The Last Days on Mars

The above description just about covers it,though it's nicely shot, and the cast includes Liev Schreiber, Romola Garai and Olivia Williams, it's a nothing special tale where an alien and or infection takes the crew down one by one, lotsa running down corridors and opening and closing air locked doors, you know the drill!

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.

I remember when this came out having absolutely no interest, though the solid cast appealed nothing else did. Now I've seen it I see that I was wrong, mostly.

Starring Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas and Olivia Williams the film has no issues with it's cast. The premise being of the horror sci-fi type was not what I expected and I certainly mean that in a good way!

The film was interestingly constructed, had my attention and when the first encounter took place it had me gripped. This was good! This was really good and I couldn't wait to see where this adventure was going to go.

Sadly shortly after the quality starts to dip, the potential I saw gets thrown in the trash and the incredible movie I foresaw faded away. Gone was the premise, gone was the tension, gone was the interest.

Sure it doesn't get bad, but it doesn't retain the same quality and it certainly doesn't utilize its potential. I was fascinated by this concept so why did they have to drop the ball so badly? There are so few movies that deal with such subject matter so when one comes out and wastes it's opportunity it's heartbreaking.

The Last Days on Mars is still a watchable affair but damn it should have been so very much better.

The Good:

Starts strong

Great cast

The Bad:

Quality dips hard

Disappointing ending

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

This movie had a shot at being quite good, only made it to pretty good. It was a bit of a throwback movie from the 50's with better special effects. Performances were good, but the story went from scientific to space horror a tad too quickly.

Liev Schrieber was adequate but his character had no emotion until the very end of the film. Other performers were sort of character actor types and their length of time on the screen was based much on either who is the prettiest or the most foolish.

There was decent suspense early on and a curiosity as to what happened earlier in their lives, but not in the movie and I guess it had played a part in the plot, but with no explanation, it was kind of oddly placed.

It's a decent watch and only killed about 98 minutes, so you won't find it to be a total waste of time. If you watch it with the thoughts of real early science fiction, you can see how it fit into the genre.

Some people may be surprised by the ending or you'll wonder what happened next.

Take the time, enjoy the ride and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, but not overwhelmed.

Just my thoughts!