes
of moments between people that give the characters flesh.
One of my favorite scenes and the one I think the audiences are going to walk
away with the most is a scene in which the crew must abandon ship (not to
mention the awesome way the ship is damaged enough to need abandoning) and
are just floating out in space. I'm not going to give away anything, but that
whole scene is amazing.
Based on what I witnessed last night and what I've been reading on the site
today, this movie is going to split the audiences in two. Last night when the
movie ended about 40% of the audience clapped and cheered and about 40% booed
and hissed. The rest of the audience remained silent. There were a few
walkouts, also. After the movie, as I was walking past groups of people
talking about the movie, I heard everything from "That movie rocked!" to
"That was the worst movie I have ever seen!"
Which side will you be on? I have no idea. I hope you like it, because
afterall, that's what movies are there for. The only thing I can say for sure
is that I liked it. I expect to hear shit about it in talkback, but it's my
honest opinion. I urge you to see it, like I do for every movie that comes
out, for you shouldn't take somebody else's word for it.
That about wraps it up for me. I'll leave with a word on one of the trailers
which was played before the movie, the second Dinosaur trailer. With the
noticeable exception of the "love monkey" line, which has put up a red
"Caution" flag in my mind, it looks amazing. I can't wait.
Farewell and adieu you fair geeky readers....
-Quint
aicnquint@aol.com
-
+ Expand All
-
I'm still going to wait for video.
-
I'm going to wait for this to come out as the TBS movie of the week before I watch it. 10 of my friends saw it a couple weeks ago and said it was the worst movie they had ever seen, and they watched Chairman of the Board starring Carrot Top the night before.
-
i've read bad reviews about this one and i've read good ones too. and now i'm all confused and exited, exited and confused(just like oscar in armageddon) please no more. let's have some other scoops to read and movies to talk about and to wait for. peace.A
-
Methinks that title goes to "Whoa".Good Lord!!!I still get blinding pains of anger when I think about those friggin Disney suits thinking that classic "Matrix" line can be used in any movie!!!Argh...lemme clear this up:"Whoa" can be used when a hero sees something amazing,like some Joe Shmo leaping at incredible heights through the air.Then,the audience can relate,and can understand how something unusual like that can induce a 'Whoa"."Whoa"CAN NOT be used when the apocalypse is coming!!I mean,this is the comet that will wipe out 90%of the Earth's life,and will eventually kill of all dinosaurs!!!The friggin dinosaur says "Whoa"!!!!Then,the audience chuckles and thinks the hero is an idiot,and wants to leave and see something that can actually be SMART.I mean,the dinosaur didn't even say it right!He sounded like he followed that "Whoa"with a "Man,I am so f@#$in' stoned"!!!!Sigh.And if Disney releases one more"I was adopted by some other species and now I'm feelin' blue"movie,I'm gonna go over there and personally rip Eisner a new poop chute.YES,I said poop chute.I'm unhappy.And YES,I know this is a "M2M" board,but it's first,and people will read this,so if I want to be heard I have to go with the first board.So there!!!This has been a Mount a Chainsaw on My Bloody Stump Where I Amputated My Evil Right Hand Moment with User ID Indeed!
-
I am sorry for putting spoilers in my previous talkbacks. I thought it was stuff already generally know and apologize. As for this review - I agree, this movie starts out good introducing the characters. But after the introduction, we have to start to know them better, and this is where the script fails utterly. All their scenes are contrived and jumbled together, in a desperate attempt to get the audience to care for these people. They just didn't work, and that's the bottom line. I also agree about the space walk sequence - the one good part of the flick. Unfortunately, one sequence a good flick does not make. Again, this is just my opinion, but I have a feeling that next weekend a lot of people are going to agree with me.
