In 1999, The Matrix unleashed one of the biggest hypes in cinema history. Everyone wanted to look like Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves with cool sunglasses and leather coats. Science fiction was booming and Moss delivered just a year later the next sci-fi action film: Red Planet. But hardly anyone remembers the space adventure.
Red Planet with Carrie-Anne Moss was 17 million more expensive than The Matrix: Why no one remembers today
Even if you don’t have much for numbers, this calculation hurts: Matrix cost 63 million US dollars and grossed over 460 million at the cinema. Red Planet was even more expensive, costing 80 million and making at the box office… 30 million. That is not even half of the production costs.
What was the issue?
Red Planet is not a very good film: For the (only) film by director Antony Hoffman, both the reviews and audience enthusiasm left a lot to be desired. The Metacritic review collection has a lousy 34 out of 100 points. At Moviepilot, Red Planet has a poor rating of 5.7 out of 10. For comparison: Matrix has a 7.9.
The plot starts promisingly. Mars colonization is being prepared because Earth will soon be uninhabitable. In 2057, a science team has to go to Mars to investigate a problem in the large-scale project. However, the sci-fi thriller then gets lost in unnecessary accidents, robots running amok, garnished with mediocre CGI and wooden dialogue.
In the trailer you can see Carrie-Anne Moss as a tough spaceship pilot
Red Planet – Trailer (German)
Carrie-Anne Moss as Commander Kate Bowman is great, but can’t make up for the lack of originality. Another success for Moss would have been nice, as she was still waiting tables to stay afloat at the start of The Matrix.
After Matrix everyone wanted more Matrix: After The Matrix, there wasn’t a breakout sci-fi success in the cinema for quite a while. Hardly anyone remembers sci-fi films like The 13th Floor and Mission to Mars, which started in the wake of The Matrix. Red Planet is no exception.
Not only did sci-fi fans prefer to watch The Matrix a second time, Red Planet also had it direct Mars competition. Mission to Mars was released just a few months earlier and quenched the cinema audience’s thirst for Mars. But even Mission to Mars fell short of expectations, writes the film magazine Collider. In 2000, people simply weren’t interested in the planet, but rather in artificial realities here on Earth – and where to buy those cool sunglasses.
If you still want to get your own impression of Carrie-Anne Moss and Val Kilmer (Heat) in Red Planet, you can rent the film from Amazon, for example*. Matrix is available as a subscription on Netflix.
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