Waste of time

Memorable, crazy movie

Best movie of this year hands down!

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This film was grossly disappointing. It gives a promise of science-fiction and then turns into another version of "The Next Voice You Here", a religious babel about God giving a speech on the radio to mankind. This one is pretty much the same. The religious evangelism is obnoxious to the point of nausea.What Peter Graves is doing in this film, other than collecting a paycheck is beyond me. I'm sure Fury would be spinning in that horse's grave, if the horse could see this film. I did enjoy the appearance of the actor from The Millionaire, Marvin Miller as a Russian official. Other than that, there is nothing to recommend this setup for an extremely disappointing conclusion, which I will not divulge.You are better off watching an episode of Science-Fiction Theater.

I never saw this movie before, quite outdated now, but gives a good look of a bit of the cold war and science fiction. This has mission impossible Peter Graves in it. Much better acting than todays junk.although comet shows some of these old sci fi, some are quite interesting. this one was pretty good.

Planet Earth has been receiving radio messages from its nearest neighbour Mars . Messages telling of a new type of technology means that fossil fuels will become redundant meaning that millions of jobs will be lost in the Western world . Are these messages genuine or is there another more Earthly power behind it ? After seeing INVASION USA I found myself watching yet another American propaganda film from the same year . I was attracted to the title thinking it might be an obvious film where the red planet decides to enslave the countries of Western democracy because that's what reds do . This isn't how things developed but any sort of rugs being pulled out from under you or irony of the red planet not being communist at all is hardly a recommendation . I can understand the thinking behind INVASION USA and the points its making within its own twisted reality but this isn't the case with RED PLANET MARS I don't know if I'm stupid or simply because I wasn't concentrating hard enough but I had difficulty paying attention to the plotting . It's not really a film that grabs your attention and is very static . I wasn't surprised in the slightest that this film was adapted from a stage play . One would have thought in that case it would be easy to follow since it's dialogue based but this isn't the case at all . Scientist Chris Cronyn receives messages from Mars and before he - and the audience - knows it religion is sweeping the world including the Soviet Union . The writers some entirely ignorant of religion and Marxism . Suppose we take on board the idea that our view of religion comes from a race from a higher civilisation . Ask yourself how does this explain life after death ? If a Martian lives 300 years then surely it'll die the same a human dies after 70 years . There will be no life after this one no matter what planet you're from . This is one of a number massive plot holes , and these plot holes even have the totally illogical nature of drawing attention to themselves such as the Soviet politburo asking themselves where are the Soviet population getting all their radios from ? Yeah I'd like to know too . I suppose this falls under the heading of plot connivance ? Perhaps the most irritating thing is the ending and the way it's developed . For large sections of the film you're being led along that the Soviets are behind these messages and it's all a communist plot , so much so that the counter revolution in the Eastern bloc is just a staged event and the British ambassador is being used as a stooge the same way plenty of useful idiots were taken on tours to the USSR in the 1920s and 30s . The communist double dealing is reinforced at the end when a former Nazi now working for the communists turns up at the Cronyn's lab at the end . This villain despite being a former Nazi and communist reveals himself to be a Satan worshipper . Let me get this right ? He's not a Neo-pagan like the Nazis and he's not a Marxist atheist like all communists but he worships Satan ! . Like I said the writers haven't thought any of this through especially where religion or Marxism is concerned . One massive plot hole that jumps out and grabs you is that the Cronyns' and the villain are killed in a lab explosion with no witnesses but the final scene sees the American referring to their sacrifice to the United Nations . Either this unnamed president has second sight or this film has a really poor screenplay . Guess what one I'm putting my money on ? If you thought NOAH was a genuinely bad film you obviously haven't seen this one

An interesting sci-fi flick that attempts to be intellectual instead of thrilling, but in reality it's too stupid. Peter Graves stars as a scientist who contacts Mars. After a series of communications, it turns out that God Himself is from the Red Planet and is disappointed with the Earthlings and their Cold War. As silly as that sounds, I don't think that premise itself is what ruins the film. It's just that the film isn't at all interested in the implications of that revelation, but far more interested in demonizing the Soviets, who gleefully machine-gun down people gathered in prayer, and patting the Americans on the back for being so God fearing (Andrea King, who plays Graves' wife, is so obnoxiously self-righteous you just want to murder her). There's an interesting twist late in the picture, but they immediately undercut it. This is a virtual remake of a much better film from a couple of years previous, William A. Wellman's The Next Voice You Hear. That one was a far more intellectually curious story about God speaking up about the Cold War (and the following year's much more famous The Day the Earth Stood Still strikes me as a virtual remake of that film).