There has been a good deal of criticism around the Last Days On Mars and how similar it is to a handful of films we've already seen. Most notably Prometheus, which came out the year prior. Obviously, movies take years to write and develop, produce and promote, before they arrive on the big screen, so to say it's a copycat is simply ignorant. So many of my favorite movies, when it comes down to their storytelling, are concepts and ideas I already know and love. Which is why I'm interested to see them. Every superhero blockbuster is basically a remake of the one before, and no one seems to be bothered by this.
The Last Days on Mars is an audacious zombie movie set in a new environment, and it works as a fun thriller. I feel the problem with its reception was that audiences were unknowingly tricked into believing it was something it was not. Understanding the source material gave me a better appreciation of the film. It's apparent that its small budget struggled to bring to life the massive cinematic scale, similar movies in the genre have. It's unfortunate that it's compared to films like Alien and Prometheus, which had massive budgets. I can see where audiences left wanting more of what prior films achieved, but that's not this film's fault.
The overall production value of the environment and its vehicles was surprisingly beautiful and I think the story's simplicity makes for a fascinating movie experience. This movie is not a blockbuster, but it has a decent plot, interesting characters, and amazing special effects. I was interested in its sci-fi storyline, and that interest turned to excitement when I found out it had zombies.
