Movie Review of "Roving Mars "
Rated G
By CK Movie Kid Jonathan Lack

This IMAX documentary documents the mission to Mars headed by two little rovers-Spirit and Opportunity. Over a period of three or four years, the rovers were built and tested for their journey to and on Mars. The first half of the movie documents the building and testing of the rovers, including the incredible launch sequence.
The second half shows what the rovers found on Mars, through CGI reproductions of what the rovers found. And the CGI is so good, you'll believe you're on Mars, with the rovers.

This movie was very interesting, yet flawed in areas. The best thing about this movie is that you get to see a lot of neat imagery of Mars, even if it isn't all real. You learn a lot about the space programs to, especially about how they build and test rovers.

All this was very interesting, yet, as I said, it was flawed. The movie is extremely short. It's just less than 40 minutes long, yet IMAX sales prices cost more than a regular ticket. And the 40 minutes doesn't do the story justice. There was so much more that could have been explained, and yet wasn't. Also, much of the movie was only on about half the IMAX screen, which detracted from it a bit.

Also, as stated above, almost everything you see of Mars is CGI. Believable and spectacular, but I was wishing to see some real images from the program.

I would recommend it to all ages. There is no inappropriate content, and I believe kids 10 and under would get the most out of this.

Overall, an interesting yet somewhat disappointing overview of the Mars rover program. (February, 2005)