Well, one of our regular Windy City agents has just reported to Father Geek about the press screening of one of the Spring's big flicks, MISSION TO MARS, and it looks as if its just a dead planet, lots of red dust to just get in our eyes and drive us crazy. I hope he's wrong about this, I really do, I'll be seeing it myself Monday...
Father geek again, I've added another look at the film below this one...
Hi Father Geek,
Just came back from a screening of MISSION TO MARS. Roger Ebert was sitting in the back of the room and the rest of the Chicago-area film press sat around me and Capone (who I hope will chime in with a different impression).
But here goes: you know that moment. You've been using the bathroom and a quick glance down reveals a long piece of fecal matter, beautifully unbroken, magically consistent in color and shape. A smile comes across the face. "Wow," you think, "that's cool!" But then the smell reaches the nose, and the reality strikes: it is still a piece of shit.
I've been trying to avoid any and all write-ups on this movie. The little clips here and there I've seen have been amazingly cool. This could be the coolest movie of the year, I lie to myself, right before seeing it.
I will NEVER EVER AGAIN develop great expectations for a science fiction movie for as long as I live after seeing MISSION TO MARS. I'm not saying don't see this--there are some cool visuals, some cool dialogue, some cool acting, but my favorite parts were when certain characters DIE or get injured.
I could go into the details of this movie and tell you what worked and what didn't. I could give you the plot. But it is not worth my time--I mean I've already lost a couple of hours already. What makes this worse is, I am actually a person, I hate to admit, who liked the movie ISHTAR. I love to love bad movies.
For many reasons, MISSION TO MARS signals the end of intelligent life on our planet as we know it. I just hope someone can salvage the interior sets used in this film and make a movie worth seeing.
-Chi-Town Charlie
Here's a West Coast look at the flick...
Hi Harry, Fruit Bat here (Harry, Please don't post my real name). I am a first time informant, but I got some free test screening tickets to Mission to Mars a few days ago at the El Capitan (across the street from the famous Mann's Chinese), on the 25th of February. Anyway, just wanted to report in about it.
The movie is terrible. It starts out pretty good--a bit sketchy--and has some really pretty stuff to look at (this continues most of the way through), but then degrades into pure shlock.
After the trailer, I was expecting an intellectual 2001-ish film. The actual result was Armageddon but with cooler visuals and better special effects, though less intensity.
The characters are fairly believable, but then they go and do stuff (like a certain death scene) that, while probably in character, completely lacks any emotional edge. It is hollow melodrama and, since it is usually sprouted out of such ridiculous situations, we are left feeling like someone farted, except we just can't tell exactly where the smell is coming from...because it's everywhere.
My friends and I resorted to making jokes about the movie to amuse ourselves through the banal dialogue (there was ONE funny line through the whole movie) and drama-less action.
The special effects and De Palma's visuals were excellent--worthy of De Palma--but the script was not the greatest.
And on top of that it just ends. You have gone through a big journey, and feel it is about half over and the movie ends (though not before giving out a James Bond-ish dialogue ending, where the whole master plan is delivered to our heroes before the end of the movie). It's a ridiculous bit of exposition that should have been worked into the story itself rather than being such an epilogue-type thingie.
I wonder why De Palma signed onto this project--I have not seen such a bad film from De Palma ever! I guess, as it seems to go with all directors since the advent of Star Wars, eventually you will eventually do your "big sci fi movie". And most of them are bad. I pray that David Fincher's Rendezvous with Rama will not suffer similarly--though the story to that is pretty damn cool so there shouldn't be too much to worry about in that department.
Anyway, Fruit Bat signing off.