-
But coming from Brian DePalma, it was HIS worst movie I've ever seen. There is NOTHING, I repeat, N-O-T-H-I-N-G remotely resembling DePalma other than name. I felt ripped off. That was the MISSION of this film. To rip off as many movies as possible. From the MUMMY(mars landscape), to the ABYSS(trapped and the twister moster), to 2001 (blatant rip offs of the space ship), to SPHERE (if they could forget, why can't i), hell.. even the end scene looked like a different version of FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR (down to the model of the ship even.) Bad dialogue, bad acting, bad script, bad directing. DePalma must have been sleep walking thru this film. What a piece of shit. 90% of the audience at the El Capitan press screening of this horrid piece of trash laughed thru the whole movie because it was ridiculous. No wonder it went thru 3 press screenings that weekend. Snake Eyes was a lot better than this stink-o-rama. Sinese can't even hide his laughter from the garbage he's given to recite, that's why he's smirking thru the whole movie. The tear from the alien and the 'past the point of no return' gauge on the space suit just took the cake. Ugh.. utter crap filled movie, watch it drop off the charts. Just remember... Warner Bros. released Sphere during this time of the year, in February, so it could be forgotten. They needed to take it off the shelf to record the loss and send it to video as fast as it could. The same will most likely happen to this movie.
-
While I haven't seen M2M yet (though I certainly will), I am not encourage by either the reviews on this site or the TV ads. Though the ads make it clear that the film will be visually stunning, I am more than a little concerned by the comment from Gary Sinise's character that "that DNA looks human." At any level below that of multiple chromosomes, DNA looks like DNA! It really bugs me when an SF film (especially when set in the very near future) can't get the science right.
-
I mean first Snake Eyes and now this? Is he okay? Is he on heroin or something? What happened?
-
Thanks for reviewing the film - after all theose reviews from either PR people working on behalf of the film, or obviously axe-grinding foes of Brian Depalma, it is nice to finally read a review from somebody I trust. I can now feel comfortable knowing that the movie might actually be worth seeing! Hear's hoping!
-
Well, it does!
-
you said just what I was thinking, DePalma has a way of doing that, making a movie so bad it's good...but then again I'm a guy who actually owns Bonfire of the vanities...who actually bought it...with money...because frankly I love Brian DePalma...I'll be there opening day, I'm not sure if I'll like it, but i'll be there to enjoy it...does that make any sense...god I don't think so..ok this is the last time I drink coors light before I start reading AICN...I start making comments like I'm not sure I'll like it but i"ll enjoy it...shoot me now...Please
-
We all know those camp classics that were awful when released, but have found a fan base and have come to be appreciated since then. THIS WILL NOT BE ONE OF THOSE FILMS. This movie is so bad it is awful. You couldn't even get into it as a cheesy camp flick because it tried to take itself so damn seriously. All the actors in this film should be ashamed of themselves. It was a purely "for the money" venture, but the last laugh is on them because when this thing drops from the charts Hollywood will see they can't open a picture. I love Don Cheadle, and hope he avoids crap like this in the future. Gary Sinise - what the hell happened to you? Snake Eyes, Reindeer Games, and now this turkey? I loved your "Of Mice and Men" and you were good as Lt. Dan. Tim Robbins - I can't even begin to go into the level of slumming you were obviously doing for this picture. Stick to your socially conscious directorial efforts - at least those are worthwhile and something I would not mind spending my money on. Or team back up with Martin Lawrence - at least you were acting in that film. UGGGH!!! How do these movies get made? It makes me so mad!
-
Hi all, just a note.....I fully expect that this will not be the greatest movie made, i suspect it will entertain, even educate a bit, perhaps open a few minds to the possibility that life did exist elsewhere, possibly even originate elsewhere. That aside, i flat out want to enjoy this flick. I cranked through Robinson's mars trilogy and enjoyed nearly every page of it. I'd like to see another take on the mars exploration story. Yes the ads make this look like a sci-fi extravaganza, but you do also get the 2001 feel. I don't know what the "monolith" of this film is going to be yet....i look forward to finding out. Good film...bad film....whatever, i'm gonna see it with an open mind....enjoy the ride for what it is worth....if the safety bar comes up at the end i'm not eager to get back in line....so what. -
Just kidding Quint. Just didn't want you to be disappointed that you didn't hear shit about it in talkback. Not that there's much risk you wouldn't eventually hear it here. But just in case. I've got you covered. Just want to make sure you feel loved.
-
...it's a "Keanu" line; no one can do it better than he can. That's why he does it in nearly every movie he's in. Don't you think 'Dracula' would have been great if Keanu said "Whoa!" when he saw Drac?
