Mission to Mars is superior to Red Planet because (A) It has an uplifting, forward-looking ending, while Red Planet is nothing but an action movie in space. And (B) because Mission to Mars doesn't gratuitously announce that Mars must be colonized because decades of neglect by humans has all but destroyed the environment on Earth as Red Planet does. That said; I was only impressed enough with Mission to Mars to rent it twice, not to own it. Although Gary Sinise's character is our protagonist, I was more impressed with the sacrifice of Tim Robbins' character. I've never liked Tim Robbins in a movie until this one. His character makes the ultimate sacrifice, and nothing anyone else does can equal it. The climax struck me as a little too neat and clean. The "suspense" over whether Terri and Luke will make it back to the ship before it lifts off isn't suspense at all because we know they're going to make it. The special effects surrounding Sinise's boarding of the alien ship were overdone. And what was the point of immersing him in water? Do the filmmakers really believe we'll think he's going to drown? The ending would have been better if Tom Hanks had reprised his Forrest Gump role and met Sinise in the alien spaceship. "Lieutenant Dan!" he would say, "I've been waiting for you."
Review of Mission to Mars
