Red Planet is kind of a strange one, one of two big budget sf films that year about the red planet (the other being
Mission to Mars). The strange thing about this one is that most of the astronauts here that go to the planet are clearly mentally unbalanced to some degree and that's very weird, considering that those who succeed as astronauts in our real world have to be the most level-headed people around. The film is also divided between two locations for the entire film: on the surface of the planet with the crew and on the orbiting ship with the lone female astronaut (Carrie Anne-Moss); the story skips back-'n'-forth between the two locales and this weakens the narrative flow.
As far as the crew on the planet, Val Kilmer is probably the least squirrely - expected since he's the main lead. Terence Stamp is the eldest member and is therefore the most mature, but he's taken out of the equation early. Tom Sizemore is always a bit 'off' no matter what role he plays. Then we get to the real nutcases: Benjamin Bratt has many anger issues for some reason and is wound way too tight. The youngest member (Simon Baker) is some kind of repressed psychotic. How and why would these two be astronauts..? The characters were presented as this flawed for the dramatic plot turns but it's very over the top. In any case, I didn't much care if any of these guys lived or died, except perhaps for Stamp.
The Threat turns out to be a robot, usually resembling a robotic dog. It also goes nuts and chases after the crew. I don't understand why this was made the central premise of a story about going to and checking out Mars. The whole thing takes place around year 2050, when Earth is on the verge of dying. But, I didn't hold out much hope for it all when this bunch is the best that our civilization sends to save us all. BoG's Score:
5.5 out of 10 
