Red Planet (2000)

(In theaters, November 2000) Mixed impressions about the second Mars-themed film of 2000: It’s certainly better than Mission To Mars, but even then it’s no great film. Acting-wise, most of the cast is wasted, at the possible exception of Carrie-Anne Moss, who solidifies her action heroine status after The Matrix. The special effects are rather nice. The problems pop up whenever the script is involved: Gigantic plot holes, incompetent plotting, boring subplots, unsatisfying characters and atrocious scientific errors all join forces to sap all energy that could have been produced by the intriguing premise. It’s not a complete failure, mostly because it tries so hard, but no one shouldn’t feel guilty of passing this one up in video stores.