-
Brotha, I couldn't have said it better myself...
-
Cripster, it gets even worse. If anyone has ever even taken high school biology, they will be stupified... Doesn't anyone ever fact-check or consult some actual scienticians before putting what's in print to the screen. Does no one associated with the film know what chromosomes are? Unbelievable. And Devil's Halo is right... rip offs galore. It's most like The Abyss in its one-disaster-after-another style, but none is particularly gripping. The Flight of the Navigator ship is a good call, but did you notice that when the ship takes off the symbol on it's "top" is the Star Wars Rebel Alliance logo? Looked like it to me, but I was only half paying attention by then.
-
Mar 08, 2000 3:52:40 AM CST
Sounds like DePalma's not only ripped off 2001, but SOLARIS too
by mickey finn
Hmm. The guy who said
-
Mar 08, 2000 6:56:04 AM CST
All I can say is to hell with this danceing in zero G shit
by mckenziefrenzy
and how about some raunchy Zero G sex sceens, the likes of which we have been witness to in great books by Authours such as Ian M Banks, Frederic Phol and Peter F Hamilton. You'd have to use harneses, and perhaps the couples might need to strap each other together with gian rubber-bands, but believe me, seeing those beads of sweat fly off and collect together mid air, hearing those surprised giggles as the couple engaged in coitos colide with the star-filled window then bounce off leaving a moist butt-cheek impresion on the glass, well lets just say it'd be almost too much for this fan boy.
-
No... No... don't let the score be bad. Ennio Morricone writes the best scores around... (Dollars Trilogy, The Mission, Legend of 1900). The movie may suck but I can't see anything bad from the score.
-
Blow-out is excellent! A totally overlooked De Palma film, and one of Travolta's all-time best. Glad to see someone else enjoys it too.
-
Walking out of a movie and walking out on somebody during a conversation are TWO totally different animals! I've walked out of movies before but I would never ask for my money back. The way I see it, I've already paid for the movie and if the only thing I can think of during the movie is that I'd much rather be jamming red hot needles in my eyes than sitting in this movie theatre, then I'll walk out. I also haven't walked out of any movies that had good special effects (although ID4 was a close call!). It looks as though there will be some really interesting visuals in M2M and I'm kind of looking forward to seeing it.
-
I have never walked out on a movie in my entire life, but I have no problem with other people doing it. I can think of a handful I should have, but I stuck them out to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt. And don't tell any of us not to ask for our money back...$10 is a lot of money, and if people aren't satisfied, they should get their money back (as long as the movie hasn't been running for over a half hour). Asking for your money back is the only true way to stick these piece of shit movie studios where it hurts. If they make no money, they stop making shit and can start earning their dollars. Maybe you have the luxury of spending $10 on whatever you want, but many people don't, and should not have to feel like shit after walking out of a theater knowing they wasted their hard earned money. *End of rant*
-
I have only walked out on two movies ever, (Who's Harry Crumb?, and Drop Dead Fred) This is just another case of "Trailer Burn" you know? Show them the only cool parts in the entire film and slap on that voice-over dude that seems to be in every goddamn trailer I have ever seen saying "IN A WORLD..." But we all know that by now, and have been burned enough to know better. The biggest problem with M2M was not that it sucked, but that it was just "Ok" and the Sales and Marketing (S&M...works on many levels...) people portray it as the SECOND COMING. Ok. I'll shut up now.
-
I've only been dragged out of a movie before and that was "Howard the Duck." My grandparents thought it was a kid's movie and when Howard started spouting the F-word, well...they asked to trade-in our tickets for "Flight of the Navigator."***Going to a movie is like playing a video game in an arcade, skiing, or walking out in traffic...it's at YOUR OWN RISK. If the movie sucks and you walk out, as long as you don't make a bunch of noise or block my view I think it's your decision and your loss if the movie gets better (or so bad it's good). Asking for your money back is pushing it. You can complain you didn't know what it was when you went in, but that's what critics are for! Now, if the theatre itself is at fault (bad projection, sound, gum on your seat) then by all means get your money back! Or ask for a ticket switch and go to the better movie, then you're putting your money into something that deserves it.
