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Mission To Mars
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Director Brian Depalma was able to construct some exciting scenes for "Mission: Impossible", the 1996 hit starring Tom Cruise - even though many thought the plot to be a bit confusing. Next for the director was "Snake Eyes", a largely forgettable effort starring Nicholas Cage that was quickly forgotten. Early this year he was back with "Mission To Mars", a picture that rounded up a solid first week at the box office, only to fall hard from bad reviews and word of mouth that was particularly harsh.
I don't think "Mission To Mars" is particularly the worst film I've seen recently, but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. I'm curious as to what the director saw in this story, which seems like the visual effects and action sequences were worked on more than the screenplay was - it's amazing that the script attracted as many good actors as it did - Tim Robbins, Gary Sinese, Don Cheadle, and more do appear, but are left completely without interesting material to work with. Robbins himself has written great films, and Sinese has done quite a bit of theater work - it would have been improved had the two of them sat down to re-write the picture.
As for the plot itself, it involves a mission to mars that sets down and finds very serious trouble that leads to only one member (Don Cheadle) being left and in need of rescue. The rescue team (Sinese, Jerry O'Connell, Tim Robbins and Connie Neilsen) run into troubles of their own, and there is one scene that offers a character making a particularly strange choice to try and fix the ship.
The film does have a few cool sequences, but what the audience has to go through the finally reach those scenes is extremely tedious, involving lame dialogue that tells the audience what's happening when they're already a mile ahead of the film. The actors try their best with the material, but for many of them, this is certainly not their best performance. As for the main visual effects sequences, which are pretty much what tie the movie together, they're not revolutionary, or even great. They are generally good though, and definitely passable.
The highest problem with the film though is that it generally does have a good idea at its core: what if secrets to our existence aren't on our planet, but Mars? It's just that it's an extremely slow ride to get to the film's ultimate answers, which are somewhat interesting, but not quite enough of a payoff for what we've had to sit through. There is a second "Mars" film (ideas seem to always come in twos lately) that was going to come out this Summer, but has moved to the winter to get away from this film. We'll see how "Red Planet" can transport us to Mars soon.
The DVD
VIDEO: Disney (well, Touchstone, to be specific) presents "Mission To Mars" in a stunning 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that is remarkably well-rendered throughout. As with any movie on Mars, the tone of the image is often...well...red. Stephen Burhum's cinematography is able to create some fascinating compositions, though - many have seen his work on director Brian Depalma's other recent films such as "Mission Impossible" and "Snake Eyes".
Sharpness is consistently excellent, and never did I find the presentation overly sharp or sliding into even slight softness. Detail is also marvelous, as well. I felt the the entire movie was very well-rendered and never lacking clarity. Black level is strong and solid, and flesh tones are consistently natural and accurate.
Really, the only flaw that I noticed during the presentation was some slight shimmer on occasion. Other than that, I noticed no instances of pixelation and, as one would likely expect from a film that was only released in theaters a few months back, the print is in perfect condition - I didn't even find any speckles or tiny marks.
As I noted before, quite a few scenes take place on Mars, so the color is pretty much a deep, rich red. Other settings, such as on the spaceship, don't offer too many colors, but the subdued color palette of the ship does at least still look very pleasing and without any flaws.
It does help that "Mission To Mars" is a big-budget, good looking film, but I was still very pleased with Disney's presentation, which is definitely one of their better efforts.
SOUND: "Mission To Mars" also boasts outstanding Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The sound during the more intense sequences such as the "twister-like" effect that many saw in the trailer appears. Winds swirl all around the viewer and surrounds become very agressive. There is also some serious power in this and the films other action scenes.
Even in the less intense sequences, the audio quality is entirely pleasing, with a richness and clarity that is excellent. Both dialogue and the score are both warm and crisp. I didn't always care for Ennio Morricone's score (and there are some scenes which the score feels a bit wrong for), but it is produced clearly here.
Surrounds are used agressively during the film's action scenes, and even occasionally for some smaller, more subtle sounds such a character talking. At their most effective, they really do a fine job bringing the audience into the action. The front speakers also all do get a lot of work trying to create an environment, and offering the score.
The action scenes are great and the sound is very exciting during these sequences, but "Mission To Mars" unfortunately isn't a consistent assault - many of the scenes between the more intense ones do contain a lot of dialogue - and the dialogue in this film is very blah.
I'm going on a little too much, so I will conclude with saying that when the film does become more active, it has great audio.
