Red Planet (film)
Red Planet is a 2000 science fiction action film helmed by director Antony Hoffman, featuring performances by Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Tom Sizemore. The storyline follows a group of astronauts on Mars tasked with finding solutions to save an Earth facing ecological collapse, encountering severe challenges throughout their mission.
The film debuted in the United States on November 10, 2000, but failed to achieve commercial success, earning $33.5 million against an $80 million production budget. It remains the sole feature directed by Hoffman. Red Planet was released in the same year as another Mars-themed movie, Mission to Mars, which premiered eight months earlier.
Plot
Amidst Earth's environmental crisis in the 21st century, humanity has spent twenty years attempting to terraform Mars by spreading oxygen-generating algae. When oxygen levels suddenly decline and monitoring systems malfunction, the Mars-1 expedition is dispatched to investigate. Mission Commander Kate Bowman leads the team, which includes co-pilot Ted Santen, science officer Bud Chantilas, mechanical engineer Robby Gallagher, bioengineer Quinn Burchenal, and terraforming specialist Chip Pettengill. Despite initial friction among members, a bond forms between Bowman and Gallagher.
Upon arrival, a gamma-ray burst triggered by a solar flare damages their spacecraft. Bowman remains onboard to manually deploy the crew and establish habitat module HAB 1, extinguishing a fire and restoring power before establishing communication with Houston. Mars-1 faces orbital decay within 31 hours but can attempt a main engine burn for departure. Their landing craft crashes off course, resulting in the loss of AMEE, a military robot navigator. Chantilas sustains fatal injuries and urges the team to leave him behind due to limited oxygen reserves.
On the Martian surface, the crew discovers no trace of algae and finds HAB 1 destroyed, jeopardizing their survival as their suit oxygen depletes. Pettengill kills Santen following a confrontation but claims it was suicide. As Pettengill begins suffocating, Gallagher opens his helmet to reveal that Mars’s atmosphere contains unexpected oxygen. Burchenal locates the nearby Mars Pathfinder rover and hopes its radio can reach Bowman. The crew burns HAB 1’s remains overnight for warmth.
AMEE returns but malfunctions into an aggressive state, injuring Burchenal and targeting the team. At the rover, Gallagher repairs its radio; Houston receives their transmission and instructs Bowman to prepare for rescue via Kosmos, a Russian probe located 100 km away that can accommodate only two passengers.
Seeking shelter from an ice storm inside a cave, Gallagher plans to launch from Kosmos alone. Pettengill attempts to escape with the radio but is killed by AMEE. The crew retrieves his body near algae swarming with Martian nematodes that consume terraforming algae and generate oxygen. Burchenal collects some nematodes as potential agents for Earth's recovery but is attacked and self-immolates to avoid being devoured.
Bowman observes the fire engulfing Mars-1 and urges Gallagher to reach Kosmos for the mission’s success—and for her sake. Finding Kosmos’s battery dead and losing communication, Gallagher prepares for death but repurposes AMEE’s core as an energy source after disabling it. He successfully launches into orbit; Bowman aborts her own departure to save him from cardiac arrest.
Later, Bowman praises Gallagher as a hero, acknowledges he exceeded her expectations, and they share a kiss. She contemplates that during their six-month journey back home, she will have the opportunity to know the "janitor" better.
Cast
- Val Kilmer portrays Robby Gallagher, an Engineer
- Carrie-Anne Moss plays Lieutenant Commander Kate Bowman, the Mission Commander
- Tom Sizemore appears as Dr. Quinn Burchenal, a Geneticist
- Benjamin Bratt takes on the role of Lieutenant Ted Santen, the Pilot
- Simon Baker acts as Dr. Chip Pettengill, a Terraforming Specialist
- Terence Stamp features as Dr. Bud Chantilas, the Chief Science Officer
- Bob Neill provides the voice of Houston
Production
The film was shot on location in Wadi Rum (Southern Jordan) as well as the Australian Outback. During production, a significant dispute arose between co-stars Tom Sizemore and Val Kilmer. Although they had been friends beforehand, disagreements over production costs—particularly concerning Sizemore’s elliptical machine shipment—led to heightened tensions. Kilmer voiced dissatisfaction regarding salary differences, which culminated in a physical confrontation necessitating the use of body doubles for scenes involving both actors. This discord affected the atmosphere on set and remains a notable element of the film’s behind-the-scenes narrative. Sizemore later expressed regret about his involvement but has since reconciled with Kilmer.
Box office
Red Planet opened at number five in the North American box office, generating $8.7 million during its initial weekend, trailing behind films such as Charlie's Angels and Meet the Parents. Its total global earnings reached $33 million against an estimated production budget of $80 million.
Critical response
The film was met with largely unfavorable critiques. As of 2021, it holds a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 103 reviews, with an average score of 3.90 out of 10. The general consensus highlights that despite notable special effects, the movie suffers from a lack of vitality and engaging characters. On Metacritic, it received a score of 34% from 27 critic reviews, signaling "generally unfavorable reviews." Audience feedback collected by CinemaScore assigned it a grade of C.
Stephen Holden from The New York Times described the movie as a "heavy, thinly plotted space-age adventure" that fails to fulfill its allegorical potential. In contrast, Roger Ebert awarded it three out of four stars, praising its emphasis on character-driven storytelling and its "intellectual scientists" theme reminiscent of classic 1950s science fiction.
According to Filmink, Red Planet is among several expensive failures that contributed to diminishing Val Kilmer’s prominence as a leading actor.
Music
The soundtrack includes works by Graeme Revell, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Kipper, among others. Performances feature Revell, Gabriel, Emma Shapplin, Sting, William Orbit, Melissa Kaplan, and Different Gear vs. Police.