-
Yeah , but since when isn't he ? Brian DePalma literally made a career outof ripping out of other people's work , so when M2M came out looking like 2001 , I wasn't surprised.... Here's a body of his works : Dressed To Kill ( a 'psycho' remake ) , Carrie ( ok , maybe this is original ) , Mission: Impossible ( it's a remake !!!! ) , Snake-Eyes ( Length of movie the same for characters & audience ? Try 'Nick of Time' , or Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rope' ) .
-
DePalma's made one good movie his whole career-THE UNTOUCHABLES(kind of like Costner)
Anyone who still has any hope for this movie is dumber than...Jack Valenti. Well, maybe not *that* dumb. -
*ahem* Today I was supposed to see a free advanced screening of "Mission to Mars" at San Diego State University. Well, apparently there was a fuse missing in the projection booth area and the screening was cancelled after an hour long attempt to rectify the situation. I think I know why that fuse was missing. I have come to believe that director Brian De Palma himself sabatoged the screening so people wouldn't see the steaming plate of monkey excrement called "Mission to Mars". He went into the booth earlier today, removed the fuse, then left before the film was to be viewed by the drunk swine of SDSU. By not allowing anyone here to see it, De Palma hopes to have the jaded college student demographic actually pay to go see "Mission to Mars" this Friday. I for one will avoid the theater and simply sit in my room and watch the American cinematic classic called "Gymkata"! Mr. Sartre, over and out and pondering the absurdity of life...
-
Ok, I'm a student at NorthWestern, home of the B-Fest that was written up here not too long ago. We just had our sneak preview, and on the walk back to our dorms, all we were doing was trying to decide if this was an intentional self-parody or not. I agree with an above post, anyone with a high school level education will have incredible problems watching this movie. It was clearly aimed at a sub-college, possibly even sub-high school demographic. Note the PG rating. The dialogue was absurd, and anything even remotely technical was explained, to the point of adding a flashback to earlier in the movie right before Gary Sinese has an idea--Just in case we didn't get it. This is not a thinking man's movie.
On the other hand, the audience laughed uproariously throughout most of the movie. Scenes meant to be white-knuckle-intense are just hilarious. And while the debate is still raging outside my door as to if this is really a comedy, I'm putting my money on not. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy it though. I've been expecting something like this ever since the trailer; "That DNA looks human!" has been my favorite line since the first time I saw it on tv. I enjoyed myself tonight, but there is no way I'd ever pay money to see this film.
Finally, the special effects were indeed incredible. Aside from a few scenes which I believe were supposed to look fake (a home video for those who have seen the movie) and a few spacewalk moments where things just didn't look right, this was some quality eye-candy.
That's my two cents. -
I thought the Love Monkey line was great! But the whole transplanted-animal-raised-by-other-animals long ago obtained the overdone rating. At least this'll look pretty. I'm done now, really.
-
I personally do not believe in walking out of a film, but I do have my own version. If I watch a film I love, like, or even find ok, I will stay to watch the credits to the end. If I dislike a film, I walk out the moment the end credits start to roll. This last year there were only two movies that I did that to: Romance and Fight Club. Of course, I am a fan of MST3K. If I can make it throught the movies they show, I doubt there would be a film (at least one that I would pay to see) that I could not stand to watch till the end.
As an additional note regarding another post, Solaris is a great film. See it if you can. I hope they release it to DVD soon and give it better subtitles. -
Mr. Sartre...how the hell do you know that the film was a "steaming plate of monkey excrement" if you never even SAW the film?? If I'm wrong and you did in fact see it, accept my apologies in advance. But if not, who are you to condemn a film of which you have yet to see? I'm almost sure that "Wild Wild West" is the biggest piece of dripping diarrhea ever but I will never tell anyone that it IS because I have not seen it, nor do I plan on seeing it.
