If you think things are bad now, fast forward to the future where pollution and over population are making Earth uninhabitable. It's on to "The Red Planet," where a group of hardy scientists has a marvelous scheme to cover Mars with algae, thus providing oxygen.
Even the best laid schemes of mice and men can go awry. In this case, really awry – all the way from an insubstantial plot to what one critic calls "an unfortunate hodgepodge of sci-fi, action and romance." Another review isn't so kind. It simply said the movie was "doomed before takeoff."
The algae have mysteriously disappeared from Mars, and a group of astronauts led by Commander Kate Bowman ( Carrie-Anne Moss) is sent to find out what happened. Her spaceship is about to land when an explosion causes a crash landing, and here they are without supplies or equipment.
The survivors include systems' engineer Gallagher (Val Kilmer), and two scientists, played by Tom Sizemore and Simon Baker. Now situation probably is more than enough for space buffs to digest, but it's not all. The crew's robot , AMEE, has gone wacky and is trying to kill them, (which might be a good idea before the audience does, if the critic's dismissal is correct).
The Martian scenes, it must be said, provide basic info on the "nuts and bolts" of space travel, if you're planning to leave anytime soon.
It is directed by Antony Hoffman and written by Channing Gibson, Jonathan Lemkin and Chuck Pfarrer.
It starts Thursday at Diamond Cinemas.
