Don't get me wrong, this is no cinematic treat, but it's a fun movie. Once you forgo the scientific elements, and the cookie-cutter characters, it can be a fun ride.

Human kind has destroyed the earth, and decided they need to find a new home. So, we send out some probes to mars to begin teraforming it, and making it breathable, livable planet. Something goes wrong though, and the oxygen disappears, so they send off a few astronauts, our last best hope, to investigate the problem. Some silliness ensues, including the rather cheesy navy horror element, a robot that switches from good guy mode to evil guy mode because of an accident. Other wise, though, the story is a rather good scientific story, very similar in feeling to Total Recall's mars plot.

As I write this though, I do cringe at some of the science in the movie, so be warned, it's bad.

One interesting side note: I guess NASA doesn't like the movie. The Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner that was launched in 1997 plays a part in the plot of the story. But, instead of referring to the probe by it's name, its always called "that robot what's-its-name" or some such. It seemed a bit extreme that they couldn't even use the name.