As far as walking out on a film, go ahead if you wanna. If you aren't enjoying yourself, relieve the pain any way you can. I wish more people left in fact. When I saw the Thin Red Line, these black guys in a couple of rows ahead were CONSTANTLY shouting stupid ass comments and laughing aloud at serious moments. It KILLED my enjoyment of the film. Luckily, a moment's courage on my friend's part (something to the likes of "shut the fuck up") caused the mother fuckers to leave. If you hate the film, do NOT sit there and ridicule it (aloud at least). Instead, shut the fuck up, get the fuck up, and get the fuck out. Allow someone who DOES enjoy it to do just that. I have had too many instances where fucking morons have absolutely destroyed my film-going experience instead of doing something selfless such as leaving... And those are my thoughts... -
Got a look at it recently.
In a nutshell, if you can see it for free do. If you have to pay know it is only for the effects and only pay matinee. Don't pay full price. The story just isn't there.
No major performance breakthroughs, the effects are pretty nice, it's too long for what you get for it.
-
Holy crap! Just got back from the screening at SF State-- what the hell was that?! This is the biggest hack-job to excrete out of Hollywood since Supernova, and that was only a few WEEKS ago! I defy anyone who didn't like Pitch Black to see Mission To Mars and tell me this is better. Pitch Black was legendary filmmaking compared to this tripe. This movie was so cornball, so patronizing and ridiculous, I felt like I had to get out of a high-chair at the end of it. The film had everything I hate about Hollywood cash-outs: bad script, poor acting, over-the-top SFX, cheesy musical score, blatant product placement, false emotions, and a bumper crop of plot holes and devices. All the movie needed at the end was the main character to wink into the camera at the end and iris in. DePalma is now officially on my shitlist. Sorry, Brian, but you'll never make another good movie. Three strikes-- M:I, Snake Eyes, and now M2M-- and you're out. Everyone: Tell people you hate to see this movie now, before it gets booed out of the theaters. Thanks for your time.
-
I was also at the Mission to Mars Screening at Northwestern and I think that it's a horrible movie. But, it could have potential as a cult movie. A movie that looks so good, has such a stupid story, and has such a corny ending that it's virtually made to be a cult movie. For those who have seen the movie, imagine looking at some of the best looking scenes of the movie while HIGH. The acting was horrible and the audience laughed their asses off at almost every so-called dramatic scene. While it's not intentionally funny, it's a movie that viewed under the right circumstances could be campy fun.
-
Okay, I'll give it to you Sterfish, that M2M could conceivably be "campy fun," but ONLY on drugs could this thing actually be tolerable. It does make great MST3K fodder, almost intentionally so, The astronaut characters have supporting lines like "yeah" and then repeating each other. Only the sweet serenity of marijuana or alcohol could dull my pain during this ship wreck. It did have one saving grace: Jerry O'Connell. He plays a dork really well, and brightens up any movie he's cast in, no matter how much it sucks (like Scream 2 or Joe's Aparment).
-
True, Kraid... I should not pass judgment until I've seen the finished product which I'll probably be seeing Friday if a friend of mine can get me free movie passes. For all I know, it may not be a steaming plate of monkey excrement, but just a movie that's gotten bad pre-release press. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. But if it does turn out to be bad, I still hold true to my screening conspiracy theory. Mr. Sartre, over and out and pondering the absurdity of life...
-
"But do whatever you want I guess." Thanks so much. Of course we will, you arrogant dork. Get over your self-importance.
-
I saw M2M last night at the Alamo Draft House, which serves alcohol, and can say definitely that it is not better under the influence.
I like cheezy scores, but this one was almost annoying. And I fell confident that Jerry O'Connell's character in Stand By Me is more mature than his character in this film.
I'm not going to repeat all the bad comments this film has gotten, but they are all true. -
I can remember leaving certain films as fondly as viewing beloved ones. Why? Because I knew I'd done the right thing. Conan The Barbarian, Glengarry Glen Ross, I Love Trouble, Splitting Heirs...the knowledge that these steaming wads of goosegrease took no more of my time or life than I allowed them to fills me with pride. Your life is too important. Sorry, Gunray; there is a limit to human endurance. Waiting for a rotten film to get better is asking more of me as a film goer than a good film does. Anticipating a deus ex machina to redeem a turkey distracts from the filmgoing experience. As Oscar Brotman said, "If nothing happens by the end of the first reel, nothing's going to happen." Peace.
