Wow, what a disappointment! Mission to Mars is 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The problem is Mission to Mars has less story than either of those two other films; and has zero message.

We start at a going-away party. Gary Sinise is all broody because he doesn't get to go to Mars because his wife died. We're supposed to feel sorry for him. We don't.

Once the first crew has reaches Mars, they discover something rather mysterious that makes a weird sound. (You know, like the monolith discovered on the moon in 2001.) What they find almost kills the first crew. Now our second crew becomes a rescue crew.

Later in space, we learn that the second crew, now on a rescue mission, is traveling in a space craft built by SGI, which breaks a lot. Tim Robbins dies. I think they just couldn't think up any other dialogue for him, so off he goes into the Martian atmosphere.

The rescue crew loses their space craft but finds another in Martian orbit. This is so lame. Director Brian De Palma is just padding for time. The truth is all the disasters the second crew encounters are just a waste of screen time. The movie needs to be two hours. This film is more padded than a flat-chested teen-aged girl.

The second crew and the survivor of the first crew discover a giant face on the surface of Mars. I wonder where they got an idea like that? Perhaps The Enquirer?

Playing special music (the human DNA sequence) allows the astronauts to gain entrance to the face. This is such a Close Encounters rip-off! I would have been happier if they used a crow bar.

Inside the face, they discover that life migrated from Mars to Earth because a big asteroid hit Mars and Bruce Willis hadn't evolved yet to save them. The alien shows up and holds hands with everyone. Another Close Encounters rip-off. Everyone goes home except Gary Sinise, who gets into the alien spacecraft. We learn that he was all broody in the beginning of the film because he's really playing Richard Dreyfuss.

This movie really sucks! There's no great story here. There's no real drama. Don't kiss eight bucks good-bye over this.

Dust Bag Full

Film Facts

Cast
• Gary Sinise
• Don Cheadle
• Connie Nielsen
• Jerry O'Connell
• Kim Delaney
• Tim Robbins
• Armin Mueller-Stahl
• Elise Neal
• Jill Teed
• Jody Thompson
• Bill Timoney

Directed by Brian De Palma

Released in 2000

MPAA Rating: PG

Reviewed by Mongo