Brian De Palma directed this science-fiction suspense story. When the United States sends its first manned mission to Mars, hopes are high for new scientific discoveries, but many of those hopes are dashed when the Mars crew meets an unexplained disaster. A rescue mission, which sets out to bring back any surviving members of the crew, discovers that Mars may not be a dead planet after all, and they uncover some startling evidence about the fate of their predecessors. The rescue crew includes Gary Sinise, Jerry OConnell, Kim Delaney, Tim Robbins, and Don Cheadle; the screenplay was written in part by award-winning playwright Ted Tally, who also adapted The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won an Oscar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide