Red Planet

In the year 2057, mankind has overpopulated and pretty much trashed the Earth, so the government(s) want to move everybody to Mars (nevermind that Mars is only half the size of our home planet). But something has gone wrong with an unmanned terraforming project to oxygenate the atmosphere, so Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Val Kilmer and a small crew of photogenic clichés have been sent to fix it. Murphy's Law soon strikes the mission and the astronauts try to survive in harsh Martian conditions when their sleek, ominous military robot goes Michael Myers on them after blowing a fuse. Several hackneyed absurdities are balanced by a convincingly other-worldish visual milieu, some genuine tension, agile pacing and awesome effects sequences that keep the audience enveloped in the action. Much better than the similarly-themed Mission to Mars but not nearly as entertaining as Pitch Black, a guilty pleasure, B-movie, alien fright flick that isn't so impressed with itself. Optional. (R. Blackwelder)