Approaching The Unknown

I won't repeat what other have very accurately pointed out about this movie. But you know what disappointed me right from the start? This line at the 2 minute mark: "Nothing has ever lived there and nothing has ever died there (on Mars)". True scientists would never speak like that specially from a place we still have a lot to learn about. I'm afraid I can't recommend this flick.

Mark Strong did a great job with the material, but I wondered a lot about the plot. Essential gear is needed for a long-term mission, yet there is no backup or spare parts (even though it looks like there's room for that -- a different version is shown being carried in a suitcase). The scientists on the space station seem curiously incapable of making themselves useful. And no-one besides the main character seems to know how to troubleshoot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring and entertaining science fiction movie about humankind's approach to exploration of the unknown (Space, especially one man's voyage to Mars, an "inner planet". What? H2O extracted from sandy soil? Unlikely and impossible!). Captain Stanaforth's pre-flight experiments as well as his onboard ones may inspire a new generation of prospective astronauts to prepare themselves in the fields of the life-sciences, engineering, and technology, One great future achievement will be colonization of the exo-planets armed and informed with our extra-terrestrially gained experiences.