MENUS:: Menus are not animated, which is unfortunate. With all that goes on in the film, there could definitely have been some great animated menus to introduce the film.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: It's interesting that Disney kept the commentary participants silent until the release (and even the back cover of the DVD doesn't list them). It's unfortunate that none of the actors are included, and none of them probably were interested in talking more about this film. Still, the commentary does boast a group of crew members; cinematographer Stephen Buhrum, visual effects supervisor John Kroll, production designer Ed Verreaux and visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeaman. I was pleased that all of these folks were recorded together to chat about the movie and although the comments definitely are technical in nature for the majority, I did find what they had to say very interesting.
The two visual effects supervisors provide insight into the exact processes that were used to provide many of the special effects sequences, and also comment on the challenges that the production faced (such as running out of money at some points). Some of the terms that they use are pretty technical and those who are not familiar with these terms may be a little lost once or twice. Still, they do explain in further detail at times to clarify some of the more in-depth discussions of their work.
The production designer and cinematographer talk about the locations and look of the movie, and as with the effects supervisors, they chat about the various problems and positive events that happened during the production. Some have commented that a few of the "effects" commentaries are rather dull and I do agree that some of them become all facts and no discussion of the rest of the film. I felt this one was not only very informative, but entertaining as well. The participants seem like they enjoyed working with each other and occasionally make a couple of jokes about the events they're watching.
They also keep things moving very quickly. With only a few exceptions, the group talks intensely, only pausing briefly now and then. A commentary that's certainly worth a listen.
Trailers: The film's trailer, unfortunately only in Dolby 2.0.
Visions Of Mars: This is a very well-done documentary, certainly much better than many of the smaller "promotional" featurettes that Disney has featured on some discs. Instead of being an "extended trailer", this documentary visits with many of the film's crew members, who provide great insight into many of the ideas and concepts that went into the film, as well as show how some of the scenes were created with visual effects. I found this documentary to be one of the better ones that I've seen on a major-studio DVD lately.
Visual Effects Analysis: One of the neater features of the DVD, but unfortunately pretty short in length. This section offers commentary from either visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeaman or John Knoll, who take us through the various elements that had to be created for 3 of the film's main effects sequences.
Animatic Vs. Final: This is a section where viewers can compare a rough concept of two effects scenes vs. the final scene; it's unfortunate that the "angle" feature isn't used so that viewers could flip back and forth.
Also: A fairly large production art gallery broken up into 6 sections.
DVD-ROM: DVD-Rom features including web information and the ability to have production information in the form of text play along with the film.
Final Thoughts: I will say that I enjoyed Disney's effort on this DVD, but the movie itself is still more of a rental.
Director Brian Depalma was able to construct some exciting scenes for "Mission: Impossible", the 1996 hit starring Tom Cruise - even though many thought the plot to be a bit confusing. Next for the director was "Snake Eyes", a largely forgettable effort starring Nicholas Cage that was quickly forgotten. Early this year he was back with "Mission To Mars", a picture that rounded up a solid first week at the box office, only to fall hard from bad reviews and word of mouth that was particularly harsh.
I don't think "Mission To Mars" is particularly the worst film I've seen recently, but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. I'm curious as to what the director saw in this story, which seems like the visual effects and action sequences were worked on more than the screenplay was - it's amazing that the script attracted as many good actors as it did - Tim Robbins, Gary Sinese, Don Cheadle, and more do appear, but are left completely without interesting material to work with. Robbins himself has written great films, and Sinese has done quite a bit of theater work - it would have been improved had the two of them sat down to re-write the picture.
As for the plot itself, it involves a mission to mars that sets down and finds very serious trouble that leads to only one member (Don Cheadle) being left and in need of rescue. The rescue team (Sinese, Jerry O'Connell, Tim Robbins and Connie Neilsen) run into troubles of their own, and there is one scene that offers a character making a particularly strange choice to try and fix the ship.
The film does have a few cool sequences, but what the audience has to go through the finally reach those scenes is extremely tedious, involving lame dialogue that tells the audience what's happening when they're already a mile ahead of the film. The actors try their best with the material, but for many of them, this is certainly not their best performance. As for the main visual effects sequences, which are pretty much what tie the movie together, they're not revolutionary, or even great. They are generally good though, and definitely passable.
The highest problem with the film though is that it generally does have a good idea at its core: what if secrets to our existence aren't on our planet, but Mars? It's just that it's an extremely slow ride to get to the film's ultimate answers, which are somewhat interesting, but not quite enough of a payoff for what we've had to sit through. There is a second "Mars" film (ideas seem to always come in twos lately) that was going to come out this Summer, but has moved to the winter to get away from this film. We'll see how "Red Planet" can transport us to Mars soon.
The DVD
VIDEO: Disney (well, Touchstone, to be specific) presents "Mission To Mars" in a stunning 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that is remarkably well-rendered throughout. As with any movie on Mars, the tone of the image is often...well...red. Stephen Burhum's cinematography is able to create some fascinating compositions, though - many have seen his work on director Brian Depalma's other recent films such as "Mission Impossible" and "Snake Eyes".
