Mission to Mars
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- For the Disney attraction, see Mission To Mars.
| Mission to Mars | |
|---|---|
 Mission to Mars Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Brian De Palma |
| Produced by | Tom Jacobson |
| Written by | Story: Lowell Cannon Jim Thomas John Thomas Screenplay: Jim Thomas John Thomas Graham Yost |
| Starring | Gary Sinise Tim Robbins Don Cheadle |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography | Stephen H. Burum |
| Editing by | Paul Hirsch |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 10, 2000 |
| Running time | 114 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million USD |
| IMDb profile | |
Mission to Mars is a 2000 U.S. made movie directed by Brian de Palma. It is a science fiction thriller adventure about a rescue mission of the first manned mission to Mars, which encountered a catastrophic and mysterious disaster.
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.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
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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 envelope 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 a transmission to REMO, a 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 specialist. The goal of the mission is to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors. When they 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. The projection tells a story, with the help of a holographic martian who silently helps to explain the origins of life on Earth. In the story, Mars was hit by a spatial object which caused extreme environmental disruption. The Martians were forced to evacuate their home and leave for another galaxy. One of these Martians, however, was left behind to set up the "monument" and to send some Martian DNA to the nearby planet Earth, which at this time contains no life forms. Soon after, small single-celled organisms formed, which then continued to evolve into today's complex organisms.
[edit] Featured 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 |
[edit] Box Office
- Opening weekend U.S. gross: $22,855,247
- Total U.S. box office gross: $60,874,615
[edit] Trivia
The movie allows director de Palma to indulge in several homages to Stanley Kubrick, referencing repeatedly 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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 the 2000 film, Red Planet.
[edit] Awards and nominations
2001 Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)
- Nominated - Worst Director — Brian De Palma
[edit] See also
- Competing films with similar plots
- Space colonization in popular culture
- Mission to Mars (attraction)
