The Last Days on Mars

My overall enjoyment of the movie was pretty decent, its nothing something I'd watch numerous times, but it was alright for a one time view.

The acting was pretty good, as were the sets, makeup etc. They also captured the tension in making on the go/tough decisions quite well.

The downside, for me personally to the movie, was that it quickly turned into a 'zombieish' kind of movie: Infected trying to infect non-infected, non-infected trying to survive. Now I like the occasional zombie movie, but I've only read the brief description on IMDb before watching,and I personally expected something different, something a bit more original. There was no real 'reason' the whole movie is based on Mars. You could replace Mars with an island, the infected with zombies, the bacteria with, well, a bacteria and the rescue pod with a rescue ship for example, and basically have the same movie.

All in all, if you're like me, and enjoy watching some low budget sci-fi, this is a movie I'd give a try.

I liked it!!! I didn't love it, but I liked it!!! A great sci-fi horror movie. That's all I expected from it and I liked it. One thing, though and this may be a spoiler of sorts so consider yourself warned. All the dialogue that was at the beginning left me wishing that the whole movie could have been like that, not fall to the usual horror genre. The beginning was very intelligent and entertaining. The actors were very good together! The back and fourth worked. Too bad it had to fall to the monster movie thrill pack it ended up being although I liked the ending. Yes, I got what I expected and I liked it. It's just...it had the potential to be so much more.

I am a fan of the space/horror genre, and always try and watch whatever is about, but somehow this passed me by. I was keen to watch it, even more so when I say it had Liev Schreiber in it, what a surprise. I'm assuming this was a box office flop, or simply didn't even make it to the big screen, and that's a shame, as it's a really decent watch. The story isn't particularly original, it's been done to death, but the execution was really rather good. It was atmospheric, beautifully shot, and well acted. Liev Schreiber of course was great, so strange to watch Romola Garai in sci fi, seen her in so many costume dramas, but she was excellent. I liked the imagery of the 'zombies,' and I liked the sense of panic and claustrophobia that was generated. One that got away, I really liked it. 7/10

When watching the trailer I couldn't help but feel intrigued. Although it gave you a basic idea of what the film was about (the title is a massive clue), it didn't give any sign of the problem that would occur. I liked that, normally it is just standard procedure for a newly released movie to throw its cards on the table and show the inquisitive audience what to expect. "The Last Days on Mars" doesn't exactly follow in that tradition and leaves you guessing up until the moment the horror is realised.

Although location and purpose is completely different i couldn't help but associate it with "Sunshine"; of course with a less stellar cast. Just the crew falling apart, and mentality being tested in such environments. Not to take anything away from this, it does have its own display of originality, the location (mostly Jordan) was simplistic but effective; not needing Transformers to take away from the scenery. I thought Liev Schreiber played his part well, he gets a lot of flack, but he produces a solid display of acting. Everyone else just did their job; no-one really stood out.

Now although I enjoyed this film, there where several things that bugged me. Acting left a lot to be desired. The little flashback back-story was very, very anti climatic. Some of the characters where in need of a slap and the story lacked certitude.

If this is the best and brightest Earth has to sent into space we need to defend NASA. If this is how people act after 6 months in isolation we need to train crews better. They argued, made stupid decisions, and disobeyed orders just like normal people, not people who have trained their entire lives for space travel.