Sharpness is consistently excellent, and never did I find the presentation overly sharp or sliding into even slight softness. Detail is also marvelous, as well. I felt the the entire movie was very well-rendered and never lacking clarity. Black level is strong and solid, and flesh tones are consistently natural and accurate.
Really, the only flaw that I noticed during the presentation was some slight shimmer on occasion. Other than that, I noticed no instances of pixelation and, as one would likely expect from a film that was only released in theaters a few months back, the print is in perfect condition - I didn't even find any speckles or tiny marks.
As I noted before, quite a few scenes take place on Mars, so the color is pretty much a deep, rich red. Other settings, such as on the spaceship, don't offer too many colors, but the subdued color palette of the ship does at least still look very pleasing and without any flaws.
It does help that "Mission To Mars" is a big-budget, good looking film, but I was still very pleased with Disney's presentation, which is definitely one of their better efforts.
SOUND: "Mission To Mars" also boasts outstanding Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The sound during the more intense sequences such as the "twister-like" effect that many saw in the trailer appears. Winds swirl all around the viewer and surrounds become very agressive. There is also some serious power in this and the films other action scenes.
Even in the less intense sequences, the audio quality is entirely pleasing, with a richness and clarity that is excellent. Both dialogue and the score are both warm and crisp. I didn't always care for Ennio Morricone's score (and there are some scenes which the score feels a bit wrong for), but it is produced clearly here.
Surrounds are used agressively during the film's action scenes, and even occasionally for some smaller, more subtle sounds such a character talking. At their most effective, they really do a fine job bringing the audience into the action. The front speakers also all do get a lot of work trying to create an environment, and offering the score.
The action scenes are great and the sound is very exciting during these sequences, but "Mission To Mars" unfortunately isn't a consistent assault - many of the scenes between the more intense ones do contain a lot of dialogue - and the dialogue in this film is very blah.
I'm going on a little too much, so I will conclude with saying that when the film does become more active, it has great audio.
MENUS:: Menus are not animated, which is unfortunate. With all that goes on in the film, there could definitely have been some great animated menus to introduce the film.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: It's interesting that Disney kept the commentary participants silent until the release (and even the back cover of the DVD doesn't list them). It's unfortunate that none of the actors are included, and none of them probably were interested in talking more about this film. Still, the commentary does boast a group of crew members; cinematographer Stephen Buhrum, visual effects supervisor John Kroll, production designer Ed Verreaux and visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeaman. I was pleased that all of these folks were recorded together to chat about the movie and although the comments definitely are technical in nature for the majority, I did find what they had to say very interesting.
The two visual effects supervisors provide insight into the exact processes that were used to provide many of the special effects sequences, and also comment on the challenges that the production faced (such as running out of money at some points). Some of the terms that they use are pretty technical and those who are not familiar with these terms may be a little lost once or twice. Still, they do explain in further detail at times to clarify some of the more in-depth discussions of their work.
The production designer and cinematographer talk about the locations and look of the movie, and as with the effects supervisors, they chat about the various problems and positive events that happened during the production. Some have commented that a few of the "effects" commentaries are rather dull and I do agree that some of them become all facts and no discussion of the rest of the film. I felt this one was not only very informative, but entertaining as well. The participants seem like they enjoyed working with each other and occasionally make a couple of jokes about the events they're watching.
They also keep things moving very quickly. With only a few exceptions, the group talks intensely, only pausing briefly now and then. A commentary that's certainly worth a listen.
Trailers: The film's trailer, unfortunately only in Dolby 2.0.
Visions Of Mars: This is a very well-done documentary, certainly much better than many of the smaller "promotional" featurettes that Disney has featured on some discs. Instead of being an "extended trailer", this documentary visits with many of the film's crew members, who provide great insight into many of the ideas and concepts that went into the film, as well as show how some of the scenes were created with visual effects. I found this documentary to be one of the better ones that I've seen on a major-studio DVD lately.
Visual Effects Analysis: One of the neater features of the DVD, but unfortunately pretty short in length. This section offers commentary from either visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeaman or John Knoll, who take us through the various elements that had to be created for 3 of the film's main effects sequences.
Animatic Vs. Final: This is a section where viewers can compare a rough concept of two effects scenes vs. the final scene; it's unfortunate that the "angle" feature isn't used so that viewers could flip back and forth.
Also: A fairly large production art gallery broken up into 6 sections.
DVD-ROM: DVD-Rom features including web information and the ability to have production information in the form of text play along with the film.
Final Thoughts: I will say that I enjoyed Disney's effort on this DVD, but the movie itself is still more of a rental.
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