" houston .
we have a serious problem .
" after making " mission : impossible " , brian de palma has a lot to live up to .
by making an epic science fiction and inviting great cast and talented crew , he hopes to reach the modern audience .
and the possibilities are certainly there , but the result is a great disaster .
starting in a near future , with a prologue copied from " apollo 13 " , de palma slowly builds up his " story " .
the human race has already set foot on mars .
a research expedition has vanished without trace on the red planet and another one has been sent to find out what happened .
this is basically the whole plot .
so it 's hard to imagine that it can be stretched to 2 hours .
but de palma manages to do that .
it is not a very good achievement .
as we follow this expedition to mars and watch them slowly float in space , the hardest thing to do is stay awake .
the film 's major problem is that it tries to seem more clever than it is .
david mamet 's dialogue , while trying to seem natural , is distant and simply fake .
de palma and mamet wanted to combine action with a thought provoking plot .
the result is more like an unsuccessful mutation of kubrick 's " 2001 : a space odyssey " , " apollo 13 " and " godzilla " .
to make time pass , the creators have inserted several " refreshing " scientific details , that would not convince a half - crazed frog .
it consists of multiple copies and direct ripp - offs from several great science fiction films and stories .
when it finally presents an almost original idea ,
it falls flat because of its uncovered stupidity .
i ca n't even call this film predictable , since
no one with a healthy imagination can come up with something like this .
sometimes it gets so cheesy , that you 'll start laughing when you 're supposed to cry and cry when you 're supposed to laugh .
you 'll see enormous sandstorms , hear mysterious sounds and , last but not least , on this " constantly surprising " tour you 'll see -- an alien .
it 's really hard to find comparisons to such an experience , and i know that i 've never said that before ( i thought i never would ) , but " lost in space " is actually better .
that 's an achievement in itself !
director brian de palma has stroke gold with " untouchables " that became an instant american classic .
it is for this film that he will be remembered , while all his other failures will be forgotten .
he 'll live to fight another day !
i send the actors my condolences , since they truly do try to transform into their undeveloped and dull characters .
and both the cinematography , production design and art direction are very decent .
it is because of the achievement of 254 people , that i rate this film 2/10 .
unfortunately their hard work was in vain . if you have problems with insomnia , i recommend you this film .
if you 're not asleep within the first half hour , consult your doctor .
direct ripp - offs it gets so cheesy i send the actors my condolences would not convince a half - crazed frog an unsuccessful mutation no one with a healthy imagination can come up with something like this distant and simply fake it falls flat because of its uncovered stupidity the result is a great disaster not a very good achievement unfortunately their hard work was in vain the hardest thing to do is stay awake . the film 's major problem is that it tries to seem more clever than it is undeveloped and dull characters