From that weird period when there were two expensive Mars films. This has Brian de Palma talking a pay day and there's some de Palma-y shots eg track shots at the beginning, and a homage/rip off to the match cut of 2001.
There's a curious lethargy in the movie, some haw-haw-haw military dialogue as if the script was punched up by NASA types, a cast of talented actors who are not movie stars but TV stars (Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle, Tim Robbins, Connie Neilsen), a lot of white faces.
The film livens up when someone dies: like when Cheadle's mates get wiped out (including the guy I swear was Ted McGinley but who isn't) and the death of Tim Robbins. These scenes are good. I think the film would've worked if it had concentrated on life and death stakes.
But it's slow. The ending is like The Abyss with cuddly aliens. It's hard to care.
Some lousy 90s writing like the astronaut (Sinise) with the dead wife (Kim Delaney) who thus goes off with the aliens and the married couple being so happy before they die.
I went with this for a while but then it got too dull and silly. Nice effects.
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