Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Walt Disney Pictures produced the film I watched. In it, there is no Paul Newman introduction. And my impression is that there are multiple versions of this documentary.At about forty minutes in length, the film gives a cursory, but highly interesting, overview of the Mars twin rovers. Interviews with NASA scientists and engineers, plus actual footage of the robots being made, comprise the first half. The narrator stresses the complexity of the technical work that went into the creation of Spirit and Opportunity.But the best segment is near the middle, when superb animated effects help viewers visualize the various stages of the rover-in-tow spacecraft's seven-month journey to Mars, and especially the critical landing phase that carried the rovers safely to the surface, which involved split second timing and flawless execution.Later, we get a quick look at the geologic work the rovers perform. And the panoramic views of the desolate plains of Mars are spectacular.I just wish the film had been longer, and that we could have seen more images of Mars. One gets the feeling that for some reason the film was cut short, maybe because of budget constraints. The sheer quantity of data that Spirit and Opportunity have relayed back to us is amazing. And this wonderful scientific achievement merits a film of at least two, and preferably three, hours.Even though it's brief and to some extent aimed at kids, "Roving Mars" still makes for worthwhile viewing by adults. Maybe eventually we'll get a documentary that does Spirit and Opportunity justice.

I was disappointed. With all the pictures sent back by the rovers even before the movie had to cut and run, the film devotes only a couple of minutes to these. The landing doesn't even occur until the halfway point (20 minutes), and the first pictures from the rovers at 26 minutes. Meanwhile, more of the limited (40 minutes) time is devoted to talking heads than to anything else. There are CGI fly-overs of Mars when there could have been actual photos.The interviews, CGI flyovers, and simulations of the rovers are very good stuff -- accurate and informative -- and would have been excellent in a 2- or 3-hour film. The problem is the emphasis, which needed to be "what we saw on Mars". Forty minutes didn't give time for all the rest. This is the rare documentary which would have been much better expanded. Keep all the good stuff, add even more about the difficulties of getting to Mars (there's brief mentions of past failures, and these are fascinating stories of their own), and add a lot more about the scientific goals and successes, and a great deal more photographs sent back from the rovers, and a lot more explanations of what is seen in these photos. It's as though the makers assumed viewers were only interested in the people behind the mission, and not the mission itself.Then there's the emphasis on water, life, and preparation for manned visits. This does not accurately represent the mission. While water and life detection was part of it, the mission was a lot more. And the idea of manned visits to Mars is a pipe dream, driven by emotions and politics, not science. The film makers would have served us better by emphasizing the excitement in the exploration by proxy, rather than viewing it as merely a preparation for manned flight.The film does prove, once again, that Philip Glass can write astoundingly good film music.There's a huge need to convey the enormous excitement in the actual unmanned missions, to Mars and to the other planets. This documentary chose instead to keep the blinders on, emphasizing what's believed to be already exciting to humans.Note that I only saw this on a home screen, not IMAX. I'm sure some parts would have been much more impressive on IMAX. But that's all the more reason to upend the emphases. Who wants to go into an IMAX theater, for only 40 minutes, and watch talking heads?

I do love these IMAX movies. It's very nice to see films that are EDITED properly and it's a real joy to see EDITING like this. This one has music that seems to be identical to Fog of War! It's good music though.THE BAD: for something that is meant to be 100% real...why have they put sound on the outer space stuff? THE GOOD: There's never a dull moment in this documentary. It's really fascinating seeing how the rover unfolds itself and moves around the terrain. Plus the elaborate way in which they got it onto the martian surface in the first place! These films have a way of brightening up your day because they are so positive and exciting. You leave the film feeling good...and that HAS to be a good thing.

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