-
Eli Cross, I'm just going to hope and assume that as an intelligent person you listed the films you DIDN'T walk out of. Anyone who could leave Glengarry Glen Ross must have the attention span of a fruit bat.
-
I'm sorry, it is just all I see when I remember the movie. I saw M2M last Thursday, and I have to agree with you Quint, I was thoroughly entertained. I liked the beginning, and the characters, but I do agree the dialogue was a bit too explainatory. But Tim Robbins face when he takes off his helmet. I had to laugh, I know it was supposed to be a sad moment, but it was so damn funny (i was hardly the only one laughing in the theatre mind you). I see the 2001 thing, but come on people, give it a rest. Oh, and the alien. Why did they put in the alien? That was the cheesiest of the cheese that was indowed in the movie. Plus the fact it wasn't in the original screenplay. Besides that, about all the best and worst movie I've seen bullshit, let it go people. It was a movie, and it entertained me, that is what I paid for, actually I didn't pay for it but you catch my drift.
-
As I enjoyed a rare day off work because of the Mardi Gras holidays, I decided to go see MTM on Friday morning. Two hours later, as I drove away from the Palace theater, I was struck by the realization that those were two hours that I will never get back again. This movie sucked. It did NOT suck because of the "slow parts that were used to develop character." Those were OK. It sucked because it was cheesy. The CG alien scenes at the end made me wince. The score absolutely BIT ASS. How you can have a scene where the whole crew is about to die of depressurization and play that horrible music (if you see the movie, you'll hear it...) is beyond me. Everything is predictable, the pacing is terrible, and I was bored out of my skull, including during the supposedly cool scene where everyone is floating out in space. Do you want to know why 40% of the screening audience applauded? Because they were caught up in the hype of a great opportunity to see a big-budget movie. I'm telling you, EVERYONE walked out of this movie in a BAD MOOD. This included teens, Goths, sci-fi heads, the elderly. THIS MOVIE IS A TURKEY. There is one really cool death and everything else sucked. It will kick ass financially for 2 weeks and then tank as the word of mouth crushes it. Consider yourself warned.
-
To steal al line from a famous fat reviewer (no not you Hairy) "I really wanted to love this movie" and I really didn't love this movie at all. I wasn't the derivative factor from several other much better sci-fi movies, or even the music, but rather the dumbing-down of a movie with so much potential to try to get the "everybody-must-love-and-"get"-this-movie factor. Pandering to the lowest common denominator, much like Armageddon (talk of steaming piles of shit that looks like an over-the-top Coke commercial) M2M over-explained lots and pushed the "connection" theory way to far to the poorly rendered-tear shedding alien. I am not surprised that the alien was not to appear in the original screenp[lay, it wasn't necessary, and will always invite comparisons of "what they really look like" when that is best left to the individuals imagination. Also, much of the dialogue was forced and while not Ah-nald cheesy was pretty low. I truly enjoyed the opening scenes and the small interludes that built characters up, such as the dancing in zero-g and the home movie of the gather at McConnell's house, but what pissed me off was the time spent in the middle act just getting to Mars. The first scenes on Mars are visually stunning and wonderfully paced and shot, but much of the intermediate portion had nothing to do with the overall plot other than thin the cast with a very unsubtle attempt at yanking the heart-strings and fill up time with "money shots" like the four "walking" in space. I understand the need for action and conflict, but it would have been better in my mind to tie that into the "item" uncovered on Mars and the resulting revalations.
Just some thoughts. -
Sorry, Sundance, but the M2M score is the ABSOLUTE WORST I HAVE EVER HEARD!!! Worse than Princess Bride, worse than Queen's "Flash Gordon" (he'll save every one of us!), all I can say is YUCK! At times it is just annoying and out of place (the depressurization scene), but toward the end it gets downright pompous, absurd, and completely unforgiveable. Without a doubt the worst musical score I have ever heard.
