In the not-so-distant future, the ecological crisis on Earth has taken a turn for the worse, and humanity’s only hope may lie in seeking refuge on neighbouring Mars. After years of unmanned missions to terraform the planet, a crew of astronauts aboard Mars-1 are finally sent to establish Earth’s first Martian colony. But a giant solar flare sends their landing module crash-landing on the planet, leaving our pioneers stranded in a harsh crimson wasteland. As the crew battle the elements and rising inner tensions, they soon discover that Mars’ newly formed atmosphere has had unexpected and terrifying consequences.
What We Thought:
I probably hadn’t seen Red Planet since it came out over 20 years ago. Despite having a cast including Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Carrie-Ann Moss, Terence Stamp, Benjamin Bratt and Simon Baker, it’s not a movie that is looked highly upon. Watching the new 4K it feels like a ton of other movies that came out around the same time or afterwards.
It’s your standard late 90s/early 2000s story of how humans are destroying Earth and we must find an alternative place to live. This one is about Mars, the red planet. Moss is the pilot leading the expedition to Mars with the others all having their own specific reason for being there. Of course the trip goes sideways and the terraforming of Mars didn’t seem to work and a solar flare causes issues with the craft causing the crew to escape to Mars while Moss stays to fix the ship.
The easiest comparison is to the movie adaptation of Lost in Space. The special effects are very similar, there is a computer run robot that is supposed to help and the trip goes sideways. The biggest issue is how dated the effects look. Despite coming out after The Matrix, the effects look worse than something you could make with AI on your phone today and do not hold up 25 years later.
The story is also an issue. It’s been 25 years since it was released and yet we are not even close to being able to get to Mars. Earth is also nowhere near as bad as they predicted as well. It’s one thing for sci-fi flicks from the 1960s to be so wrong about their predictions of the future, but this isn’t that old.
The 4K of Red Planet looks and sounds great. There are some solid bonus features as well, but does the film have a cult following? It was a box office failure and it wasn’t an early 2000s cable mainstay either. I’m sure at some point you could have caught it on F/X or FXX, but I don’t remember watching it on cable. If you’re a fan it’s probably the best the film has looked so you’ll enjoy the new 4K.
Bonus Features:
- 4K ULTRA HD BLU–RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- The Martian Chronicles, a brand new interview with visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun
- Suit Up, a brand new interview with helmet and suits designer Steve Johnson
- Angry Red Planet, a brand new visual retrospective with film critic Heath Holland
- Deleted scenes
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark A. Altman
The Nerds Templar 