Movies such as Red Planet just reinforce what incredible visionaries writer Arthur C. Clarke and filmmaker Stanley Kubrick were.

From its themes to its look, Red Planet keeps paying homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

There's a talking computer like HAL and the space ship floats through space in pristine balletic form.

This imitation is not a bad thing.

It just shows there have been far too few new or revolutionary sci-fi ideas in the past 30 years.

This time, the astronauts are off to Mars, not Jupiter, and are not on a quest for enlightenment.

The crew of this Mars Terraforming Project are Earth's last hope. Mankind has so depleted the resources of the planet that, without an alternate home, civilization is doomed.

This impending crisis has scientists sending algae up to Mars to help turn the barren wastelands into fertile fields capable of producing oxygen.

At first, it looked as if the experiment was a resounding success. Astronomers could detect huge coloured patches on Mars, but they have begun disappearing.

Every true sci-fi fan can guess the space journey will be fraught with disasters and that when they land, the survivors will discover Mars may be barren, but it is not uninhabited.

The life form on Mars is not the only danger to the unsuspecting visitors. Their own robot eventually turns into a killing machine.

Novice director Antony Hoffman is a visual stylist who understands suspense and tension.

The identity of Mars' own natural menace won't come as a surprise to anyone who has seen Starship Troopers or Pitch Black.

The crew are standard sci-fi characters.

Down to her tank top underwear and steely demeanour, the mission's commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) is a Sigourney Weaver clone.

Moss stays aboard the mother ship, so she misses the treacherous shenanigans on Mars. Not to worry. Writers Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin visit a myriad of disasters on never-say-die Bowman.

No sci-fi adventure would be complete without a debate between a scientist (Tom Sizemore) and a religious zealot (Terence Stamp) or without an obnoxious boor (Benjamin Bratt) or a coward (Simon Baker).

Val Kilmer plays the everyman. He's Gallagher, the humble maintenance man, or space janitor.

In each case, performance rises above material.

Red Planet is taut, thoughtful sci-fi, but the journey is a bit too familiar.

(This film is rated PG)

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