For donkey's years there has been many a suggestion that Mars will some day be established as a colony for earthlings to live on.

Unfortunately there are a few stumbling blocks in this vision becoming a reality.   A lack of breathable air and drinkable water being the main contenders :)  I have no doubt that one day it will or at least there will be someway for these basic human necessities to be readily accessible should we set up camp on Mars......

According to Red Planet (shot on location in Australia AND the 2nd Mars based film of 1999/2000) this is only some 50 years away.  And for some years now scientists have been conducting experiments on mars using algae with the hope of it growing and creating a layer of breathable Oxygen and some plant life.  Sadly the algae is simply dying and so a mars mission team is sent to mars to investigate, before the end of civilisation on the surface of earth.

A team of 6 is shipped to mars, headed by female captain Kate Bowman (Carrie Anne Moss).  On their approach to mars there's a nasty little malfunction and their plans are drastically changed.  Captain Kate stays on board to try and salvage the ship, and the remaining crew consisting of Val Kilmer, Tom sizemore, Simon Baker Denny, Benjiman Bratt, Terrance Stamp, and possibly the coolest robot since terminator, AMEE,  all huddle up in their space pod and set sail for the surface of mars.  Upon landing on mars the shuttle crash lands and one of the crew is injured.  The guys send AMEE to suss things out.  And as they soon discovers, things aren't quite what they seem on the red planet...... [insert dramatic music cue here!  :]

VIDEO
Other than a touch of too much edge enhancement, which results in a little more alaising that liked, this Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer is very nice and very clean indeed.

The Colour Pallet is of an interesting look, but very appropriate for this movie as on the Mars surface there is a deliberate push with reds (during the daytime sequences), so your basic green and blue is greatly reduced.  Back on board the ship the colour level is very accurate.
Black level is spot on and so shadow detail is first rate throughout (the mars night sequences look incredible).
If it wasn't for the aliasing, I'd call this a reference quality transfer. (it comes damn close even in it's current form)

AUDIO
Now there are other soundtracks that are really designed to make you go WOW, but this doesn't to that extent.  But in it's own right this still an exceptionally good Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. 
It downplays any big bangs going for subtly and has very accurate sound placement.

Dialogue is always clean and clear, musically it's fine with nice use of ambience, and sound FX wise, it's never overdone, but very satisfying to my ears with some fun panning effects (especially when AMEE is flying around the planet :). 

EXTRAS
Surprisingly there's not a great deal on offer.  I would have thought a few other extras would have been created to try and get some dosh back in leui of the film's limp box office takings.

Keeping consistent with the film itself the menus are very red, but very plain Jane