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Roving Mars
Walt Disney Pictures / IMAX Corporation

Roving Mars reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 58 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.7 out of 10
based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

The mysterious Red Planet, Mars, has inspired countless science fiction dreams and nightmares. Now, for the first time, experience the reality of the Marc surface as seen through the eyes of two intrepid, death-defying explorers -- Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Rovers -- in the spectacular new giant screen adventure Roving Mars. (Walt Disney Pictures)


GENRE(S): Documentary  
DIRECTED BY: George Butler  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: July 31, 2007 
Theatrical: January 27, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 40 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
USA Today Mike Clark
The movie is more compelling than exciting with one exception: the kind of rocket blast-off sequence for which IMAX screens were seemingly invented.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Kyle Smith
A splendidly photographed IMAX 2-D film, takes us breathlessly through the process of designing Spirit and Opportunity, the two plucky Mars rovers that have been sending images 300 million miles since they hit the Red Planet in 2003.
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70
Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
Butler deftly intercuts real footage with CGI, heightening the drama, and the film becomes especially compelling once the robots are launched into space.
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70
The New York Times Nathan Lee
If many of the scenes are fake, however, the thrill of the project is not, and what we do see of the surface - hyperclear photographs on the scale of 100-by-180 feet - is out of this world.
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70
Variety Ronnie Scheib
Helmer George Butler correctly gauges his film's strengths, with the search for life in the universe becoming a heartfelt tribute to a couple of robots.
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70
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
A briskly moving, deeply engaging 40-minute documentary.
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67
Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling
The mission is an impressive coup for NASA - these scientists are smart! - but it doesn't quite slam-dunk as a fully satisfying IMAX experience.
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50
Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen
Not having a way to capture images of the machines at work means that too much of Butler's film -- his credits include "Pumping Iron" and the Imax film "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure" -- is disappointingly made up of computer simulations.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
A workmanlike effort -- a precision piece of filmmaking that provides education for children and a refresher course that adults can benefit from as well.
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50
Chicago Tribune Michael Esposito
The sad thing is, even for NASA/space fans, a snooze isn't out of the question despite the film's scant 40-minute running time.
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50
The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
Roving Mars is bound to inspire hordes of young science geeks to dream about sending in their resumes. The rest of us may not feel so excited.
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40
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Sometimes comes on like a NASA commercial; those logos loom gigantic on the IMAX screen. More troublingly, the film fails to explain how computer animations were combined with actual imagery from the missions.

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Hansel H. gave it an8:
Good photos, good music(Philip Glass), good documentary. Worth every penny. Glad it's on IMAX. If you like space and science, this is for you.

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