Mission to Mars
- For the Disney attraction, see Mission to Mars.
| Mission to Mars | |
|---|---|
| File:Mission to Mars.jpg Mission to Mars Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | Brian De Palma |
| Written by | Story: Lowell Cannon Jim Thomas John Thomas Screenplay: Jim Thomas John Thomas Graham Yost |
| Produced by | Tom Jacobson |
| Starring | Gary Sinise Tim Robbins Don Cheadle |
| Cinematography | Stephen H. Burum |
| Edited by | Paul Hirsch |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures Spyglass Entertainment (some markets) |
Release dates | March 10, 2000 |
Running time | 114 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million USD |
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.
Plot
In the year 2020 AD, 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 mysterious formation in their vicinity. 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. Upon attempting to scan the formation with radar, a large vortex forms around the structure, which then proceeds to envelop and presumably kill three of the mission's crew, leaving only the mission's commander, Luke Graham. The formation also emits an extremely powerful EMP, which irreparably damages much of the electronic equipment on the spacecraft. Despite the damage, Luke Graham manages to upload one transmission to the REMO (REsupply MOdule) orbiting Mars.
Upon receiving Commander Graham's garbled message informing of his crewmembers' deaths, the Earth command center hastily dispatches another Mars mission. The crew of this new mission includes Woodrow "Woody" Blake as commander, Jim McConnell as co-commander, Terri Fisher and Phil Ohlmyer as mission specialists. 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 small rocks (presumably falling into Mars' gravity well) collides with the ship and compromises the ship's hull, causing an atmosphere leak. The crew works quickly to repair the hole, troubleshooting where the damage is located, and then using a liquid to help Woody apply the patch.
The damage caused by the collision was not limited to losing air, however. This is not apparent until they ignite the main engines, which were also damaged by the collision. The resulting explosion destroys any chance of using the ship further, so they quickly don pressure suits and abandon it, hoping to maneuver their way to the REMO. But the circumstances are unfavorable 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 so and floats helplessly away toward the planet. Terri, wanting to save him, decides to cut her line. Woody, not wanting Terri to be harmed, commits suicide by taking off his helmet.
When the remaining crew arrive on the red planet, they find Luke, the captain of the first team, still alive. He tells the rescuers about his crew's find, and informs them that the formation found was the "face". He had spent the time alone attempting to learn the secrets of the mysterious structure. He shows the rescue team his biggest clue, a recording of the noise heard in the area of the formation. He had found, after several months of analysis, that the sound was a map of human DNA, in XYZ coordinates.
Together, they discover that the mysterious signals are actually a prompt, requiring input of one missing pair of chromosomes which would complete human DNA. 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, and discover Earth-like atmospheric conditions. They then find a large dark room, and once they step inside, a three-dimensional projection of the solar system appears.
A holographic Martian appears, silently explaining that at some time in the distant past, Mars was hit by a "planet-killer" asteroid which decimated the Martian ecosphere. The Martians were forced to evacuate their home planet and find other places to settle. During their evacuation, however, they also 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 McConnel decides to go and after their farewells, the rest of the surviving crew head back to Earth. As they are heading toward earth they watch in curiosity as Jim inside a Martian craft races towards another galaxy. Template:Endspoiler
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Gary Sinise | Jim McConnell |
| Tim Robbins | Woodrow "Woody" Blake |
| Jerry O'Connell | Phil Ohlmyer |
| Don Cheadle | Luke Graham |
| Kim Delaney | Maggie McConnell |
| Armin Mueller-Stahl | Ramier Beck (uncredited) |
| Elise Neal | Debra Graham |
| Connie Nielsen | Terri Fisher |
| Marilyn Norry | Louise |
| Peter Outerbridge | Sergei Kirov |
| Kavan Smith | Nicholas Willis |
| Jill Teed | Reneé Coté |
Box office
- Opening weekend U.S. gross: $22,855,247
- Total U.S. box office gross: $60,874,615
Critical response
Most critics gave the film a negative review (76% disliking the film on rottentomatoes.com).
Awards and nominations
2000 Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)
- Nominated - Worst Director — Brian De Palma
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. |
- The movie allows director de Palma to indulge in several homages to Stanley Kubrick, referencing repeatedly 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- The Mars mission in the movie is based on the Mars Direct plan, a real-life proposal of the Mars Society to send a human crew to Mars.
- Several props from the movie are now on display at the Mission: Space attraction at Walt Disney World. There were also props on display at the NASA American Space Experience exhibit in Tomorrowland at Disneyland, from 2000 to its closure in 2003 to make way for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.
- Mission to Mars competed with another film, Red Planet, which also dealt with a voyage to Mars and subsequent rescue of the astronauts.
- The trailer used music by Vangelis from the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise.
- Veteran NASA astronaut Story Musgrave not only acted as a technical advisor for the project, but also made a cameo appearance in the movie.
- The holographic Martian and concept behind it were spoofed in an episode of Invader Zim, in which the same events took place.
See also
- Competing films with similar plots
- Space colonization in popular culture
- Mission to Mars (attraction)