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Escape from Mars

Threat advisory: Guarded - General risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The finest crew, the greatest ship, the most dangerous mission.

A dream voyage becomes a trip into terror in this sci-fi thriller filled with explosive action and heart pounding suspense.

Forty-seven years after the moon landing, the crew of the explorer Sagan is poised to make history with a mission to Mars. With an audience of 13 billion people the Sagan launches but within minutes a phantom force threatens not only the mission but the crew. The ship's desperate commander must act fast, not knowing if the threat is the result of espionage, an alien presence or a mutinous member of his own crew. As time ticks away, the Sagan heads toward a nightmare abyss, stranded between our solar system... and eternity.

Persons of interest

Christine Elise .... Lia Poirier, Sagan Co-commander
Peter Outerbridge .... John Rank, Sagan Co-commander
Allison Hossack .... Andrea Singer, Mission Chemist
Michael Shanks .... Bill Malone, Mission Architect
Ron Lea .... Jason, Mission Control Weasel
Kavan Smith .... Sergei Andropov, Misson Biogeochemist
David Kaye .... Steve Yaffe
Peter Kelamis .... Robert Poirer
Julie Khaner .... Gail McConnell
Tammy Isbell .... Stephanie Rank
Arlene MacPherson .... Remi
Aaron Pearl .... Robert Singer
Jonathan Barrett .... Richard Singer
Darrell Nicholson .... Andy Singer
Sophia Sweatman .... Amanda Singer
Lora Schroeder .... Marina
Jim Henshaw .... Screenwriter
Peter Mohan .... Screenwriter
Neill Fearnley .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Pulp science fiction.

This is the standard sci-fi story about a trip to Mars. Astronauts, journey, landing, exploration, mystery, tragedy, salvation. Read a story about Mars and that's what you'll find. Why Escape from Mars was made is beyond me, although it may be (a) to cash in on the recent spate of Martian probes, or (b) to capitalise on the upcoming film, Mission to Mars. Whichever, it doesn't make the A-grade.

Love those B-grade flicks!

Where this flick falls down requires a three-fold response. Firstly, the science tries quite hard to be accurate (and to be seen to be accurate) but is often incorrect. Centrifugal force does not produce gravity (the Sagan is rotated to save on zero G special effects), it produces "push". So if you drop a pen, as one crew member does, it will not fall to the floor but fly to the wall. Also the concept of a vertical take off and landing space shuttle (ie the Sagan) will take more than 10 years from now to devise.

Secondly, the plot is not only thin, but predictable: a collection of misfit astronauts fly off to Mars, have adventures and come home. The biggest question is "How did they ever get into the space programme?" If they were any more unstable they wouldn't even be allowed into a soap opera, let alone a $70 billion investment. The Commander who sacrifices himself for his crew, the sex maniac, the tough but caring female Commander, blah, blah, blah. What's scarier is that everyone in this film was Anglo; not even a token ethnic to be seen in the background.

*Sighs*

Thirdly, it is slow. Really slow. Apollo XIII is no speedster, but at least you get drawn into the drama. Escape from Mars just plods from scene to scene, unwinding like a toilet roll in the breeze. Many of the plot complications (like computers going on the Fritz for no reason and then suddenly fixing themselves for no reason) are not only implausible, they are insulting. In a hard sci-fi film like this, every action must have a cause. Unexplainable malfunctions may only happen when you're watching a horror film, where reality doesn't need to intrude. I advise budding filmmakers to remember the following: Find a genre and stick to it.

All this nit-picking aside, Escape from Mars will fill the gap for a sci-fi starved geek when you've watched all your Star trek tapes and can't find anything else at the video shop.

Security censorship classification

PG (Adult themes)

Surveillance time

86 minutes (1:26 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

Film: 19 May 2000