-
it wasn't as bad as i expected, but that's the great thing about expecting a shitty movie. almost anything will please. the product placement was ridiculous, the dr pepper pouch being sublimely silly. and the score during the decompression scene truly has to be heard to be believed. but the worst thing about it was this retarded hump of a 30 year old virgin that sat behind me. he exclaimed "cool" and "sweet" and "oh my god" the entire time. how did he find his way to the theater? during the scene at the end, with the solar system simulation, the idiot tried to show his intellect by saying "it's mars!!" thanks, mannix, nobody could tell by the fact that it was the fourth planet from the sun. i hope you read this, you goddamned cheese dick fuck-pump, if you get somebody to turn your computer on. fuck cry rooms, they need star trek virgins who still live with their parents rooms, they are far more annoying.
-
This is to all the people out there who said that this movie was "a turkey." Or that this movie was absolute "cheese."
Or that this movie was absolutely "the worst piece of crap that I've ever seen."
To call this movie any of those things...
Well, I don't want to defame the turkey, cheese, or pieces of crap. Because frankly, to call this movie the absolute worst piece of crap of all time is offensive to the crap. Folks, I have two dogs and I see plenty of it and theirs is ten times as pretty as this unwatchable, moronic piece of garbage. I was reading this post a couple of days ago and saw someone refer to the acting as PORNO ACTING BAD. MY GOD, if I was a Porno star, I'd file a lawsuit against the guy who said that. The acting doesn't come close to watchable.
As for the "character development", WHERE?? Okay, the dance scene was nice, the little video montage was cool, but the rest sucked and sucked big time.
TRUCRANIAC said the movie's soundtrack BIT ASS. Well, I pity the ass it tries to bite. If you haven't seen the plotless, designless, gutless, idiot fest yet, WAIT 'TIL YOU HEAR THE MUSIC. IT IS SO MAKE YOU WANT TO THROW UP BAD, I'M RETCHING NOW (as you idly read this) as I write this.
I suppose somewhere in the writer's mind was the fact that friends and love matter most, and although our everday struggles are what we fight, we should never lose sight of the real things important. Well, thank you mr. Tally. I now know I should have spent the eight dollars and rented a couple of porn movies and watched them with my wife. (And really, there's no messing with THOSE soundtracks.) -
I just saw this movie, without having read any reviews. The movie was pretty good, very good in moments even. Then, the last 10 minutes, it sucked so hard I can hardly remember the good parts. The score really ruined the movie. The heavy handed dealings at the end, combined with an entirely too neat tie up of the origins of humanity, needed delicate music to offset the emotional moments. Instead, the music swelled about 10 different times, with NO MELODY! For all the music in the last scenes, I should have walked out with some theme running through my head. It was like they just played violins in ascending chords to make the movie really pack a punch -- a punch so hard I wanted to puke. The really dramatic touching moments shouldn't need violin swellings to make it mean something. OOOH trumpets -- oooh the excitement -- oh please! Whoever wrote the score forgot that there are woodwind instruments, french horns, cellos in balanced music. ACK! It's sometimes hard to notice what a good score can do, but this movie makes it impossible to forget what a bad score can do.
-
I just saw Mission to Mars expecting absolute crap after reading the critics reviews and the reviews here. While it was a poorly acted movie and did seem to have rather massive boring bits I do have to say that I liked it. It totally reminded me of all those science fiction movies I group up on. The movies from the seventies I would watch in my pajamas on cable when I was 8 years old. Something like a Saturn 3 or a Planet of the Apes sequel. From the camera shots to the music to the melodramatic acting, it was rather uncanny. Plus like those movies the core idea was a good one, even though it was poorly executed. Whether Brian De Palma meant it to be or not I consider Mission to Mars to be a cinematic wink to all those old and bad science fiction movies.
-
From the dull opening (this guy is leaving his family, these two are lovers, this one's wife is dead) to the music that sounds like it belongs in another movie entirely, to the quick answer to a difficult problem, and an ending that was not only too quick but will undoubtedly upset some religious groups, this movie wasted a good two hours of my day.
I try to explain to people what it's like and the only way I can describe it is "Apollo 13" meets "Chariots of the Gods"! Pure crap. Half the actors don't deserve to be put in movies this bad. -
Mar 11, 2000 9:01:56 PM CST
MISSION TO MARS,SIMPLY TRUE CRAP,THEY DON'T COME ANY WORSE,REALL
by renaud b
Words can not define what I saw tonight,I just shock me head quite a few times in the theatre,during the beginnin,in the middle and all the way to the very end.I wouldn't even recomend this movie for for a cheap VHS rental and even less for a video DVD buy for sure.Two final words to define MISSION TO MARS:VERY DRY.
