Roving Mars

This incredible, true science story was made and released on Imax, but I saw it on DVD. It is straightforward and, while interesting, it has limited entertainment value for those with little interest in the Mars Rover project. It is short and I felt that more could have been included and an effort could have been made to use more of a 'storytelling' approach. As well, writer/director/narrator George Butler could have used celebrities or strong personalities among the mission team, to create more interest. his choice, however, was to create a simple documentary, which is fine for space race fans, but of limited interest to others.

The feature tells the story of NASA's Mars Rover mission, which saw the construction of two incredibly complex robotic vehicles (The total technology involved in the rovers exceeds the brain capacity of any one person - best useless fact of the film) named 'Spirit' and 'Opportunity' and sent them to the surface of Mars, where they landed successfully in the summer of 2003. There is extensive footage of the surface of Mars, where both carefully accurate CGI and actual Rover footage, is used to give the viewer a nice visit to another world. Amazingly, the planned mission of 90 days has now gone on for over four years and continues to this day. They don't tell you that in the film. I became curious and looked it up for you guys.

This documentary is an excellent choice for educators and for those with an interest in the space program. Many others, who are less academically curious will not enjoy it and should steer clear. If it is your cup of tea, then check out the special features, as well. They share a lot more interesting information.

This work was first posted on realmoviereview.com

this documentary about the mars Rovers mission to Mara is very interesting and well done.we learn just what it takes to build these machines and then how much is involved in making sure they are not going to malfunction while in space or once they are on the planet.the animation sequences are very well done.the only drawback for m,is that the film is too short,at just under 40 minutes.otherwise,this a really engaging documentary.one thing that struck me though was that the scientists all believe there will be manned mission to Mars in the foreseeable future.i think that is being overly optimistic.anyway,for me Roving mars is an 8/10

Well designed documentary on two Mars rovers (Spirit and Opportunity.)

We get just enough information and visuals to feel that we are there and part of the project. We are informed of the purpose. The crew looks tad polyandry.

Unlike movies that should concentrate on the storyline with visuals coming in as a secondary attribute, these documentary benefits from the Blu-ray treatment. One plus is the narration by Paul Newman.

This presentation may be a bit dated but the planet has not changed that much.

I am amazed at how crip the pictures are. Maybe it is these now fangles high rez T. V.s

Do not forget to look at the extras on the DVD.

I was fortunate enough to see the first public premier of this IMAX movie given to Lockheed-Martin Employees. The public reception was warm but not overwhelming. The images of Mars and the Rocket Launch were magnificent and the animated segments were indistinguishable from the filmed segments, very accurately using the photographs sent by the Rovers to create the landscapes. One note about a sequence that made many in the theater groan - THERE IS NO SOUND IN SPACE!!!!! Much of the movie consisted of often young enthusiastic engineers telling us how impossible the task was and (indirectly) how brilliant they must be. I do not belittle the accomplishment, it is awesome to be sure, but this standard Mantra we get with every film depicting a technological accomplishment is getting repetitious. On the other hand, I understand the wall NASA is up against every day to get and keep funding for these very important programs, so any salesmanship is forgiven. It is also, I suppose, important for the general layman to understand why these programs are so difficult to pull off so they can truly appreciate the success. I was impressed by the humor and humbleness that the engineers displayed in the face of test failures. This is an interesting, and at times, visually striking documentary, definitely worth seeing. Take the kids, they'll be wide eyed as the public gets its first truly satisfying look at the red planet.

I saw this at an Imax in LA last week - I'm still in awe. Maybe the previous commenter was a rocket scientist himself, but for me, the hurdles these people had to accomplish in the time they did, and the unbelievable success they had is something that made me proud to be an American when I left the theater. The visual aspects of the film left me holding my breath at times. And the story - it was the same story we've all seen 100 times - a small group of people working together to achieve the impossible. Only this time, the story is true, the people are real and the goal is the advancement of humanity. Something we can all be proud of in a time when there are not that many things that we should be proud of. Take everyone you can drag with you - there isn't anyone who won't be moved by the vistas of a distant planet sent here by a couple tiny robots built by a small group of men and women from the planet Earth who had a dream. Why a 9 instead of a 10? It ended too soon.