Decades ago they used to make those cheesy science-fiction movies with hokey effects, implausible storylines, and silly acting. Nobody took them seriously, not even the filmmakers. Still, they were, and still are, fun to watch. Had Red Planet taken that same approach they might have made something mildly entertaining. As it stands, it’s a low-rent, science-fiction dud masquerading as a thriller that commits the worst of all movie sins -- it’s boring.

In a nutshell, Red Planet tells the story of a group of scientists going to Mars. It takes place some time in the future and the scientists want to study the results of a previous experiment about sustaining life on the planet. Along for the ride is a robot named AMEE. AMEE’s cute, but can turn vicious in a snap. That’s really the crux of this whole story. In fairly short order, things go wrong; most of the crew gets stranded on the planet, and AMEE malfunctions and turns on them. The end result is pretty easy to guess.

There’s not much to recommend here, so the movie gets only a *1/2 rating. The only thing it does admirably is waste the talent of its stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Terence Stamp and Val Kilmer. A much better, recently released movie in this vein is Pitch Black. That film features lesser-known actors and a fraction of this one’s budget; however, the tension and fear it musters puts Red Planet to shame. Skip this and rent that instead.

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