Red Planet is a 2000 Science Fiction film starring
Val Kilmer and a Robot with a bad case of
A.I. Is a Crapshoot.
In 2056 AD, Earth is in ecologic crisis as a consequence of pollution, it's an
The End of the World as We Know It story with a twist. Missions have been seeding Mars with atmosphere-producing algae for twenty years as the first stage in terraforming the planet. When the oxygen quantity produced by the algae is inexplicably reduced, the crew investigates, and must continue the mission of terraforming the planet for human colonization.
This movie features examples of:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: AMEE. Averted with Lucy, though.
- Almost out of Oxygen : At some points.
- Anticlimax Boss: AMEE
- Artistic License - Astronomy: For a full and detailed list of what's wrong with this movie, see the Bad Astronomy
article (warning: spoilers). Surprisingly, many things were done correctly. - Awesome, but Impractical: Sure, bring a combat robot on a mission of science. What could possibly go wrong?
- Bittersweet Ending: The world is saved. Thanks to the man eating bugs that killed almost all the other astronauts.
- Body Horror: The Bugs do this to the astronauts. Don't ask how.
- Chekhov's Gun: All over the place.
- Chemistry Can Do Anything : The algae stuff.
- Continue Your Mission, Dammit!: The Doctor says this, infact many of the characters say this rather a lot.
- Eaten Alive: Defied. Poor Quinn decides to go out with a bang instead of letting the bugs finish him off slowly and painfully.
- Fragile Speedster: AMEE the Robot is tough, but she can get blown away by the wind if she's not careful.
- Gaia's Lament: By all accounts, Earth of 2056 AD.
- Ghost Planet: Mars obviously.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Quinn lights himself and the bugs and the algae on fire so they won't eat Rob, allowing Rob to escape to the shuttle.
- It Got Worse: After the group lands on mars, well you can guess what happens next.
- Kill It with Fire : The bugs.
- Meaningful Background Event: Actually, Meaningful Foreground Event. If you look very closely in one of the earlier scenes, you can see one of the bugs in the foreground as the camera pans across the landscape.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Well, some of the crew feel this way towards the rest of humanity.
- Orifice Invasion / Orifice Evacuation: one of the dead astronauts gets this treatment with the bugs. The Squick level is astronomical.
- Psychological Horror: Very arguable, but much of the horror elements of the film is due to the thought of being abandoned on Mars while running out of oxygen. The killer robot plot doesn't kick in until after the halfway mark in the movie.
- The Red Planet: No duh.
- Sanity Slippage: The Robot AMEE, kinda.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The mission is to find out what happend to the algae.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Somewhat between Kate and Rob.
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