-
Just came back from seeing this one. It was watchable until the last half hour and then I had enough. It just nose-dived to hell at that point. If this movie makes any money and I was James Cameron, I would seeking a good attorney. Because someone just ripped off my script for The Abyss and did it badly. Now I saw it with someone else and he loved it. Said I was too much of a film critic. Personally, I would just wait for the video and that is being kind.
-
De Palma...you monkey ass...couldn'tyou come out with a better ending.....and why wasting money....making a crapy CGI alien....could have asked Chris Carter to lend one of the alien costumes from X-Files......
-
The problem is this film. All of it. This is the worst piece of trash I have seen at a theatre since Batman and Robin. The dialoge is awful, the acting is awful, the directing is awful. The plot is taken from an episode of IN SEARCH OF... (and you could fill up an entire talkback listing the movies ripped off). And that horrible score.
Yet I will say this: it was also somewhat fun, in that MST3K kind of way. There were people at the theatre doubled over in laughter, and I came close to joining them. Hilariously bad.
-
Mar 12, 2000 2:36:59 PM CST
what's the name of the other Mars movie coming up later with War
by renaud b
I hope it's better than MISSION TO MARS.This movie could have been great if it were done correctly but obviously that's not what happen.MISSION TO MARS is CRAP from beginning to end.When are we going to have a BABYLON 5 MOVIE or an other STAR TREK MOVIE anyway?
-
I just came from Mission Two Mars, and boy oh boy it sucked. The major premise of this movie was absolutely lame, because ***SPOILER ALERT*** ............. ............ .......... If the Aliens lived in the same atmosphere type as Earth, then why the fuck didn't they colonize Earth instead of seeding it?!?!?!?!? Oh, and that whole thing about Gary Sinise (sp?) going off in the alien ship smacked of Close Encounters, not that this film ripped off anything, though.....except 2001, even down to the space ship Discovery!!!!! Come on De Palma, you're losing your touch.
-
The amount of product placement in this film was disgusting.....Dr. Pepper, M&Ms, SGI, Compaq, Izuzu, Penzoil, etc, etc, etc,....it's almost as bad as Back To The Future II. I felt like my ticket had been underwritten, for christ's sake...this much product placement is absurd...I expected someone to turn to the camera and say..."Dr. Pepper, for your next ruptured hull be a Pepper." Fucking awful movie.
-
Somehow this Mars face offers an open door to holographic show-and-tell projections of the universe, earth-quality atmosphere, hides a working spaceship, and breatheable sparkling liquid for transportation to another galaxy and listens to audio patterns for the human DNA strand...but can't notice when a group of earthings are approaching. Okay, benevolent beings, try a $200 video camera next time before wiping out three of your own species with the dust vac.
-
I was into the movie for the whole ride. The ending was disapointingly uncreative, and there were some stupid things in the movie, like the alien's poor security system, but the movie had alot of great stuff in it, and a nice pace. Absolutely compared to all the scifi movies we get each year, this was one of the better ones. This movie had at least 5 "OH SHIT!" moments. The first storm scene, wow!
*SPOILER WARNING!!* BTW, for those that didn't follow, that alien in the end wasn't real. It was part of the holographic projection that was creating the planets, and telling the story of mars/earth/humankind. Wasn't that obvious when it changed shape, pulled pixie dust from it's hand and faded out after the show was over? It was fakey CG, just like the planets, dinosaurs, cavemen, etc.
M2M was a cool flawed movie.
It didn't SUCK like some of you kids are screaming. Not by a longshot.
-
THE MUSIC WAS FUCKING HORRIBLE!
I have 2 words for DePalma.
JOHN WILLIAMS!
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 419 total posts 209 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 131 total posts 129 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 123 total posts 122 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 124 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 191 total posts 47 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 43 total posts 43 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 42 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 27 total posts 27 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 506 total posts 26 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 77 total posts 24 posts