" 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 can'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 . 
